shaft, and when gas is known to exist, there shall be a competent fire boss, whose duty it shall be to examine each and every place in the mine before the men are permitted to enter and work, and the said fire boss shall be at the mouth or bottom of the mine each day to inform every man as to the state of his room or entry; said works to be carefully examined every morning with a safety lamp, by a competent person, before any workmen are allowed to enter.

Section 17. Within thirty days after this act shall take effect, the Governor shall appoint a mine inspector, who shall hold office for four years, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. Said inspector shall be a resident of the State of Indiana, and a practical miner of not less than twelve years' experience, two of which shall have been in digging and mining coal in the State of Indiana, preceding his appointment, and no person shall be appointed who is, or may be, pecuniarily interested in any mine within this State, directly or indirectly. Said mine inspector, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond with sufficient surety, pay. able to the State of Indiana, in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, which bond shall be filed with and approved by the Secretary of State. He shall also take an oath of office.

Section 18. The mine inspector shall hold his office in some central part of the mining district, and for his services he shall receive the following fees: For inspecting each coal mine, a fee of five dollars for each inspection of said mine, to be paid by the owner of said mine; but not more than two inspections shall be had in any one year. Said fees to be collectable without relief from valuation laws, by fee bill issued by said inspector to the sheriff of the proper county.

Section 19. It shall be the duty of the mine inspector, appointed under this act, to enter, examine and inspect any and all coal mines and the works and machinery be-longing thereto, at any reasonable time by day or by night, but so as not to hinder or obstruct the workings of such coal mines more than is reasonably necessary in the discharge of his duties, and the agent or owner of such coal mine is hereby required to furnish the necessary facilities for such entry, examination and inspection; and should the owner or agent fail or refuse to permit such inspection or furnish such facilities, the owner or agent, so failing, shall be deemed to have committed a misdemeanor, and it is hereby made the duty of such inspector to charge to such owner or agent of such violation, under oath, in any court of jurisdiction, and upon conviction, the owner or agent, or either or both, shall, upon conviction, be fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars for each offense.

Section 20. The inspector appointed under this act, shall devote his entire time and attention to the duties of his office; he shall make personal inspection at least twice each year, of all coal mines in the State, and shall see that every precaution is taken to insure the health and safety of the workmen therein employed, and that the provisions and requirements of this act are faithfully carried out, and that the penalties of the law are enforced against all who willfully disobey its requirements; he shall also collect and tabulate the following facts: The number and thickness of each vein or strata of coal, and their respective depths below the surface, which are now worked or may be hereafter worked, the kind or quality of coal, how the same is mined, whether by shaft, slope or drift; the number of mines in operation in each county, and the owner thereof, and the number of men employed in each mine; and the aggregate yearly production of tons from each mine, together with an estimate of the amount of capital employed at each mine, and any other information relative to coal and mining he may deem necessary; all of which facts, so tabulated, together with a statement of the condition of mines as to safety and ventilation, he shall treely

set forth in an annual report to the Governor, together with his recommendation as to such other legislation on the subject of mining as he may think proper.

Section 21. No boy under fourteen years of age shall be employed to work in any of the mines in the State.

Section 22. Any person violating any of the provisions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars for each offense.

Section 23. Whereas, there is no law now upon the subject of ventilation, and there is therefore an emergency for this act taking effect; therefore, the same shall be in force from and after the first day of May, 1879.

CONCLUSION.

The proverb is not less true than trite that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and while the principle is recognized that trickery in trade is essential to success in business, the timely exposure of the evils incident to our mining and other industrial pursuits makes it barely possible that they will reach the magnitude attained by similar evils in the older States. Popular vigilance and general advancement in intelligence will bring its influence to bear upon the lawmaking power, and an effectual check will thus be given to any attempt at oppression or imposition by one class of citizens on another.. The idea once fairly and thoroughly grasped by the citizen that it is the duty of the State to look after the well-being of the adult equally with that of the child, the future statesman will see that there shall exist no such grounds for complaint as that expressed by the coal miners of this State. True views of statesmanship long ago declared that "education is the cheap defense of nations," and we shall not come up to Jefferson's ideal of "a wise and frugal government," until there shall be a reading room and library within easy reach of all, and laws to protect every citizen whose labor contributes to the wealth and prosperity of the State. Intelligent, virtuous and industrious citizens,. not gatling guns, are the best protectors of social order.

Lead Mining.

Next to coal and iron, lead is one of the principal minerals in the State; the mines have been profitably worked for many years, and, although thousands of tons of ore have been taken out of some mines, as yet there are no indications of their being exhausted. While probably the most extensive mining is done at Joplin, Bonne Terre, Versailles and Mine La Motte, there are altogether some sixty firms engaged in mining lead in thirty-nine different localities in the State, giving employment to thousands of miners.

