New Britain herald., 1922-03-28
COAL MINERS HEAD
 HAS PAST RECORD
President John L. Lewis Veteran
 Of Four Industrial Conflicts

Indianapolis, Ind, March 2s.-(By Associated Press)-As the leader in the impending nation wide coal strike, John l.. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America, will enter his fourth big industrial conflict. Unless present indications go awry, he will lead labor's largest strike army in the history of the United States for the strike set for April 1, threatens to call out more than 5000O0 workers scattered throughout the United States. History Of Strikes Conflicts between employers and workers in which Mir. Lewis has stood out prominently, are these:
 The 1919 soft coal strike of 395,000 ernment, after which the miners got a 24-cent ton increase in the wages, their largest single pay advance.
 The first attempt, made in 1913-14, to unionize the steel industry, Mir. Lewis having charge of the field workers of the American Federation of Labor; the movement failed, ac- cording to un ion men because of widespread unemployment.
 The great copper strike in upper Michigan during 1913, in which Mir. Lewis, as general field agent of the American Federation of Labor, as- sisted in the general conduct of the strike.
 Strike troubles however, have been only small part of Mir. Lewis work within the organized labor movement. In 1910, at the age of thirty, he was elected a representative of the Illinois union miners, and in October, 1911, he became general field agent of the American Federation of Labor, re- signing in February, 1917, to become statistician of the United Mine Work CTS of America On Oct. 25, 1917, he was elected vice ce-president of the United Mine Workers, and on Feb. 6, 1920 became president, having for a short time previously been the un- ions acting president.
 Since 1916, Mir. Lewis has partici- pated in all interstate conferences be- tween miners and operators in the ad- justment of questions affecting the lnlnlnS industry.
 Since 1917, he has had charge of the administrative and field forces of the union in extending the organiza- tion into many non-union fields. In 191011, he was member of the commission, composed of miners, op- orators and public men, which was created by the Illinois assembly to re- wise mining laws, and in 1916 he de- clined an appointment from Cover nor Lowden as director of the Illinois of labor. During the world war, he was a member of the national committee on coal produc- ton, and later cooperated with the national fuel administration on prob ems affecting coal productions and | In the first year of | President Harding's administration, Mir. Lewis served on the commission | that correlated the work of various government bureaus dealing with the welfare of ex-service men, and also ,n the commission that laid the foun- 1ation for the recent unemployment 
 History Of Lewis
 In brief, Mir. Lewis life story is one of miners son, born in an Iowa hamlet, who has become the leader ,f one of the most powerful labor or ,anizations in the world. He was 1crn Feb 12, 1880, at Lucas, Iowa. md after attending the public schools entered the mines 10 work with his father. Later, he supple nented his public school education with courses of reading and study in specialized subjects, particularly eco 1omics. In his twenties he travelled extensively through the west and southwest states, engaging in coal and mining He is married md has two children, son, age nine md a daughter, age two.
 As president of the miners union, Mir. Lewis has for months past been n disagreement with Alexander How st, who he deposed as president of | the Kansas district union, and Frank | I,'a rriuyton the Illinois district nre q;