Miners and the Coal and Iron Police for the Pocomtuc Creek

Why does a railroad, or a mine, need police?

I would often ask my students this question when we were talking about the history of the gilded age, and they could not think of a reason. "Imagine you are a teacher like me in a classroom you own. Your students are unhappy with the way you are teaching them. Perhaps they are correct, or perhaps they are incorrect. You tell them they can go to other classrooms with a different teacher if they want. Do you think that is reasonable?" A few students would agree, most would still not care. Finally, I would ask this last question. "Now imagine those same students (your former students) take over your classroom, kick you and the students who like you out, and shoot with guns at you or anyone else they don't like who tries to go into your classroom." The students would scream how that was wrong and it's your classroom. Even students who did not like the police were screaming to call the cops. While that is an oversimplification of the Holmstead Riots in the 1890s, that is still basically what happened. Yes... the rioters even had a cannon. Does this sound like a peaceful strike? So, why did this violence happen? Sometimes, it was unsafe work conditions, bad pay, or wanting to unionize. Sometimes, it was socialist agitators, destruction of property, or murder.

So... is it a strike or is a riot? What is the difference? I am not going to get into politics in this part of the article. Some mines were truly horrible, and some were ok. Just like some were peaceful strikes, and some were violent riots. In many United States State and Federal Courts back then, trespassing, destruction of property, and injury or murder were the deciding factors into declaring what started as a peaceful strike had turned into a riot. Many strikes were peaceful, but for ones that turned into riots it was a real problem. In Pennsylvania, the local sheriff and his two or three constables were the only ones who could respond to the situation. If someone who was guilty fled over the county line, they could not be pursued as the State Police did not exist yet. This was a problem as many coal companies spanned several counties or even multiple states. While State Militias (later to become the National Guard) did respond to some of the large riots, there were simply not enough to go around. After some lobbying/petitioning, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed into law the rights for coal, iron, and railway companies to employ private police officers for their property. Thus in 1865 what is colloquially called "the coal and iron police" were born. If you are interested in this topic, a book you may find interesting is Pennsylvania's Coal and Iron Police by Spencer Sadler. Naturally, I had to have a few figures at the Indian Princess Mine on the Pocomtuc Creek.

The uniform is really easy to paint. It is just standard Army/Police blue, but I had to have turn of the last century pith helmets. Luckily, I found 2 old/long out of production figures on eBay. They were $6 a piece. I would not normally pay that much. However, they were just what I wanted, and I had saved so much money on economizing in other ways that I could spend a little now. It is only blue Folk Art paint. I mixed blue with a little black to get the right sun-worn blue. Vallejo brass was used for the badges, buckles, and buttons. I save a lot of money by using my good old trusty paint brush. An air brush would be nice at times, but the price of those things, combined with the upkeep cost, an air compressor, and electricity is too much for me.

What I really wanted to do with this scene is express the kind of work feelings people have when they are searched or notice the security guards when they get to work. Miners did not readily trust these police officers in many cases, so I had them stand apart from the next shift waiting to go down the mine. Then I noticed one of the figures had his truncheon out nonchalantly cradled behind his back. I could not have ordered a more perfect figure. I wanted to give them a Sir Topham Hatt standing on a barrel, or box feeling. I did not want to make it that obvious, though. The miners are all A C Stadden figures with a few details from the spares box like shovels, etc. I also wanted a few children to work in the mine. Child labor was very common in that era, but that is another article for a later date. These great figures also helped set the tone, and most of the paint was Folk Art. After playing around with the figures' positions awhile, this lineup came out great. These small period-appropriate details really make the layout seem and feel believable.