BUREAU OF MINES.

36 STAT. 369, MAY 16, 1910.

ORGANIC ACT.

AN ACT To establish in the Department of the Interior a Bureau of Mines.

Be it enacted, etc., That there is hereby established in the Department of the Interior a bureau, to be called the Bureau of Mines, and a director of said bureau, who shall be thoroughly equipped for the duties of said office by technical education and experience and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall receive a salary of $6,000 per annum; and there shall also be in the said bureau such experts and other employees as may from time to time be authorized by Congress.

SEC. 2. That it shall be the province and duty of said bureau and its director, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, to make diligent investigation of the methods of mining, especially in relation to the safety of miners, and the appliances best adapted to prevent accidents, the possible improvement of conditions under which mining operations are carried on, the treatment of ores and other mineral substances, the use of explosives and electricity, the prevention of accidents, and other inquiries and technologic investigations pertinent to said industries, and from time to time make such public reports of the work, investigations, and infomation obtained as the Secretary of said department may direct, with the recommendations of such bureau. SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior shall provide the said bureau with furnished offices in the city of Washington, with such books, records, stationery, and appliances, and such assistants, clerks, stenographers, typewriters, and other employees as may be necessary for the proper discharge of the duties imposed by this act upon such bureau, fixing the compensation of such clerks and employees within appropriations made for that purpose.

SEC. 4. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to transfer to the Bureau of Mines from the United States Geological Survey the supervision of the investigations of structural materials and the analyzing and testing of coals, lignites, and other mineral fuel substances and the investigation as to the causes of mine explosions; and the appropriations made for such investigations may be expended under the supervision of the Director of the Bureau of Mines in manner as if the same were so directed in the appropriations acts; and such investigations shall hereafter be within the province of the Bureau of Mines, and shall cease and determine under the organization of the United States Geological Survey; and such experts, employees, property, and equipment as are now employed or used by the Geological Survey in connection with the subjects herewith transferred to the Bureau of Mines are directed to be transferred to said bureau.

SEC. 5. That nothing in this act shall be construed as in any way granting to any officer or employee of the Bureau of Mines any right or authority in connection with the inspection or supervision of mines or metallurgical plants in any State.

SEC. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force on and after the 1st day of July, 1910.

A. BUREAU OF MINES ORGANIC ACT.

1. PURCHASE OF LAND FOR MINE RESCUE CARS.

Under the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 742), making provisions for the maintenance of the Bureau of Mines, the purchase of lands for the use of the bureau or for mine rescue stations was authorized.

Mine Rescue Work, In re, 28 Op. Atty. Gen. 413, p. 415.

37 STAT. 681, FEBRUARY 25, 1913.

AMENDED ORGANIC ACT.

AN ACT To amend an act entitled "An act to establish in the Department of the Interior a Bureau of Mines," approved May 16, 1910.

Be it enacted, etc., That the act to establish in the Department of the Interior a Bureau of Mines, approved May 16, 1910 (36 Stat. 369), be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"That there is hereby established in the Department of the Interior a bureau of mining, metallurgy, and mineral technology, to be designated the Bureau of Mines, and there shall be a director of said bureau, who shall be thoroughly equipped for the duties of said office by technical education and experience and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall receive a salary of $6,000 per annum; and there shall also be in the said bureau such experts and other employees, to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, as may be required to carry out the purposes of this act in accordance with the appropriations made from time to time by Congress for such purposes.

"SEC. 2. That it shall be the province and duty of the Bureau of Mines, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, to conduct inquiries and scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining, and the preparation, treatment, and utilization of mineral substances with a view to improving health conditions, and increasing safety, efficiency, economic development, and conserving resources through the prevention of waste in the mining, quarrying, metallurgical, and other mineral industries; to inquire into the economic conditions affecting these industries; to investigate explosives and peat; and on behalf of the Government to investigate the mineral fuels and unfinished mineral products belonging to, or for the use of, the United States, with a view to their most efficient mining, preparation, treatment, and use; and to disseminate information concerning these subjects in such manner as will best carry out the purposes of this act.

"SEC. 3. That the director of said bureau shall prepare and publish, subject to the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, under the appropriations made from time to time by Congress, reports of inquiries and investigations, with appropriate recommendations of

the bureau, concerning the nature, causes, and prevention of accidents, and the improvement of conditions, methods, and equipment, with special reference to health, safety, and prevention of waste in the mining, quarrying, metallurgical, and other mineral industries; the use of explosives and electricity, safety methods and appliances, and rescue and first-aid work in said industries; the causes and prevention of mine fires; and other subjects included under the provisions of this act.

"SEC. 4. In conducting inquiries and investigations authorized by this act neither the director nor any member of the Bureau of Mines shall have any personal or private interest in any mine or the products of any mine under investigation, or shall accept employment from any private party for services in the examination of any mine or private mineral property, or issue any report as to the valuation or the management of any mine or other private mineral property: Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed as preventing the temporary employment by the Bureau of Mines, at a compensation not to exceed $10 per day, in a consulting capacity or in the investigation of special subjects, of any engineer or other expert whose principal professional practice is outside of such employment by said bureau.

"SEC. 5. That for tests or investigations authorized by the Secretary of the Interior under the provisions of this act, other than those performed for the Government of the United States or State governments within the United States, a reasonable fee covering the necessary expenses shall be charged, according to a schedule prepared by the Director of the Bureau of Mines and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, who shall prescribe rules and regulations under which such tests and investigations may be made. All moneys received from such sources shall be paid into the Treasury to the credit of miscellaneous receipts.