We visited the lead mines of Joplin, Webb City, Oronogo, Mine LaMotte and Bonne Terre, and found that at the three places first named, the miners, as a rule, are not properly in the employ of the companies, but lease lots 200 feet square from the companies, and sink shafts, bearing their own expenses, or in partnership with some one who is able to furnish a "grub stake," as it is called. Working on company lands they are compelled to turn in the ore when cleaned, at an arbitrary figure, usually $25.00 per thousand pounds when pig led is seven cents per pound in St. Louis; also paying pump rent extra where the land is drained by the owners or companies, amounting from $1.50 to $2.00 per thousand pounds. This figure, when pig lead is down to 4 (as at present, November, 1880,) gives the companies and land owners, including 10 per cent. royalty, fully fifty per cent. profit clear, leaving a very precarious living to the miners, who have to bear all the losses of accident or delay in drainage, or re-prospecting when the ore body is lost or worked out.

The matter of ventilation is feebly accomplished in some instances by blowers worked on top by hand or horse power, and some times attached to the draining engine, but still a life is occasionally lost by a too hasty descent into shafts where carbonic, acid has collected, and many miners suffer from the effects of smoke or gases, produced by

the application of dynamite, producing violent cephalalgy and nervous prostration. This can only be remedied by a thorough expulsion of the gases before entering the mines.

The caving of rotten ground or badly timbered mines causes many accidents, some of them from criminal carelessness of the mine owners, or recklessness on the part of the employes. As machinery improves. these accidents have somewhat decreased in frequency, but still enough. occur to indicate that our system of mining is far from having attained that degree of safety which a strict discipline would insure, and any law that could effectually secure the safety of the life of one man and thus insure his protecting care to one family, would not be labor spent in vain.

The lead ore at Joplin, Granby, Webb City and Oronogo, lies at an average depth of one hundred feet below the surface, and the average cost of sinking a shaft is given at about $5.00 per foot. Few miners having this sum of money at their command-while working for wages in day time-club together and sink a shaft by working four and five hours every night until the work is accomplished, and thus, by hard work, they try to better their condition.

The "mining contract" the miners enter into with the companies, locally known as "jug handles," because the risk is all on the miner's side, is as follows:

1st. That the said party of the first part hereby employs the said part of the second part to mine for lead and zinc ores on the following described lot of land (Here follows a description of the land to be mined, and where located-Bureau), at, Missouri, upon and subject to the following terms, conditions and requirements:

1st. Said part of the second part shall mine said land at all times in good workmanlike manner, and continuously during the continuance of this contract-[Provided, That work may be suspended on account of unavoidable accident or sickness of said part of the second part for a period not exceeding ten days without written permission.] And it is further agreed by both parties that working on said lot for a short period nearing the termination, or suspension of ten days, for the purpose of holding said lot, is not the meaning of this contract, and will not prevent a forfeiture. Said lot must be worked in good faith.

2d. The said part of the second part shall deliver all the lead ore and zinc ore to said party of the first part at the shaft where raised, or at the place where washed on the lands of the said party of the first part.

Said party of the first part hereby agrees to pay to said partof the second part, as full compensation for mining, raising and cleaning said ore, as follows, to wit: For lead ore, the sum of twenty-five dollars for each one thousand pounds of first class mineral so raised and delivered, when the market price of pig lead in St. Louis is seven cents per pound, and a proportionate sum as said market price in St. Louis. shall vary from seven cents, and a proportionate sum for inferior mineral, according to quality. Zinc ore, the cash market price therefor in Joplin, less

first part.

thereof, which shall be retained by said party of the

It is agreed that there shall be deducted from the sum due said part- of the second part, three dollars per thousand pounds for lead ore raised from ground drained by said party of the first part, as compensation for such drainage.

It is agreed that should said party of the first part refuse to pay to said part of the second part the said market price for zinc ore, less then said party of the first part shall, upon payment to him in money or zinc ore, give written permission to remove said zinc ore from said land and dispose of the same.

of said

It is expressly agreed that no interest in land or ore is hereby granted or conveyed, and that the only relation existing or hereby created between the party of the first part and the said part of the second part, is that of employer and employe; and if said part- of the second part shall not mine said land in the manner heretofore provided, or if work shall be suspended thereon (except as herein excepted), or if said part of the second part shall deliver any of said lead ore or zinc ore to any person other than said party of the first part, or if any lead ore or zinc ore shall be removed from said mining by any person other than said party of the first part without written permission as aforesaid, or should said part of the second part in any respect fail to comply with any stipulation herein con tained, then and in each of said events this agreement shall thereby be come void, and all rights of said part of the second part shall thereby cease, and said party of the first part may take immediate pos session of said land and all shafts therein, without notice to quit, de mand of possession or any legal proceedings whatever.

This agreement shall not be assigned without the consent, in writing, of the said party of the first part.