States, and was kept intact throughout the period 1892 to 1902. Since the strike of 1902 considerable numbers of these races have come into the region, and in most cases both races are represented in almost every locality where immigrant labor is employed. Glen Jean has, however, always been a headquarters for these two races and they are more permanently established there than in any other locality. The great majority of those coming have been either single men or married men not accompanied by their families, and owing to the prosperous condition of the mining industry they are constantly moving from mine to mine. There are at present about 780 Magyars and 350 Slovaks employed in this field.

Italians.-The exact date of the entrance of members of the Italian race into this field is somewhat doubtful. A few have been employed at two mines in the Kanawha district, however, since the year 1899. That year is believed to be the real beginning of immigration of the Italian race into the field. The number employed up to the strike of 1902 was small, and it was in this year that they began to come in earnest. Some were brought into the field along with other races as strike-breakers. Since the strike they have entered in greater numbers than any other race, and greater numbers of them have been secured through labor agencies than of any other two races. majority of those employed are South Italians. A great number have come into the field from railroad construction work in this and neighboring States at different times for the past few years, and the influx was especially great after the financial depression in October, 1907, when practically all construction work was stopped.

The

At present there are about 1,500 Italians employed in and about the mines of the district. The greater number of them are single men or men who are married but not accompanied by their families, and the proportion of adult males to families is much larger among members of this race than of any other found in the community. The Italian population of the various mining villages where they are found is constantly shifting.

Poles.-Polish immigration began with the introduction of men of that race as strike-breakers in 1902. Many came to the field from both the hard and soft coal districts of Pennsylvania. The majority of those found in the field were originally from Austria, while some were from Russia, and a very small number from Germany. As before stated, all those who came to the field first were from the coal fields of Pennsylvania, both in the bituminous and anthracite regions, and were secured by agents of the companies operating in the field and brought in on transportation. They were first employed in the Loup and White Oak creeks district of the New River field and are found in greater numbers here than in any other section. Since they have been employed a great number have gone, but others have come in and the Polish population has been constantly increasing. A great number have come directly from the coal-mining fields of Austria-Hungary.

The percentage of single men and men married but not accompanied by their families, while large, is smaller among the Poles in this field than among any other southern or eastern European races, with the possible exception of Russians. There are at present about 750 men of this race employed in and about the mines in the region.

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English, Scotch, and Welsh.-Some members of the English, Scotch, and Welsh races have been in this field since its development, and many of the fire bosses, foremen, superintendents, and managers are English and Scotch. None of the races taken singly have ever been employed in sufficient numbers to constitute any large propor tion of the labor supply of the field. A majority of the members of these races came in from the mining districts of Pennsylvania and other mining regions of the United States. Some have come direct from the coal fields of England and Wales. Those coming direct from Great Britain are generally accompanied by families, and the proportion of single men contrasts with that which exists among the races of continental Europe. They usually associate freely with Americans and are thoroughly Americanized. After the strike of 1902, as in the case of the native miners, a considerable number of men of these races went to fields that had been organized. There are now about 375 English, 100 Scotch, and 50 Welsh employed.

Germans.-Germans have been employed in the mines of this field for several years. Small numbers were employed in the field before the strike of 1902, but they were members of the race who had been in the United States for many years and had drifted into West Virginia from other coal fields, principally those of Pennsylvania and Ohio. For the past six or seven years, however, the German immigration to this field has been quite active. Not so many have come as compared with the more prominent races of southern and eastern Europe, but a sufficient number to be considered of importance in the labor supply of the field. These immigrants have come very largely from abroad directly to this field and probably one-third or more are from Russia. A majority of them are accompanied by families or are joined by their families soon after arriving. The Germans who have been in the country many years are thoroughly Americanized and associate freely with Americans. The more recent arrivals learn English much more quickly than the southern and eastern Europeans and maintain a better standard of living. About 350 men of this race are employed in and about the mines of the field.

Lithuanians and Russians.-Along with the other immigrant races brought into the field by operators to take the place of striking miners, and later to help in further development of the field, were Lithuanians and Russians. Some members of these races were secured from the anthracite region of Pennsylvania and others from labor agencies. Within more recent years a considerable portion of the Russians in the field have been secured from employment agencies. The Lithuanians and Russians have never been employed in as great numbers as the races of eastern Europe already discussed. Many representatives of these races who have come to the field have left after a short period of time, but new ones are constantly arriving, and there is a slight increase from year to year in the total number employed. Practically all of the Russians are either single men or men who are married and not accompanied by families. As a consequence they live very largely on the boarding group plan.

The Lithuanians employed are principally young single men who have come to this country within recent years to avoid military duty. There are, however, several families of this race in the field, and

the proportion of families is much higher among them than among the Russians. The young men move frequently and the number of this race is constantly changing. There are employed in the field at present about 175 Russians and about 150 Lithuanians.

Other races. Many races of recent immigration in addition to those discussed in detail have also been employed since the strike of 1902. When taken separately none of these races are in sufficient numbers to be of importance, but taken collectively they constitute a rather important element of the field's labor force. They include Roumanians, Macedonians, Spaniards, Greeks, Syrians, Croatians, and a few other Slav races from Austria-Hungary. They are usually without exception bands of single men and are very migratory. They have been introduced into the field by employment agencies and are always considered temporary employees. Practically none ever enter the mines as miners, but engage in the rough unskilled work.

