The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-09

l buI 10 return to The mines. ne WIlOis plant is a steel, brick and concrete
 proposition, so near fire-proof that tho
 Roden Coal company is given a rate o | fire insurance precisely similar to tha
 given in the heart of Birmingham. There
 is the first point of economy as a re
 suit of expenditure in the right direc- i tion.
 | As to some of the details. There are
 two openings, 15 degree slope. each on
 the Cahaba seam, which averages, at this
 mine, four-foot depth. There are B en- tries, in only four of which gas has been | found. The mines in this portion of the | Alabama coal fields are generally gaseous. | All of the brattices stopplngs, etc, are | built of concrete. Practically double the
 amount of air needed is supplied, as the | fan--a Sirrocco centrifugal fan-circulates 100000 cubic feet of air per minute | throughout the mine and about 300 men are employed underground. This fan is | equipped with explosion doors. The fan Is driven by 75 horsepower electric motor; Its approaches are of brick and concrete
 and 1t is equipped with explosion doors. | Modern Equipment
 The interior of the mine is electric | lighted and there is a telephone service | underground. All machinery underground | is electrically operated. One particularly new feature Is a 600 foot long bridge from the mouth Of the mine to the tipple. This Is constructed of steel. The tipple | Is also steel and concrete and stands 50 feet above the railroad tracks Every ad- vantage possible has been taken of the | high points and one sees a right practical demonstration of Just what gravity can accomplish in @ dozen different directions | for dozen different purposes. Gravity, | for instance, handles all the coal and also the ashes from the boiler plant. The | hoisting engines, double drum, Hardie- Tynes make, steam driven lift chain of | burdened trans from the mine bottom like a featherweight.
 The dump most practicable for these
 mines is used, the Phillips cross-over dump.
 l Cars are fed into the dump by an cleo | trfcally operated car haul. Only two men
 and five boys handle and dump at the rate
 Of nine cars per minute the 1400 ton pres ent output.
 The washer has been especially designed | by the Link-Be company to fit the indi- vidual needs of the place, and has some very interesting points.
 1 The water for the washer and the ! boilers is conserved in a 12-foot deep | reservoir lined with concrete and holding | 500,000 gallons. This directly adjoins the | power house. where Is installed a K. w l direct connected generator with it's auxili- aries and switch board also hoisting en- | zine.
 The boiler house Is also of brick and
 steel and is equipped with automatic stol<ers. This device paid for itself in the saving in labor the first six months and has been making good since. Very nearly everything about Marvel machinery, amusements features-every- thing has paid for itself. That is one of the points that sticks out. Here the best materials, the best machinery, the best equipment all along the line, that money and common sense can get, Is employed and then is money straight back into the treasury of the company.
 Said John A. Topping once: "It is bus mess to be humane. It pays in dollars and cents-as well as in other consider ations''
 Primal Needs Now take the real basic considerations of Marvel. First, that most important of all needs. the water supply There are | no wells in Marvel. All the water used l is pumped from an enormous spring.
 known as "The Blue Hole" the head of | Savage creek, one and a half miles from the camp. This is conserved by a con crete dam and the water is lifted fully 300 feet by 60 horsepower pumps Into a tank.
 This tank, built on the very crest of the hill the highest point in Marvel, over looks the entire country
 Constructed of reinforced concrete, it stands 80 feet high and, with it's castel- lated top. looks like an old gray Norman tower. It holds 50,0e0 gallons of water. minimum of 40 pounds pressure to the square inch and a maximum of 125 pounds are guaranteed by this supply-a rather extraordinary condition. Protection from fire is accordingly insured the proper ties. Fire plugs are installed on every street and roadway at intervals of 300 feet while hose carts are placed at con- venient points
 'Toting water from the spring''-one of the handicaps which the miners wife unknown at Marvel. There is hydrant for every house and plenty of water for drinking, cooking and bathing.
 Every house has electric lights cleo tricity being supplied at the flat rate of N per month. Drainage conditions are excellent and d pendent upon camp man. agement as well as the lay of the land. All trash tin cans. garbage. etc, are carried off from yards and houses reg ularly by trash man, employed by the company and paid by the miners them selves. Each family pays e5 cents per month and thus sufficient sum is got ten In the aggregate to provide a man, his wagon and mule. The spaces under the houses and outhouses are lined and flushed regularly and the whole camp kept clear of rubbish and filth of every description. Only two cases of typhoid fever have been known at Marvel in the entire history of the place. And they" said one of the miners. were brought into the camp from somewhere else"
 The Company Stores The new Marvel commissary is now we'll
 under way It will be a large structure. 60 by 12o feet, we'll lighted and ventilated.
 concrete platform surmounted by tall white way posts Is built in front, while
 the interior Is lighted with electroliers | and cooled by electric fans. The glass counter showcases are all lighted inside. There is a sodawater fountain and ice cream ''stand,' as there Is In the present commissary.
 This is profitable department in more
 ways than one.' said the store manager.
 for instance, we took In sS9 one Satur- day at the sodawater fount, and $40 of that was cash. Hundreds of dollars worth of shoes are sold every month. In
 fact, we do an s1s,0oo per month bus iness''
 Other stores have from time to time set up business near Marvel. but their prices could not compete with the commissary prices and they gradually dropped out. The market in the Marvel commissary is carefully screened. Ice Is bought in car
 lots from Birmingham and placed in Il new ice house
 The stock in every line is large and well selected.
 After the new commissary is com plete the old one will be retained, re- modelled and arranged to display, the furnftQre- s'MOdel roofnsv will ba. da-