New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-03-09
LEC-lRON GOES
"HoMEn UNWORN

Capt. Fred Fornoff, chief Of New
Mexico rangers" is in Los Angeles
with his "sombrero boot" He says
he has to reorganize his rangers
because they kill too many men,
New Mexico is to have a new
set of State Rangers, organized "a
long more modern lines than the
old ones. if Capt. Fred Fornoff,
picturesque ex-chief of that doughty
band of quick-on-trigger rough
riders, is abe t. bring it about
through his admitted large influ-
ence with the New Mexico Legisla-
ture. Capt Fornoff, with his SOM
brero and his guns and his Oregon
bolt" is at the Hol1enbeck. here to
take back George Owing, Pasadena
newspaperman accused of having
criminally libeled .ex.Gov. M. A. O.
tero of New Mexico. Capt. Fornoff
last night said:
"We need a State constabulary or
as it is called in the Southwest States,
rangers. William H. Greer est"b-
lished a force of rangers in 1908
and at the same time put through
a bill that made train robbery a
capial offense That stopped crime
of this kind over night. Then the
rangers, twenty-six in number, or
one for each county, began doing
police duty But they got in the
habit of killing more prisoners than
the citizens thought necessary and
since 1904 the Legislature has re-
fused to give rs an Appropriation tor
their maintenance.
"The range, became facetious and
in complying with my order to re-
port every arrest they sent me tele-
grams like these:
KILLED me a greaser for break
FAST.
Eight here last evening between
two men and one killed. 1t was not
me-" -.
Caught your mar but had to hold
a funeral service on the spot"
Capt. Fornoff declares that North
ern Mexico is alive with cattle.
abandoned by the big ranch owners
He said that one man managed to
get 100000 head w the line by
Strengthening them and shipping in
the meat, paying 20 per cent of
the value to Villa. but that in the
hills the cattle. unbraded represent
millions of dollars. He adds:
New Mexico needs prohibition be.
aus the population is nearly half
Mexican and whisky never did agree
with Mexicans. 1t treats them worse
than their white brothers and that
is bad enough. In II population Of
100000, we have been averaging
more than los murders a year. Our
neighboring States declare that if
alchohol is removed from the Mexi-
can population we car shut up a
part of our penal institutions and
throw away the hangman's rope.
"We are also trying TO work out
a better tax system. We found in
one parcel more than 100000 acres
If good land that had never been
or the tax rolls. I. myself. dis
covered over 81, 100000 worthy of cat
tie belonging to one company on
which not a cent of taxes has ever
been paid. And we have just start
ed"
Capt. Fred Fornoff. Former head
of the New Mexico State Rangers
and now on the State Tax Commas
sion, here to take back a newspaper
charged with criminal libel.
With a bow and a smile. an apol-
ogy and a handshake. what threat.
ened to be a famous criminal libel
suit in New Mexico came to a TEN
end in the corridor of the
Hotel Yesterday morn
ing. Former Gov. NJ. A. Atero. with
Capt. Fred Fornoff, ex-Chief of the
New Mexico Rangers, and armed
with an Oregon boot, came here
for the avowed purpose of taking
them George c Cowing, a
newspaperman
The men from New Mexico had