Economic conditions governing the industry and the determination of operators to keep out the union have been factors in this serious decline in membership .sx Reputable American economists with whom the author discussed the question as well as industrial workers who are left-wing critics of the union ascribe a considerable proportion of the decline to the character of the leadership of the union .sx They maintain that John L. Lewis , for example , works " hand-in-glove " with the employers , cannot therefore be militant enough and that when he declares a strike he does not " stick it out , " being too much disposed to compromise .sx For his part , the author is reluctant to offer any critical comments on the policy of the president of the union , based upon two years' experience as a visitor in the American coalfields , but while sympathising with him in all his difficulties , he certainly formed the impression that John L. Lewis is the embodiment of business unionism , that he regards the union in much the same light as the president of a large commercial corporation looks upon his enterprise and that he is essentially a bargainer .sx One of the ablest coal experts in America told the author that he was greatly impressed by the contrast between Robert " Bob" ) Smillie , whom he visited in his modest cottage in Scotland when he was president of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain , and John L. Lewis , whom he likened to a successful business man , drawing a big salary , possessing a fine home and accustomed to all the comforts of American life .sx The contrast was very decidedly in favour of the " refined and honest Scotsman .sx " What impressed the American visitor most was Smillie's collection of books , his knowledge of them and the quality of his conversation on topics unrelated directly to the coal industry .sx In reference to the question of leadership it is to be remembered that Lewis is merely continuing the American tradition .sx Practically all the United Mine Workers' officials have been " capitalists at heart .sx " The careers of some of the past leaders are illuminating .sx President Ratchford of the United Mine Workers in its earlier days left the union to become a " labor commissioner " for the operators in Illinois .sx In 1904 D. C. Kennedy passed from the presidency of District 17 ( West Virginia ) to become " commissioner " for the Kanawha Coal Operators' Association .sx John Mitchell , president of the union for several years , left the union to take up an important appointment with a patriotic organisation called the National Civic Federation .sx When he died he left a fortune of 250,000 dollars , largely in coal , railway and steel company securities .sx Tom L. Lewis , who succeeded Mitchell as president of the union , became himself an operator in West Virginia and secretary of the anti-union New River Coal Operators' Association .sx John P. White who was successor to Tom L. Lewis is now attached to the Union Pacific Coal Company in Wyoming as a labour arbitrator .sx A number of district officials and organisers have followed these examples , leaving the union to become operators or the servants of operators .sx The history of the careers of British miners' leaders is not without instances of men like the Right Hon .sx William Abraham " Mabon" ) who died worth far more than is expected of a miners' leader the comment of the men at the time was that his friendly association with the employers enabled him to " feather his own nest " or a man like Frank Hodges , a brilliant young miner who became secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain , but is now a director of various commercial concerns and more or less , in the language of miners , " on the bosses' side .sx " Such cases however are rare in Great Britain .sx Occasionally , a man who has reached high office in the union is appointed on the permanent staff of a government department where his experience is valuable to the government in the handling of coal disputes , as in the case of the Right Hon .sx William Brace .sx What is more characteristic in Great Britain is that miners' leaders enter the House of Commons and exert considerable political influence as members of Parliament .sx Even then , however , the politician retains his office in the union usually as a miners' agent unless , as in the case of the late Right Hon .sx Vernon Hartshorn , he reaches Cabinet rank .sx The fact is , defections from the union in Great Britain are very exceptional .sx Some of the author's American friends have suggested that if the temptations in England were greater , the loyalty of miners' officials might not be so firm .sx Who shall say ?sx And yet " the union " does seem to be far more .sx of the warp and woof of the lives of British than of American miners' leaders .sx In the Report of the United States Coal Commission , 1925 , the union and non-union bituminous areas are broadly defined on page 1050 .sx They may be summarised as follows :sx The oldest organised territory , as will be readily understood from the foregoing historical sketch , is the Central Competitive Field , embracing the Pittsburg region and adjacent parts of Western Pennsylvania , Illinois , Indiana and Ohio .sx A second centre of unionism is the South Western Interstate Field , lying between Iowa and Northern Texas and consisting of Arkansas , Kansas , Missouri and Oklahoma .sx Directly north of the South Western Interstate are the Iowa mines , thoroughly unionised .sx In the south is the partially organised State of Texas .sx In the Rocky Mountains the union fields are located in Wyoming and Montana .sx North and south of the Central Competitive Field are some organised districts in Michigan and Western Kentucky ; east of it lie the vast coalfields of Central Pennsylvania , estimated by the United Mine Workers at the time to be from 50 to 6o per cent organised .sx The non-union areas , and in this group are included districts that are partially organised but predominantly non-union , lie around the union fields in a " broken crescent .sx " The northern end of this " crescent " juts up into the Pittsburg district and Central Pennsylvania .sx This non-union portion of Pennsylvania comprises the Connelsville coke region , the Irwin gas , Greensburg , Latrobe and Ligonier regions in Westmoreland County , and the Somerset