The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-10
GOAL BOARD. HAS BUSY DAY. 'CAl!9!E%sa MINES.
aA Members Like Their Joke Shown by Gift of Hammond and Howell to
 Marshall While at
 Marvel Store

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 Chairman John Hays Hammond and former Vice President Thomas R. Marshall and Clark Howell, mem bers of the federal coal commission, spent yesterday in the Cahaba coal field This enabled them to see many small mines and especially those at which domestic coal production is a speciality.
 They were accompanied by $. L.. Yerkes, Charles DeBardeleben, Charles A. Moffett, president of the Gulf States Steel company; c. F. Peter and others.
 The members more than earned their salaries Friday. They visited Boothton. Garnsey, the mines of the Roden Coal company at Marvel. Le- nore. the Belle Ellen mines of the Bessemer Coal, Iron and Land com pany, which are worked by convicts, and other large and small mines in the southern Cahaba field.
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 Like Their Joke.
 An amusing incident took place at the Roden Coal company's store at Marvel. On display there was seen 8 necktie of such daring and fam boyant color and texture that even the most courageous of the negroes employed by the company had failed to appreciate it's lure and possess themselves of this gorgeous neck piece. MT. Hammond and Mir. How ell purchased this superb specimen of the haberdashery art and with some degree of ceremony presented it to MT. Marshall.
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 In the Mines.
 The commissioners have not con- tented themselves with mere casual inspection of the mine villages. They have been down in several of the mines and they have talked with men at the mines.
 From what has been dropped here ard there it is realized that the commissioners have been doing their utmost to so visualize the district as whole and it's different bearings that they shall be able to attach proper values to the special aspects of coal production as it is in the district. They first visited the mines of large steel and iron producers. These mines produce 50 per cent of the coal mined in Alabama. The next 30 per cent goes to the rail- roads. About ' per cent enters into local domestic consumption. The re- maining 13 per cent is mmercial coal going to the various coal consuming points in the Alabama coal markets territory.
 The commission. having seen the hig vlinss- prod,Icfne oaal for -iro,. and steel purposes, devoted yester- day to the southern Cahaba group. where they saw the mines that pro- duce for the commercial and do- nestle consumer. They also had a personal contact with the operation of mines by convict labor. They have been according all classes of mines their personal inspection, which will enable them to weigh the valuations of the different kinds of production according to uses and the percentages going into the diff ferent usages.
 See Mine Workers Saturday.
 It Is understood that some time Saturday the officials of the United Mine Workers of America, Ala abama division, will be accorded an infor nal meeting with the commission It appears to be the intention of the commission to omit no detail whose emission would detract from their capacity to form correct impress SlOn or the coal lleIu III It's leduiiiS characteristics. No arrangement had been made for such, conference, but 1t was the impression last night that the mine workers and the commits sion would meet informally some time today.
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 Remain Rest of Week.
 The commission seems bent on no hurried or incomplete inspection of f~I1 l1r .trx.x I Friday night that they will cer tainly remain over until next week. taking Sunday as a day of rest well earned after the successive arduous trips that have been made to the mines and into them.