In 1908 there was a total of about 350 men of these various races employed in this field. The development in the field for the past ten years has kept pace with that of other sections of the State. The rapid expansion of operations has called for the addition of many men, and the recent immigrants were the most available source of supply. Throughout the period 1892 to 1907, as a general rule, there has been a great demand for labor at all times, and not much selection has been practiced in getting employees, which accounts in large measure for the large variety of races found. It is estimated that one large company operating in this field has spent more than $50,000 since 1902 in transporting labor to its mines.

The greatest numbers of immigrants have come to Fayette and Raleigh counties. This is attributable to two causes: First, in a considerable portion of Kanawha County and of the district known as the Kanawha field, the labor is organized, and, second, the greatest proportionate increases in production have been made in Fayette and Raleigh counties. Of these three counties, Raleigh has been most recently developed, and it is the only one which showed increase in number of men employed and in production of coal in 1908.

Owing to the fact that immigrants have been employed in the field for so short a time, they have been more or less unsettled and have always shown a disposition to move from mine to mine. This disposition was especially manifest during 1908, because of the financial and industrial depression. They were constantly moving throughout that year in search of the places offering the most regular employment. Å great many of them went back to Europe to await better times and others were constantly coming in from other fields. In the case of Italians especially there was a movement from abandoned railway construction work to the mines.

The following table is an estimate of the number and percentage of the various races employed in the three counties collectively and in each county separately:

TABLE 475.-Number of employees in each specified county, by race, 1908.

This important coal field includes the counties of McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, and Logan, located in the extreme southern part of West Virginia, along the Virginia and Kentucky line, together with the adjoining county of Tazewell, in Virginia. The field is penetrated by the main line of the Norfolk and Western Railway and its many branches.

The Pocahontas field was not developed until the construction of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1882. The first mines were operated at Pocahontas, in Virginia, and just over the line on the West Virginia side in the same vicinity. The field opened suddenly and, owing to the fine quality of coal produced, ready markets were found and development was rapid from the beginning. After starting at Pocahontas the development continued toward the west and was maintained somewhat ahead of the railway construction.

On first opening the mines such of the natives of the district as could be induced to work at mining were employed, but the supply of labor was inadequate almost from the beginning, while the laborers were irregular in their attention to work and generally inefficient as mine employees. On the opening of the mines negroes from the agricultural sections of Virginia and North Carolina also began to enter the field, and within a very short time the operators were sending out agents and inducing men to come. The negroes proved to be good employees, but, like the native white people, were inclined to be irregular workers. It was also hard to get enough men of these two races to keep up with the expansion of the industry, and in 1884 or 1885 a few Magyars were induced to come to the section from Pennsylvania, with the idea of starting immigration to the coal mines of the section. The Magyars were followed in a short time by Slovaks, but the numbers of both were small.

Before 1890 the increase in production was rapid, but was restricted to the eastern portion of the field. In that year the Norfolk and Western Railroad crossed the Elkhorn Mountains and pushed on to the West, giving transportation facilities to the largest and at present most important part of the field. The period of greatest development in this section has been within the past ten years or since 1898. In that year the production was 5,521,160 tons, and in 1907, when the greatest production was reached, it was 16,777,893 tons, or slightly more than three times that of 1898. This period has also been the one in which the greatest number of immigrants have arrived. Prior to 1898, the immigrants were few and confined to comparatively few mines and localities, but since that time they have been generally employed over the district and almost all mines have some immigrant labor. Within the above mentioned period, a considerable area of McDowell, and the greater part of Mercer and Mingo, and all of Logan counties, have been developed. Some conception of the remarkable expansion of the industry may be gathered from the fact that in 1904 Logan County produced 326 short tons, while in 1909 the output of this county was 1,683,456 short tons of coal.

The development prior to 1898 had required practically all the native labor that was available, and to carry on subsequent development labor from the outside sources has been used. This has been drawn from two sources-first, immigrants secured through advertising and employment agencies, together with the great number who have come directly from abroad and from other sections of the United States, upon the representations of friends and relatives in this field; second, negroes from the rural regions of Virginia and North and South Carolina, attracted by the wages paid at the mines. A great number of the immigrants in the newer fields, especially Italians, were brought in by railroad contractors, who were engaged in building the roads into the mining districts, and on completion of the construction work, they entered the service of the mining companies. Fully 25 per cent of the Italians employed in the district at present were brought in in this way.

Magyars. The Magyar is the most important immigrant race employed in the field from a numerical standpoint, and has contributed more toward its development than has any other. Magyars first came to Pocahontas about 1884 and for several years were employed in mines in this vicinity only. Those first employed were from the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania and formed a nucleus for the future immigration of the race to that field. From time to time, as the industry grew, the number of Magyars employed increased. Many have come direct from their native country to friends and relatives here, others have come from sections of the United States in response to advertisements, through the efforts of employment agencies and because of the influence of friends and relatives already in the field. A great many of the Magyars leave the field, but the influx is sufficient to maintain a constant increase. Pocahontas has always been the center for the Magyar race, and a large proportion of the total number of men employed in that community are Magyars. The proportion of families to adult males is much greater there and is much more stable than in other localities. There were about 2,000 Magyars employed in and about mines in this field in 1908.