Meyersdale field in Somerset County .sx These areas have long resisted all the unionising efforts of the United Mine Workers .sx From non-union Pennsylvania the crescent extends towards the south .sx It includes practically all of Maryland , West Virginia ( except the Fairmont district , part of the Panhandle and the upper half of Kanawha ) , Virginia , most of Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee , and all of Alabama .sx West of Mississippi River the second half of the " broken crescent " begins with the lignite areas of Eastern Texas , passes around the partially unionised bituminous mines of Texas to New Mexico and extends northward , taking in most of Colorado and all of Utah .sx In so far as the operations representing half of the tonnage of the State of Washington changed to a non-union basis in 1921 , this State may be included in the group .sx The problem in the anthracite field differs from that in the bituminous fields because in the anthracite field the industry has been very largely a monopoly , concentrated in the hands of a small number of railroad companies .sx Owing principally to the competition of oil the monopoly shews signs of crumbling , but this is a comparatively recent development .sx An active campaign of organisation carried on by the United Mine Workers led to a general strike in 1900 .sx This was followed by a more decisive contest in 1902 .sx The award of the Anthracite Coal Commission appointed at the close of the strike marked the beginning of an era of collective bargaining which has transformed the industrial relations of the industry .sx In 1906 and 1912 suspensions occurred .sx These were the only serious breaks in production following 1903 , up to and including the time of the war .sx Difficulty in reaching an agreement in 1920 led to the appointment of a Commission of investigation whose award was to become the basis of a new contract .sx The findings of this Commission were accepted under protest and a strike occurred in 1922 , when the time came for renewal .sx Governor Pinchot , acting as mediator , secured acceptance by both parties of an agreement which expired in 1925 .sx Anthracite workers demanded an increase in pay when this agreement expired .sx The operators insisted that wages must be reduced .sx The resulting strike lasted until the operators had sold off at high prices the coal stocks which they had been accumulating during the summer .sx The operators intended to renew the agreement and therefore made no attempt to import labour to run the mines .sx In 1926 , after conferences between John L. Lewis and Richard F. Grant , then head of the Hanna anthracite interests , an agreement was signed to run till 1930 .sx The miners' demands were scrapped and the operators withdrew their threat of a wage cut .sx This was the longest joint agreement in the history of American coal-mining .sx In spite of this agreement , however , there has been a good deal of unrest among the anthracite workers .sx As a part of the policy of rationalisation a number of collieries have been closed down , throwing thousands of workers and their families into hopeless poverty .sx While no formal reduction of wages is permissible under the agreement the men are convinced that their earning capacity has been reduced and their work speeded up .sx by various changes introduced by the operators and connived at by the union .sx Various officials within the United Mine Workers have exploited this unrest for their own advantage , trying to build up a separate anthracite union but the Lewis machine has proved too strong for them .sx Early in 1930 Lewis began bargaining with the operators for a renewal of the long-time agreement .sx Negotiations included another conference with Richard F. Grant , who now links up the Hanna interests with one of the strongest Morgan anthracite companies .sx Finally another agreement , to run for five and a half years , was signed .sx The operators' demand for a lower wage scale was withdrawn but another joint body for the fixing of terms and conditions to promote efficiency was set up .sx This will help operators to keep " peace " in the industry but at the expense of throwing more thousands out of work and speeding up those who retain their jobs .sx One concession made to the union was that the operators , for the first time in the anthracite field , agreed to a modified " check-off " of union dues .sx This means that the operators collect the union dues from their employees and this assures a steady revenue for the United Mine Workers' treasury in spite of the workers' increasing restlessness .sx The anthracite field may be generally regarded as a unionised area .sx The working philosophy of the United Mine Workers of America may be understood from the following quotation from a statement presented by Mr. Philip Murray , International Vice-President , to the United States Coal Commission .sx " The United Mine Workers of America have no desire to injure the operators , for they realize that the interests of the operators and mine workers are identical .sx They respect the right of the operators to organize but on the other hand they insist that the operators must respect the right of the mine workers to organize without being subjected to discrimination .sx We say to the operators `Come , let's reason together !sx ' There is nothing radical or revolutionary about that .sx We know that this controversy will never be settled until it is approached in a spirit of common co-operation and good faith and we are now , and always have been , willing to meet them halfway in that spirit .sx Progress in industrial relations is defined in terms of betterment , namelyto change from a given condition to a better condition .sx That has been the keynote of the United Mine Workers of America from the very beginning .sx " The Springfield United Mine Workers of America .sx While the United Mine Workers has had to face fierce opposition on the part of operators , some of whom still attribute the ills of the industry to " John L. Lewis and his union , " it has not been free from family quarrels .sx As a result of this internecine strife there have been insurgent movements , two of which call for some attention .sx One of these issued in what is sometimes described as the " Illinois Split " or more officially as the " Springfield U.M.W.A. " .sx