1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

No. 11. SEVENTH BITUMINOUS DISTRICT. 445Charles Warner has not been granted a eertiticate of competencyby any of the Examining Boards appointed for that purpose; but hedid during the year 1885 receive a certificale of service giving himpermission to continue to act as mine foreman at the mines of Hartley& Marshall, where he was then employed in that capacity, and hedid continue to so act until, I think, some time during the year 1886,since which lime he has not acted in that cai)acity. The act of May15, 1893, gives to persons holding service certificates (granled underthe act of 1885) permission to act as niin(? foreman at mines otherthan those where they were acting when said certificates weregranted, but in order to take advantage of that privilege, Section 3,Article XV, of the act of May 15, 18!)8, would seem to imply that aperson leaving the employ of one firm to Jiccept a ]>osition as mineforeman for another person or firm, must have been acting as mineforeman for the firm whose emi)loy he left, iind up until the time heleft such employment, or in other words that he must have been incontinuous service in the capacity of mine foreman. The conditionof the mine does not enter into the question, for the condition ofyour mine is much less dangerous than that of the mine where he wasemployed when his certificate of service was granted. The only pointat issue is, as to whether he can be legally employed by you to act asmine foreman, seeing that he was not employed in that capacity byhis previous employers immediately before you employed him. Myconstruction of the meaning of the law may be wrong, and underarticle 14 of the act you have the right to appeal to court against mydecision as noted above, and I think that may be the }>roper courseto pursue, and the court will then place a right and proper constructionupon the language used in that part of the act above quoted,and thereby remove all doubts on the subject.Yours respectfully,JAMES BLICK.Copy of Affidavit filed in Court in Support of the above Decision.In the year 1885 the Legislature passed an act providing for thehealth and safety of persons employed in Bituminous coal mines.Among its provisions was one requiring Ihat persons aspiring tothe position of mine foreman should i)ass an examination before aboard of examiners ai)pointed for that purpose, and obtain a certificateof competency before they could become eligible to fill suchposition. The act of Assembly also directed the board of examinersto grant certificates of service, without an examination, to personswho were then acting as mine foreman, but said service certificatesonly gave the holder of the same the privilege to act as mine foremanfor the same person or firm by whom he was employed at thetime of the enactment of the law under which such certificate was