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

No. 10. SECOND BITUMINOUS DISTRICT. 265
The article under which they were convicted is as follows:
Article XXI.
"Section 1. Any person or persons whomsoever who shall intentionally
or carelessly injure any shaft, safety lamp, instrument, air
course or brattice, or obstruct or throw open air ways, or take matches
for any purpose, or pipes or other smokers' articles beyond any station
inside of which locked safety lamps are used, or injure any part of
the machinery or open a door in the mine and not close it again immediately
or open any door tho opening of which is forbidden, or disobey
any order given in carrying out the provisions of this act, or do
any other act whatsoever whereby the lives or the health of persons
or the security of the miners or the macliinery is endangered, shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished in a manner
provided for in this article."—Act of May 15, 1893, P. L. 87.
In due course, the defendants were sentenced to pay a tine and the
costs of prosecution.
The information had been made by Inspector Jenkins before his
term had expired. He, with Inspector Ross, appeared on the part
of the Commonwealth.
I).
R. Jones, Esq., of the Pittsburg bar, assisted in drawing up the
indictment, and conducted the case for the Commonwealth at the
trialj and John S. Ferguson, Esq., was counsel for the defendants.
On information received from Robert Hay, mine boss of the Standard
mines, belonging to the H. C. Frick Coke Company, I instituted
proceedings against Jack Roseman and William Kochesky before
George S. Owens, a justice of the peace of this county, charging them
with intentionally and carelessly opening the safety lamps which
each of them carried at a place wherein none but locked safety lamps
were allowed to be used by order of the mine boss, said safety lamps
being burning at the time they were opened; also, charging them with
using open lights in working places of the mine through which firedamp
might be carried in the air current in dangerous quantities;
also, charging them witli taking a pipe and other smokers' articles
into the same place.
The information also charged the defendants with wrongfully
opening said locked safety lamps and witli injuring them, in violation
of section 5 of article V, section 1 of article XXI, of the act of
May 15, 1893, P. L. 52.
A warrant was issued for their arrest and placed in the hand;^ 6"
an oflBcer, but at the present writing the defendants are still at large.
Accompanying this report is a photogra])h and plate of a new compressed
air locomotive recently installed at the Carbon mines. These.