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may, if he so desires, refer the manuscript to a committee within his division for review; and although neither the reviewing committee nor the section or division chief shall have the right to modify the text without the approval of the author, it shall be the privilege of such committee or section or division chief to indicate suggested corrections, additions, or alternative phraseology in the manuscript, such suggested changes to be submitted to the author for his consideration. In case of the nonapproval of the manuscript by the section and division chiefs, the author or authors shall have the right of appeal, through the division chief and the official in charge of the experiment station, to the director. This right of appeal should be exercised, however, only as a final resort.

When a manuscript shall have been approved by the section chief and by the division chief, it shall be submitted by the official in charge of the experiment station to the director; but if the manuscript appear to overlap the investigations of one or more of the other divisions, or if, for other reasons, the official in charge of the experiment station may consider it best to do so, he may refer the manuscript to a committee for a report thereon to be submitted, with the manuscript, to the director.

RELATIONS TO OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF MINES.

Employment by the Federal Government gives the employee no right or authority to enter upon private lands or property or into mines or mills owned by private persons or corporations.

If it is desired to go upon private mining property or enter a privately owned mine or mill, the consent of the owner, or, in case of a corporation, of the manager, superintendent, or other proper officer, should first be obtained, a statement being made to the owner or proper corporation officer that the applicant is an employee of the Federal Government, acting under the direction of the Bureau of Mines, that the proposed examination of the premises or investigation of the mine is purely for scientific purposes, and that, without the approval of the owners or managers of such property, the results of the investigations will not be published.

In no case shall any employee, expert, or agent of the Government, under the direction of the Bureau of Mines, conceal either his identity or his official position for the purpose of obtaining any information or any facts relating to mining properties or the operation of mines, nor shall any agreement be entered into by which an employee in any manner compromises his position or places any limitation upon his official duties.

RELATIONS TO STATE MINING DEPARTMENTS AND STATE MINE

INSPECTORS.

The mining engineers and other employees of the bureau will be constantly brought in relations with State mining departments and State mine inspectors, particularly in time of disasters. At practically all such disasters one or more State inspectors will arrive promptly, and under the laws of most of the States the State inspector is placed in full charge of rescue operations. The employees of the bureau must, therefore, offer their assistance to the inspector and be subject to his orders.

It is advisable for a mining engineer to keep in frequent touch by letter and otherwise with the inspectors in the field in which he is working, so that he may become well acquainted with them and inspire confidence in the character and disinterestedness of his work.

MAKING PUBLIC INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING COURSE OF

INVESTIGATIONS.

Employees of the bureau are expressly forbidden to communicate to any person or persons, in advance of actual publication by the bureau, any results arrived at or any information obtained during the course of the bureau's investigations. The only exceptions to this general rule are the following:

(a) Such information may be given out by permission of the Secretary of the Interior or the Director of the Bureau of Mines.

(b) Information regarding any defective mining devices, apparatus, or machinery, or with regard to possible improvements in the layout of the mine, with a view to preventing waste of material or lessening the danger of accidents, may be brought confidentially to the attention of the mine management.

(c) Analyses of gas and mine-air samples may be submitted to the mine management or to the State mine inspector whenever it is thought that such information may be of value in connection with the taking of precautions to prevent accidents.

Information of a confidential character, such as mine maps, drill records, and statistics of production, supplied by private parties or corporations, must be carefully guarded, and in the preparation of reports for publication must be used strictly in accordance with the conditions stipulated by the persons furnishing such information.

LECTURES AND ADDRESSES BY EMPLOYEES.

When employees of the bureau are requested to give lectures or to furnish newspaper or magazine articles concerning the work of the bureau, authority for such action should be asked of the director.

The request should be accompanied by a one-page abstract of the proposed remarks. In an emergency case, telegraphic authority should be requested, followed by submission of the written abstract.

General prior authority is given the mining engineers of the bureau to make addresses in connection with demonstrations and educational work on the mine-rescue cars; and similar authority is also given to foremen of rescue stations and of cars and to first-aid miners to give demonstrations with explanatory remarks concerning their work. All remarks concerning specific mine accidents should, however, be restricted to general statements relating to the supposed or probable cause of the accident and to means and methods of preventing similar future accidents.

TREATMENT OF THE PUBLIC.

