Its firmest grip was in
Illinois. The well-filled treasury of the Illinois district has many
times been called upon for large contributions or loans, to enable the
union to establish itself in some other field. The weakest hold of the
United Mine Workers has been in West Virginia. At the end of the general
strike of 1897, the West Virginia membership was only about 4000.
Moreover, a further spread of the organization met with unusual
obstacles. A large percentage of the miners of West Virginia are Negroes
or white mountaineers. These have proven more difficult to organize than
recent Southern and Eastern European immigrants, who formed the majority
in the other districts. And yet West Virginia as a growing mining state
soon assumed a high strategic importance. A lower wage scale, the better
quality of its coal, and a comparative freedom from strikes have made
West Virginia a formidable competitor of the other districts in the
central competitive field. Consequently West Virginia operators have
been able to operate their mines more days during the year than
elsewhere; and despite the lower rates per ton, the West Virginia miners
have earned but little less annually than union miners in other States.
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