Report of the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Internal Affairs of ...

No. 10. MINING LAWS OF PENNSYLVANIA. CXiX
Duties of Miners.
Rule 12. He shall examine his working place before beginning
work and take down all dangerous slate, or otherwise make it safe
by properly timbering the same before commencing to dig or load
coal, and In mines where fire bosses are employed, he shall examine
his place to see whether the fire boss has left the proper marks indicating
his examination thereof, and he shall at all times be very
careful to keep his working place in a safe condition during working
hours.
Rule 13. Should he at any time find his place becoming dangerous
either from gas or roof, or from any unusual condition which may
have arisen, he shall at once cease working, and inform the mine
foreman or his assistant of such danger, and before leaving such
place he shall place some plain warning at the entrance thereto to
warn others from entering into the danger.
Rule 14. It shall be the duty of every miner to mine his coal properly
and to set sprags under the coal while undermining to secure it
from falling and, after each blast, he shall exercise great care in examining
the roof and coal and shall secure them safely before beginning
work.
Rule 15. When places are liable to generate sudden volumes of
fire damp, or where locked safety lamps are used, no miner shall
allowed to fire shots except under the supervision and with the consent
of the mine foreman, or his assistant, or other competent person
designated by the mine foreman for that purpose.
Rule 16.
Duties of Drivers.
When a driver has occasion to leave his trip he must be
careful to see that it is left, when possible, in a safe place, secure
from cars or other dangers, or from endangering drivers of trip following.
Rule 17. The driver must take great care while taking his trips
down grades to have the brakes or sprags so adjusted that he can
keep the cars under control and prevent them from running onto
himself or others.
Rule 18. He shall not leave any cars standing where they may
materially obstruct the ventilating current, except in case of accident
to the trip.
Duties of Trip Riders or Runners.
Rule 19. He shall exercise great care in seeing that all hitchings
are safe for use and see that all the trip is coupled before starting,
and should he at any time see any material defect in the rope, link
or chain, he shall immediately remedy such defect or, if unable to do
so, he shall detain the trip and report the matter to the mine foreman.
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