Employees of the Bureau of Mines are required to treat with courtesy and politeness all persons with whom they may be brought in contact while engaged in the exercise of their official duties. Unfailing patience and good nature must be exercised in the treatment of visitors to the cars, stations, laboratories, and offices of the bureau, and in answering all requests for information regarding the work that the bureau is doing.

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS.

Members of the bureau may make collections of ores and mineral specimens for use in connection with the investigations upon which they are engaged, such collections to be turned over, upon the completion of the investigations, to either the headquarters office or one of the field offices of the bureau, where they will form a part of the general collection of ores and minerals maintained by the bureau.

An employee of the bureau may also make a private collection of small specimens of ores and minerals, provided that the making of such collection interferes in no way with his duties to the bureau, and provided also that specimens collected in the course of official investigations, which are not already duplicated or equaled in value by similar specimens in the bureau's general collection, shall be turned over to the bureau to form a part of that collection.

An employee, while engaged in official investigations, shall not collect specimens for sale.

Specimens for official use, including specimens for exhibition at an office of the bureau, are not to be purchased without proper authorization, and reimbursement for such purchase is to be made by itemized voucher.

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PERSONNEL.

INTRODUCTION.

The following regulations are set forth in somewhat general terms and are intended merely as a guide to the more detailed provisions of departmental regulations and of the civil-service act, rules, and Executive orders. A careful study of the civil-service act (22 Stat., 403), of the acts supplemental thereto and amendatory thereof, and of the rules and orders promulgated thereunder, as contained in the Civil Service Commission's pamphlet (edition of Sept. 1, 1914), is, therefore, essential.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION.

The executive civil service may be classified as follows:

(1) The classified service:

(a) Competitive positions.

(b) Excepted positions.

(2) The unclassified service:

(c) Presidential positions subject to confirmation by the Senate.

(d) Positions of mere unskilled laborer.

APPOINTMENTS.

IN GENERAL.

Appointment to positions in the Bureau of Mines is made either by the President (with or without confirmation by the Senate) or by the head of department. There are only two presidential officers in the bureau, the director and the mine inspector for Alaska, the former being appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and the latter being appointed by the President alone. All other appointments in the bureau are made by the Secretary of the Interior upon recommendation of the director. Original entrance to all positions below the presidential class (except those mentioned in schedules A and B of the Civil Service rules) is made as the result of examination and certification by the Civil Service Commission; but these positions may also be be filled by the transfer, promotion, or reduction of employees already in the service or by the reinstatement of former employees.

PERMANENT APPOINTMENTS.

Except as provided in the following paragraph, prior approval must be obtained from the department at Washington, through the bureau, for the creation of new positions or the filling of vacancies,

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existing or prospective. Request for the certification of eligibles will be made either upon the Civil Service Commission at Washington or upon its appropriate district secretary. The so-called "district system of certification" does not affect the powers of appointment and removal, which, being discretionary, can not be delegated, nor does it lessen in any degree the supervision of field services by the Washington officials.

The procedure to be followed in making selections from the eligible registers and the probationary and absolute features of appointment are set forth in detail in Civil Service rule VII.

The chief of the particular division or office will submit to the director, before the expiration of the six months' probation, a report concerning the service of the probationer and make specific recommendation either that the appointee be retained or that his services be terminated.

TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS.

Temporary appointments are divided into

(a) Those made pending the filling of a position permanently by certification, promotion, reduction, transfer, or reinstatement.

(b) Those made for job work, permanent appointment not being required."

By reason of the fact that the filling of certain positions is handled through the district secretaries whereas other appointments are handled directly between the bureau and the commission, temporary appointments are again divided into: First, those coming under the district system and governed by the provisions of Civil Service form 131; and, second, those not coming under the district system and governed by the general provisions of rule VIII and minutes of the commission.

Appointment to positions included under class (a), above, may be made either under section 1 or section 2 of rule VIII without antecedent authority of the commission, but must be reported by letter to the commission when made. Prior approval must be obtained for any extension beyond the period indicated in these sections of the rule.

Appointment to positions included under class (b), above, which will not continue beyond 30 days, may also be made without prior approval of the commission, but must be reported by letter to the commission when made. Antecedent authority must be obtained for appointment for a longer period than 30 days. If an appointment for three months has been made from a register of the commission or authorized by the commission in the absence of a register, it may be

"Specialists in the field may be employed from time to time, in emergencies, for brief periods not exceeding seven days. Chiefs of field divisions should provide themselves with blank field-employment agreements to be used for this purpose.

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