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Coal Iron Police Badge Lehigh Wilkesbarre Coal CoGreat old coal & ironpolice badge from the lehigh & wilkes-barre coal co. Rather than having a stamped badge number there is a separately applied number 4.
The lehigh & wilkes-barre coal co. Was in corporated in pennsylvania in 1864. It owned and poerated coal mines in the wyoming and lehigh regions of pennsylvania. Acording to the 1901 stock exchange manual of statistics, the central railroad company of new jersey controlled the lehigh & wilkes-barre coal co. At that time.
In 1893 the company mined 3,478,242 tons of coal. In 1920 the lehigh & wilkes-barre coal coal co. Merged with the glen alden coal co. In 1865, the pennsylvania state legislature passed tsate act 228 which empowered the railroads to organize private police forces. In 1866, a supplement to the act was passed extending the privilege to embrace all corporations, firms, or individuals, owning, leasing, or beign in possession of any colliery, furnace, or rolling mill within this commonwealth. Local coal & iron police commanders were usually a coal or iron company superintendent. Or other official. While sanctioned by the state all costs were paid by the coal and iron companise that employed them. They were company supported and controlled private police forces established to do the bididng of the coal and iron companies. The enabling legislation granted the coal & iron police broad police powers on mine and mill property and in company towns. The 1866 legislation stipulated thta the words, coal and iron police appear on their badges. This private police system grew to the point that by 1900 there were more than 5000 coal & iron police in pennsylvania. They figured porminently in strike breaking and other anti-union activity. The powers of the coal & iron police were not curtailed until april of 1929 when governor john s. Fisher, by executive order, ordered that industrial police wear uniforms, that their jurisdiction be limited to the actual protection of company property and that they be prohibited from undue violence in making arrests, unnecessary display or use of weapons, and profanity. On june 30, 1931, governor pinchot revoked all coal and iron police commissions. They were later known sa industrial police. When i said in my listing two weeks ago that i wouldn't be selling any more c&i police badges i had forgotten about this one, but it is the last i will be offering so don't miss it. See my otehr auctions for more mining related badges. |
