Guide to the History Of The United Mine Workers, 1890-1932 :
1926-1932

Pascoe served as an organizer for the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) in Illinois, eastern Kentucky, and the anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania.

A violent opponent of UMW District 12 leadership, Pascoe condemned District president Frank Farrington's association with the Peabody Coal Company, denounced his leadership and that of John H. Walker and generally applauded John L. Lewis' efforts to oust these officers and establish a provisional government for the District, claiming it had become dominated by communists. Pascoe alleged communist associations with Albert F. Coyle, editor of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers magazine. Pascoe also condemned the Brotherhood for its operation of non-union mines in West Virgina and Kentucky.

The Jacksonville Agreement of 1924 was reviewed by Pascoe who claimed it was abrogated by most mine operators under the leadership of Charles Schwab of the Bethlehem Mines Corporation and Andrew Mellon of the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Pascoe also alleged collusion between the railroads and southern mine operators who opposed the agreement. Pascoe believed that southern mine owners attempted to "steal" Central Competitive Field markets and urged the necessity of organizing the southern miners. He insisted that the Interstate Commerce Commission had also established freight rates that unduly favored southern mines.

He claimed to be instrumental in establishing District 30 (covering eastern Kentucky) in 1920 and served as its first president until his resignation in 1933. Throughout his career, Pascoe remained loyal to the union leadership and, especially during the anti-Lewis insurgency in District 12 in the late 1920's and early 1930's, fought union dissidence unswervingly. Pascoe retired in 1938 and died seven years later.

Reminiscences of Samuel Pascoe, United Mine Workers (UMW) organizer and president of UMW District 30 (Kentucky). Pascoe was a strong supporter of John L. Lewis and a vigorous critic of communist activities in the union. His memoirs center on his organizing efforts in Illinois and eastern Kentucky and his perception of union activities and politics in the Central Competitive Fields.

Pascoe commented on and discussed the Bituminous Coal Strike of 1922, the Pittsburgh Coal Company Strike of 1925, the Anthracite Strike of 1925-1926, and the Harlan County Strike of 1931-1932. He also talked about government intervention in the industry, notably the attempts by secretary of labor James J. Davis to reconcile the UMW and the mine owners in 1927 and the Senate investigations into the condition of the coal fields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio in the following year. Pascoe also commented on the impact of the Norris-La Gaurdia Act of 1932 and the Davis-Kelly Bill of that year.