 Common gunmen, hoodlums, and adventurers were often hired to fill these commissions and they served their own interests by causing the violence and terror that gave them office.The coal and iron police worked with the Pinkertons, particularly with a labor spy by the name of James McParland, to suppress the Molly Maguires.The end of the Coal and Iron Police began in 1902 during what became known as The Anthracite Coal Strike.