The Fremont County record. [volume] (Canon City, Colo.) 1877-18??, 1883-02-24
new MINING LAW.
introduced by Representative B
F. RockafeIIow.
An Act TO Regulate the Operating of
Coal Mines.
Complete With all the Amendments
Adopted Before Being Signed.

The RECORD devotes more than the
usual space given to any one subject, this
week, in favor of the new mining law,
which is of SO much interest to large
number of our county readers. We present
the bill in its complete form just as the
from that published in one of our county
papers:
An act to regulate the working and inspec-
tion of coal mines
BE il enacted by tie General assembly of The
state Of Colorado.
Section l.. That the owner or agent of
each coal mine or colliery in this state en-
ploying ten or more men, shall make or
cause to be made, within six months after
the passage of this act, an accurate map or
plan of the workings of such coal mine or
colliery, on scale not exceeding one hum
dred feet to the inch, and showing the
bearings and distances of the workings
with the general inclination of the
strata and any material detection in said
workings, and the boundary lines of said
coal mine or colliery, which shall be kept
for the use of the inspector at the office in
the county where such coal mine or colliery
is located, and which shall be kept up every
three months, and said owner or agent
shall cause, on or before the 10th day of
January in every year, statement of the
workings of such coal mine during the
year past from the last report to the end
of the December month Just preceding, to
be marked on the original map or plan of
the said coal mine or colliery provided, if
the owner or agent of any coal mine shall
neglect OF refuse, or from any cause fail, for
the period of one month after the time
prescribed, to furnish the said map or plan
rs hereby required, or if the inspector shall
find or have reason to believe said map or
plan is inaccurate in any material part, ne
is hereby authorized to cause a correct map
or plan of the actual workings of said coal
mine to be made at the expense of the
owner thereof, the cost of which shall be
recoverable from said owner as other debts
are recoverable by law provided, that if
the map or plan claimed to be incorrect,
shall prove to have been correct in all ma
terial points, then aforesaid expenses shall
be paid by the said inspector, and may be
recovered from him in like manner
Section g. 1t shall not be lawful, after
six months from the passage of this act,
for the owner or agent of any coal mine
wherein over fifteen Thousand square yards
have been excavated, to employ or permit
more than fifteen persons to work therein,
except in opening shafts or outlets, unless
there are to every seam of coal worked in
each mine, at least two separate outlets,
separated by natural strata of not less than
one hundred feet in breadth, by which
shafts or outlets distinct means of ingress
or egress are always available to the person
employed in the mine; and air shafts
in which are constructed and maintained
ladder ways shall bedeemed and held to be
an escape shaft within the provisions of this
act, and no other escape shaft shall be re-
quired; but it is not necessary for the two
outlets to belong to the same mine; the
second outlet need not be made until fif-
teen thousand square yards have been eL-
cayated in such mine, and to all other coal
mines, whether opened and worked by
shafts, slopes or drifts, two such openings
or outlets must be provided within twelve
months after fifteen thousand yards have
been excavated therein and in case such
outlets are not provided as herein stipula-
ted, it shall not be lawful for the agent or
owner of such mine to permit more than
fifteen persons to work therein at any one
time. In case coal mine has but one
shaft, slope or drift, for the ingress or egress
of the men working therein, and the owner
thereof does not own suitable surface
ground for another opening he may select
and appropriate any adjoining land for that
purpose, and for approach thereto, and
shall be governed in his proceeding in ap-
propriating such land by the provisions of
law in force providing for the appropria-
tion of private property by corporations,
and such appropriation may be made
whether he is a corporator or not, but no
land shall be appropriated under the pro-
visions of this act until the court is salts
fled that suitable premises cannot be OBJ
tanned by contract upon reasonable terms.
Escapement shafts or other communication
with contiguous mine as aforesaid, shall
be constructed in connection with every
vein or stratum of coal worked in such
coal mine or colliers as provided herein.
Section 3. In all cases where the human
voice cannot be distinctly heard the owner
or agent shall provide and maintain a
metal tube from the top to the bottom of
the slope or shaft or telephone connection
suitably adapted to the free passage OF
sound, through which conversation may be
held between persons at the bottom and at
the top of the shaft or slope, also the ord
mary means of signalling to and from the
top and bottom of the shaft or slope, and
in the top of every shaft an approved
safety gate and an approved safety catch,
and sufficient cover overhead on every car
riage used for lowering and hoisting per-
sons, and the said owner or agent shall
see unat SuIucleilt HaDgeS or n0TnS
are attached to the sides of the drum OF
every machine that is used for lowering
and hoisting persons in and ont of the mine,
and also that adequate brakes are attached
thereto; the main link attached to the
swivel of the wire rope shall be made of
the best quality of iron and shall be tested
by weights satisfactory to the inspector of
mines of the state and bride chains shall
be attached to the main link from the cross
pieces of the carriage, and no single link
chain shall be used for lowering or raising
persons into or out of said mine, and not
more than five persons for each ton capacity
of the hoisting machinery used at any coal
mine shall be lowered or hoisted by the
machinery at any one timo.
Section A. The owner OF agent Of every
coal mine, whether shaft, slope or drift,
shall provide and maintain for every such
mine an amount of ventilation of not less
than 100 cubic feet per minute per person
employed in such mine, which shall be cir
culated and distributed throughout the
mine in such manner as to dilute, render
harmless and expel the poisonous and nox-
ious gases from each and every working
place in the mine, and brcak-throughs or
airways shall be driven as often as the in
spector of mines may order at the different
mines inspected by him; and all break
throughs or airways except those last made
near the working faces of the mine shall be
closed up and made air-tght by brattice,
tIaD-doOrs or otherwise SO that the currents