Sec. CHAPTER NINE B The Bureau of Mines This chapter, inserted here as additional to the original chapters of Title XI of the Revised Statutes, includes the provisions in force relating to the Bureau of Mines, which was established in the Department of the Interior by Act May 16, 1910, c. 240, 36 Stat. 369. That act was amended by a provision of Act June 25, 1910, c. 384, § 1, 36 Stat. 743, which repealed part of it, and was again amended by Act Feb. 25, 1913, c. 72, 37 Stat. 681, to read as set forth therein. The provisions of said last-mentioned act supersede entirely those of the original act and the previous amendment, and are set forth here, together with the later provisions relating thereto, as the law in force relating to the Bureau. 783. Establishment of Bureau; Direc- 783b. Absence of Director; Assistant 784. Duties of Bureau. 785. Reports by Director of Investigations and Recommendations by Bureau. 786. Restrictions upon Director and Sec. members of Bureau as to per- 787. Fees for tests or investigations 787b. Lands, buildings, etc., contributed 787c. Headquarters of mine rescue cars, etc.; donations of lands, etc.; lease of lands, etc. § 783. (Act Feb. 25, 1913, c. 72, § 1.) Establishment of Bureau; Director, his qualifications, appointment, and salary; experts and other employés. 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 six thousand dollars 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. (37 Stat. 681.) This section and 88 784-787, post, were sections 1-5 of an act, cited above, amending Act May 16, 1910, c. 240, 36 Stat. 369, which established in the Department of the Interior a Bureau of Mines, to read as set forth in these sections. These provisions, therefore, superseded those of said original act and the provision of Act June 25, 1910, c. 384, § 1, 36 Stat. 743, repealing part thereof. The provisions of section 1 of said original act authorized the Bureau and provided for the Director and experts and other employés therein, and section 2 defined the duties of the Bureau. They were superseded by the more comprehensive provisions, relating to the same matters, of this section and the section next following. Section 3 of said original act required the Secretary of the Interior to provide the Bureau with furnished offices in the city of Washington, books, records, stationery, etc., and such assistants, clerks, etc., and other employés as might be necessary. Provisions for the officers, clerks, and other employés and for the expenses of the Bureau are made annually in the sundry civil appropriation acts. Appropriations for the fiscal year 1917 were by Act July 1, 1916, c. 209, § 1, 39 Stat. Section 4 of said original act transferred from the Geological Survey to the Bureau the supervision of certain investigations, etc. It was repealed in part by the provision of Act June 25, 1910, c. 384, § 1, mentioned above. It may be regarded as executed. Section 5 of said original act provided that "nothing in this Act shall be construed as in any way granting to any officer or employé of the Bureau of Mines any right or authority in connection with the inspection or supervision of mines or metallurgical plants in any State." Notes of Decisions Transfer of buildings and apparatus to bureau. Certain equipment, among which is a 10,000,000-pound testing machine, which was purchased by the Department of the Interior for investigating structural materials, is the property of the United States, and under existing law cannot be transferred to the Bureau of Mines, but should be transferred to the Bureau of Standards of the Department of Commerce and Labor in order that it may be applied to the specific purpose for which it was authorized. (1911) 28 Op. Atty. Gen. 549. The Superintendent of the Library Building and Grounds has no authority to transfer certain disused portions of the lighting and heating plant of the Library of Congress to the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. (1912) 29 Op. Atty. Gen. 524. Purchase of land.-The validity of the titles to the lands proposed to be acquired for mine rescue work should be submitted to the Attorney General. (1910) 28 Op. Atty. Gen. 413. Stat. 369), establishing a Bureau of Mines, and of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 742), making appropriation for its maintenance, did not authorize the purchase of land for mine rescue stations. Id. Lands, or interest in lands, acquired by the United States without consideration, or for a mere nominal sum, do not evidence a purchase within the meaning of section 355, R. S., post, § 6902. Id. The leasing of a mine in Pennsylvania by the United States on a cash payment of $1,500, for experimentations in mine rescue work, constitutes a purchase of land within the meaning of section 3736, R. S., post, § 6889, which provides that no land shall be purchased on account of the United States except under a law authorizing such purchase. (1910) 28 Op. Atty. Gen. 463. The statement in the opinion of September 15, 1910 (28 Op. Atty. Gen. 413), that it would be a wise precaution to have the titles to tracts of land to be acquired submitted to the Attorney General for his opinion as to validity, regardless of whether section 355, R. S., post, § 6902, be applicable or not, contains no intimation that when section 355 does not apply the opinion of the Attorney General is not necessary. Id. Moneys appropriated for the maintenance of the Bureau of Mines may be expended in the erection of temporary structures on land acquired by the United States for mine rescue work. Id. The former Acts of May 16, 1910 (36 § 783a. (Act July 1, 1916, c. 209, § 1.) Details of employees for service in Washington, D. C.; payment of expenses or per diem; reports of details. Persons employed during the fiscal year nineteen hundred and seventeen in field work, outside of the District of Columbia, under the Bureau of Mines, may be detailed temporarily for service in Washington, District of Columbia, for purposes of preparing results of their field work; all persons so detailed shall be paid in addition to their regular compensation only their actual traveling expenses or per diem in lieu of subsistence in going to and returning therefrom: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent the payment to employees of the Bureau of Mines their necessary expenses or per diem, in lieu of subsistence while on temporary detail in Washington, District of Columbia, for purposes only of consultation or investigations on behalf of the United States. All details made hereunder, and the purposes of each, during the preceding fiscal year, shall be reported in the annual estimates of appropriations to Congress at the beginning of each regular session thereof. (39 Stat.) This was a provision in the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1917, cited above. It was repeated in prior appropriation acts. All laws or parts of laws inconsistent with rates of salaries or compensation appropriated by the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation acts are repealed, and the rates of salaries or compensation of officers or employés appropriated for in said acts are to constitute the rate of salary or compensa tion of such officers or employés, respectively, until otherwise fixed by an annual rate of