It will be seen that of the 18,737 individuals included in the table, 6,417, or 34.2 per cent, are of the races of recent immigration. The data for this table were secured in 1909.

The following table gives the figures for West Virginia:

TABLE 143.-Classification of West Virginia employees by nationality or race and by

groups.a

[Compiled from annual report of the Department of Mines of West Virginia for the year ending June 30, 1908, p. 92.]

Data are presented for 51,777 individuals. Of these, 14,980, or 28.9 per cent, are of the races of recent immigration.

From all the data secured it is clear that the men of recent immigration employed in the bituminous coal mines of the United States greatly outnumber the men of old immigration so employed. It further appears that in one locality at least the recent immigrants outnumber the old immigrants and the native-born combined.

LACK OF EXPERIENCE ON THE PART OF RECENT IMMIGRANTS.

In considering the characteristics of the mine workers, as a cause of accidents, a clear distinction must be made between the races of the old and those of the recent immigration.

The length of residence in the United States of foreign-born employees of the different races is shown by the following table:

TABLE 144.-Per cent of foreign-born male employees who have been in the United States each specified number of years, by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. No deduction is made for time spent abroad. This table includes only races with 40 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all foreign-born.]

This table is compiled from original data and includes all the foreign-born employees of the industry for whom this information was secured. The classification is by years in the United States and by race. It will be noted that the English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, Germans, Swedes, and other natives of northern and western Europe, have in general been in this country much longer than have the men of the races of southern and eastern Europe. In the columns showing the percentage of individuals who have been in this country three years or less the distinction between the old immigrants and the recent immigrants is particularly obvious. A very considerable proportion of the latter have been in the United States less than four years.

The experience which the men of the different races had in mining before coming to the United States is indicated by the tables and chart. next presented.

48296°-VOL 6-11-16

TABLE 145.-Per cent of foreign-born male employees who were engaged in mining before coming to the United States, by locality and by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 100 or more males reporting in each of two or more localities. The total, however, is for all foreign-born.]

TABLE 146.-Per cent of foreign-born male employees in each specified occupation before coming to the United States, by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 100 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all foreign

born.]

= MINING

= FARMING OR FARM LABOR

The tables are compiled from original data. Of all the individuals for whom information was secured, only 20.7 per cent were employed in mining before coming to the United States. Except in the case of the Swedes, the proportion of the men of the races of northern and western Europe who were employed abroad in mining is not less than 55 per cent for any race. The figure for the Scotch is 88.2 per cent and that for the Welsh is 87.6 per cent. Among the southern and eastern Europeans the proportion in no case exceeds 20 per cent. This proportion is reported for the Slovenians, while only 3.6 per cent of the Croatians were miners before coming to the United States. A very large proportion of the individuals of the races of this group were farmers or farm laborers abroad. The proportion varies from 91.5 per cent for the Montenegrins to 57.2 per cent for the North Italians. A smaller proportion of the recent immigrants were employed as general laborers. It will be noted that of the men of the races of northern and western Europe comparatively few were farmers or farm laborers. The contrast in occupations before coming to the United States between the old and the recent immigrants is made very clear by the foregoing chart.

Men of the races of the old immigration have been employed in the mines of the United States for many years. As a result of their experience both in this country and abroad they are far better qualified as miners than are the southern and eastern Europeans. The older immigrants speak English either as their native tongue or, as in the case of the Germans and Scandinavians, because of long residence in this country. They may be treated in almost every respect upon the same basis as the American miners.

The employees of the races of the recent immigration, on the other hand, have been in the United States for so short a period of time that even though it be assumed that they have been employed in mining ever since their arrival, they must have had but a brief experience at most in the mines of this country. The data further show that very few of their number had mining experience abroad.

As it has been seen that a very large proportion of the deaths and injuries reported for the coal mines of the United States occur among the less experienced miners, it is clear that the employees of the races of southern and eastern Europe, having had little experience in mining either in this country or abroad, are particularly liable to accidents. And as the responsibility for accidents rests in most cases with the men injured, to say that they are particularly liable to accidents is in effect to say that they are responsible for a considerable proportion of all the accidents occurring in the mines.

The mine accidents for which the workmen are themselves responsible fall naturally into two classes-those due to carelessness and those due to ignorance. As regards the first of these, it is probable that the foreigner is no greater offender than the person of native birth. The Americans and other English-speaking miners are undoubtedly reckless, and a very large proportion of all the accidents occurring among their number seem to be due to this cause. Grave risks are often incurred for the sake of avoiding a little extra labor. Props are left unplaced, open lamps are used instead of closed lamps, cars are driven in a careless manner, explosives are handled recklessly-all in defiance of the most elementary rules of cautious mining and by men of long experience in the industry.