The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-03-20
TEXAS RANGER FORCE ON BORDER
TEXAS GOVERNOR EXPLAINS THE
BORDER TROUBLES.
Mexico Is Affording Safe Refuge for
Criminal Element Which Operates
Along the Rio Grande.

Governor y. b. COlqultt made public
4 lengthy list of the Texas border
troubles on which his recent appeals
for more power to protect the bound
airy have been based and which eX-
plain the nature of the rangers ac-
tivities. These incidents show the
rangers as peace officers, not an arm
ed power, which might cause the Unit
ed States government embarrassment.
Many of these incidents are COM
Qaratively petty crimes, not included
within the scope of neutrality laws
and outside the police powers of Unit
ed States troops on border patrol
duty.
The records indicate that in hand
ling them the rangers frequently nip
trouble in the bud before it has pro-
ceeded to the stage of international
complications. The timely arrest of
2 cattle or horse thief, before he
has had time to escape into Mexico,
has Warded off more serious conse-
quences, such as the killing of Gle
mente Vergara, the American, which
grew out of horse stealing.
The record indicate also that while
many of the law-breakers have come
across the International line in raids
from Mexico, some Observation-Disclosures
have been residents of American ter
ritOry in sections where the Mexican
population is large, and have used
Mexico as a refuge. One of the
sources of extreme vexation has been
inability to secure eXtradition of any
of these marauders, whether original
ly from Texas or Mexico, during the
past three years.
Governor Colquitt estimated that in
this period there have been 200 to 800
such cases, in which the state has
made some sort Of attempt to get the
accused back to Texas without sue
cess in single instance The safe
refuge offered in Mexico has tended
to develop the old-time Western bad
man again along the border.
How fifteen rangers can furnish
any real protection along a border 500
miles long was explained in state
ment by Captain Hughes In some
places one ranger is assigned to pa
troll fifty to one hundred miles of bor-
der, he said. These rangers, clothed
with all the police powers of both
state and county officers, are feared
by the troublemakers who know that
the ranger can arrest them on sus-
picion, or for acts which the United
States border patrol has no power to
handle
In ten cases during the last three
years Governor Colquitt has acted
through the state department at Wash
ington in efforts for extradition from
Mexico of alleged criminals wanted in
Texas, none of the applications which
the Washington authorities duly pre-
Bented having been successful, accord
ing to the Texas records. The first
of these ten instances is typical of the
entire troubles, for the annoyance it
caused is today cropping out afresh
near Laredo. This was the application
on Jan. %, 1911, for Dionicio Martinez,
alias Juan Garcia, accused of murder
In Caldwell County, Texas. MARTINEZ
has been seen along the border of
late near NueVo Laredo, Mexico, and
is accused of making secret expedi-
tons into Texas, but the rangers have
been unable to capture him. The
others in this list of extradition ap'
plications handled by Washington are:
Victoriano Hernandez, accused Of
statutory offense in Webb County
Texas; application April 8, 1911,
, Jose Martinez, accused of horse
; theft, Zavala County; fled to Goa
hula; application Oct. %, 1911. {
Crispin zanes, accused of assault tc
, murder, Bee County; fled to Tamauli
pas; application Oct. "a, 1911.
Will Long, accused of murder il
, Jefferson County; fled to Tamaulipas
! application Jan. 5, 1912.
, Ygnacio Trevino, accused of stat
, utory offense in Cameron County; flee
to Tamaulipas; application May
1912.
Alberto Cabrera, accused of muir
> der, escaped convict from Huntsville
> penitentiary; fled to Nuevo Leon; ap
. plication Oct. 81, 1912.
Beverly Wood, murder, escaped from
! Huntsville; fled to Chihuahua; appli
/. cation Oct. 13, 1912.
! Fiburcio Zarate, accused of murde
j In Starr County; fled to Nuevo Leon
t application Feb IL, 1913.
3 Felipe Sanchez, accused of murde
in Dimmit County; fled to Coahuila
! application Sept. rs, 1913.
2