appropriation or other law, by Act July 16, 1914, c. 141, § 6, post, 3228a. The officers and employés of the United States whose salaries are appropriated for in the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act for the fiscal year 1916, Act March 4, 1915, c. 141, 38 Stat. 1049, are established and continued from year to year to the extent that they are appropriated for by Congress, by § 6 of said act, post, § 3228b. Unless otherwise specially authorized by law, no money appropriated by any act shall be available for payment to any person receiving more than one salary, when the combined amount of said salaries exceeds $2,000 per annum, with certain enumerated exceptions, by Act May 10, 1916, c. 117, § 6, as amended by Act Aug. 29, 1915, c. 417, post, § 3230a. § 783b. (Act July 1, 1916, c. 209, § 1.) Absence of Director; Assistant Director to perform duties; designation of officer to act in absence of Director and Assistant Director. Hereafter in the absence of the Director of the Bureau of Mines the assistant director of said bureau shall perform the duties of the director during the latter's absence, and in the absence of the Director and of the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Mines the Secretary of the Interior may designate some officer of said bureau to perform the duties of the director during his absence. (39 Stat.) This was a provision in the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1917, cited above. § 784. (Act Feb. 25, 1913, c. 72, § 2.) Duties of Bureau. 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. (37 Stat. 681.) See notes to § 783, ante. § 785. (Act Feb. 25, 1913, c. 72, § 3.) Reports by Director of Investigations and Recommendations by Bureau. 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. (37 Stat. 681.) See notes to § 783, ante. § 786. (Act Feb. 25, 1913, c. 72, § 4.) Restrictions upon Director and members of Bureau as to personal interest in mines, etc.; temporary employment of engineers or other experts. 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 ten dollars 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. (37 Stat. 682.) See notes to § 783, ante. § 787. (Act Feb. 25, 1913, c. 72, § 5.) Fees for tests or investigations other than for the United States or state governments. 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. (37 Stat. 682.) See notes to § 783, ante. § 787a. (Act March 3, 1915, c. 95, § 1.) Additional mining experiment stations and mine safety stations; duties; limit of number to be established in any one fiscal year. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to establish and maintain in the several important mining regions. of the United States and the Territory of Alaska, as Congress may appropriate for the necessary employees and other expenses, under the Bureau of Mines and in accordance with the provisions of the Act establishing said bureau, ten mining experiment stations and seven mine safety stations, movable or stationary, in addition to those already established, the province and duty of which shall be to make investigations and disseminate information with a view to improving conditions in the mining, quarrying, metallurgical, and other mineral industries, safeguarding life among employees, preventing unnecessary waste of resources, and otherwise contributing to the advancement of these industries: Provided, That not more than three mining experiment stations and mine safety stations hereinabove authorized shall be established in any one fiscal year under the appropriations made therefor. (38 Stat. 959.) This section and the section next following was an act entitled an "Act to provide for the establishment and maintenance of mining experiment and mine safety stations for making investigations and disseminating information among employés in mining, quarrying, metallurgical, and other mineral industries, and for other purposes," cited above. § 787b. (Act March 3, 1915, c. 95, § 2.) Lands, buildings, etc., contributed from States cooperating in carrying out this act. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to accept lands, buildings, or other contributions from the several States offering to cooperate in carrying out the purposes of this Act. (38 Stat. 959.) (432) § 787c. (Act July 1, 1916, c. 209, § 1.) Headquarters of mine rescue cars, etc.; donations of lands, etc.; lease of lands, etc. For purchase or lease of necessary land, where and under such. conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may direct, for the headquarters of mine rescue cars and construction of necessary railway sidings and housing for the same, or as the site of an experimental mine and a plant for studying explosives, **: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept any suitable land or lands, buildings, or improvements, that may be donated for said purpose, and to enter into leases for periods not exceeding ten years, subject to annual appropriations by Congress. (39 Stat.) This was a provision in the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1917, cited above. CHAPTER NINE C The National Park Service This chapter, inserted here as additional to the original chapters of Title XI of the Revised Statutes, includes the provisions of Act Aug. 25, 1916, c. 408, entitled "An act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes." Sec. trict of Columbia; purpose of 787e. Supervision, management, and Sec. ments contiguous to national forests. 787f. Rules and regulation for use and management of parks, monuments and reservations made and published by Secretary of Interior; violations of rules and regulations; punishment; sale and disposition of timber on parks, etc.; destruction of detrimental animal and plant life; grant of privileges, leases, and permits; grazing of live stock. 787g. Rights of way through public lands, forest and other reservations, etc. § 787d. (Act Aug. 25, 1916, c. 408, § 1.) National Park Service; creation; director; appointment; salary; assistant director; appointment and salary; chief clerk; appointment and salary; draftsman; appointment and salary; other employees; limitation on expenditure for salaries in District of Columbia; purpose of National Park Service. There is hereby created in the Department of the Interior a service to be called the National Park Service, which shall be under the charge of a director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary and who shall receive a salary of $4,500 per annum. There shall also be appointed by the Secretary the following assistants and other employees at the salaries designated: One assistant director, at $2,500 per annum; one chief clerk, at $2,000 per annum; one draftsman, at $1,800 per annum; one messenger, at $600 per annum; and, in addition thereto, such other employees as the Secretary of the Interior shall deem necessary: Provided, That not more than $8,100 annually shall be expended for salaries of experts, assistants, and employees within the District of Columbia not herein specifically enumerated unless previously authorized by law. The service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations hereinafter specified by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments, and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and 1 U.S.COMP.'16-28 (433) |