"SEC. 6. That this act shall take effect and be in force on and after its passage."

35 STAT. 556, MAY 30, 1908.

COMPENSATION FOR INJURED EMPLOYEES.

AN ACT Granting to certain employees of the United States the right to receive from it compensation for injuries sustained in the course of their employment.

Be it enacted, etc., That when, on or after August 1, 1908, any person employed by the United States as an artisan or laborer in any of its manufacturing establishments, arsenals, or navy yards, or in the construction of river and harbor or fortification work or in hazardous employment on construction work in the reclamation of arid lands or the management and control of the same, or in hazardous employment under the Isthmian Canal Commission, is injured in the course of such employment, such employee shall be entitled to receive for one year thereafter, unless such employee, in the opinion of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, be sooner able to resume work, the same pay as if he continued to be employed, such payment to be made under such regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe: Provided, That no compensation shall be paid under this act where the injury is due to the negligence or misconduct of the employee injured, nor unless said injury shall continue for more than 15 days.

All questions of negligence or misconduct shall be determined by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor.

SEC. 2. That if any artisan or laborer so employed shall die during the said year by reason of such injury received in the course of such employment, leaving a widow, or a child or children under 16 years of age, or a dependent parent, such widow and child or children and dependent parent shall be entitled to receive, in such portions and under such regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe, the same amount, for the remainder of the said year, that said artisan or laborer would be entitled to receive as pay if such employee were alive and continued to be employed: Provided, That if the widow shall die at any time during the said year her portion of said amount shall be added to the amount to be paid to the remaining beneficiaries under the provisions of this section, if there be any.

SEC. 3. That whenever an accident occurs to any employee embraced within the terms of the first section of this act, and which results in death or a probable incapacity for work, it shall be the duty of the official superior of such employee to at once report such accident and the injury resulting therefrom to the head of his bureau or independent office, and his report shall be immediately communicated through regular official channels to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Such report shall state, first, the time, cause, and nature of the accident and injury and the probable duration of the injury resulting therefrom; second, whether the accident arose out of or in the course of the injured person's employment; third, whether the accident was due to negligence or misconduct on the part of the employee injured; fourth, any other matters required by such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may prescribe. The head of each department or independent office shall have power, however, to charge a special official with the duty of making such reports.

SEC. 4. That in the case of any accident which shall result in death, the persons entitled to compensation under this act or their legal representatives shall, within 90 days after such death, file with the Secretary of Commerce and Labor an affidavit setting forth their relationship to the deceased and the ground of their claim for compensation under the provisions of this act. This shall be accompanied by the certificate of the attending physician setting forth the fact and cause of death, or the nonproduction of the certificate shall be satisfactorily accounted for. In the case of incapacity for work lasting more than 15 days, the injured party desiring to take the benefit of this act shall, within a reasonable period after the expiration of such time, file with his official superior, to be forwarded through regular official channels to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, an affidavit setting forth the grounds of his claim for compensation, to be accompanied by a certificate of the attending physician as to the cause and nature of the injury and probable duration of the incapacity, or the nonproduction of the certificate shall be satisfactorily accounted for. If the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall find from the report and affidavit or other evidence produced by the claimant or his or her legal representatives, or from such additional investigation as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may direct, that a claim for compensation is established under this act, the compensation to be paid shall be determined as provided under this act and approved for payment by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor.

SEC. 5. That the employee shall, whenever and as often as required by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, at least once in six months, submit to medical examination, to be provided and paid for under the direction of the Secretary, and if such employee refuses to submit to or obstructs such examination his or her right to compensation shall be lost for the period covered by the continuance of such refusal or obstruction.

SEC. 6. That payments under this act are only to be made to the beneficiaries or their legal representatives other than assignees, and shall not be subject to the claims of creditors.

SEC. 7. That the United States shall not exempt itself from liability under this act by any contract, agreement, rule, or regulation, and any such contract, agreement, rule, or regulation shall be pro tanto void.

SEC. 8. That all acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith or providing a different scale of compensation or otherwise regulating its payment are hereby repealed.

NOTE. The duties prescribed herein to be performed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor are now performed by the Secretary of Labor under the act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 736).

37 STAT. 74, MARCH 11, 1912.

INJURED EMPLOYEES OF BUREAU OF MINES.

AN ACT To amend an act entitled "An act granting to certain employees of the United States the right to receive from it compensation for injuries sustained in the course of their employment," approved May 30, 1908.

Be it enacted, etc., That the provisions of the act approved May 30, 1908, entitled "An act granting to certain employees of the United States the right to receive from it compensation for injuries sustained in the course of their employment" (35 Stat. 556) shall, in addition to the classes of persons therein designated, be held to apply to any artisan, laborer, or other employee engaged in any hazardous work under the Bureau of Mines or the Forestry Service of the United States: Provided, That this act shall not be held to embrace any case arising prior to its passage.

36 STAT. 676, p. 699, JUNE 25, 1910.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

AN ACT To increase the limit of cost of certain public buildings, to authorize the enlargement, extension, remodeling, or improvement of certain public buildings, to authorize the erection and completion of public buildings, to authorize the purchase of sites for public buildings.

Be it enacted, etc., That to enable the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States to give effect to and execute the provisions of existing legislation authorizing the acquisition of land for sites or the enlargement thereof, and the erection, enlargement, extension, remodeling, or repair of public buildings in the several cities hereinafter enumerated. * * *

SEC. 32. That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to prepare designs and estimates for a fireproof building of modern office-building type of architecture to be erected on square numbered 143, in the city of Washington, D. C., now owned by the United States, which building, including fireproof