[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 93 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1503-E1504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ONE RIOT, ONE RANGER

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. About 100 years ago, there was a fight brewing in 
Dallas. Back then there was a different type of 9-1-1. When you needed 
to bring in the big guns, you knew who to call. So the Dallas mayor 
made his urgent plea for help and was waiting anxiously for the Calvary 
to ride into town, so to speak. As Captain Bill McDonald stepped off 
the train, the mayor was elated, but wondered out loud where the rest 
of 'em were? ``Hell! ain't I enough? There's only one prize-fight!'' 
Those words have become synonymous with the Texas Rangers: One Riot, 
One Ranger.
  This past weekend I had the honor and privilege to speak to over 300 
Texas Rangers in Waco, Texas. I was like a kid in a candy shop! Some 
were not active Rangers anymore, but don't think that made any real 
difference in their appearance or demeanor. Just like a Marine; once a 
Ranger, always a Ranger. There is no ``ex-Ranger.''
  As I mingled through the sea of starched shirts, jeans and cowboy 
hats, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. You can always spot a 
Ranger. Long, lean and mean with a silver star made out of a Mexican 
sliver dollar and six guns. It was like I was talking to Gus McCray and 
Woodrow Call of Lonesome Dove. The legends of the greatest law 
enforcement agency ever known were alive and well. And me, a mere U.S. 
Congressman, was getting to hang out with them!
  The Texas Rangers can be traced back to the earliest days of Texas 
history, technically long before we were Texas. They are the oldest law 
enforcement organization on the North American continent with statewide 
jurisdiction. Stephen F. Austin got a few men together to protect the 
early settlers from Indians in the early 1800s. They got their name 
from their primary duty--patrol the range and keep the peace. For over 
200 years, their purpose hasn't really changed.
  In 1835, at the beginning of the Texas Revolution, the Corps of 
Rangers was established; and in 1847, they officially became known as 
the Texas Rangers. Twenty-five men under the command of Silas M. Parker 
were designated to protect the frontier between the Brazos and the 
Trinity; ten men under Garrison Greenwood were assigned to the east 
side of the Trinity; and 25 men under D.B. Frazier to patrol between 
the Brazos and the Colorado. They did what even the U.S. Army could not 
do--protect the settlers from the Indians.
  Through the years the Texas Rangers have increased and decreased in 
numbers and their charges have varied, but their duty has never 
waivered. During the Texas Revolution, while the Texians' focus was on 
defeating Santa Anna's army, the Rangers focused on protecting the 
settlements from Indians. During the Mexican-American War, they became 
know as the ``Los Diablos Tejanos''--the Texas Devils, for their fierce 
protection of the frontier.
  Their storied history can fill pages and pages; their duties and 
contributions are just too long to list. But, the famous words of 
Captain Bill McDonald have evolved into the Ranger creed and pretty 
much say it all: ``No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow 
that's in the right and keeps on a-comin.''
  They have been the focus of legend, lore, radio shows, Hollywood 
movies and television dramas. One Ranger, and the outlaw who wronged 
him, even made their way to my courtroom. Back in 1988, the Lone Ranger 
flew into Houston Intercontinental Airport to speak at a charity for 
disabled kids. When he left town a baggage handler stole his luggage. 
(Yes, the real Lone Ranger; some people know him as the actor Clayton 
Moore, but believers know he is actually the Lone Ranger.)

[[Page E1504]]

 Inside this bag were his twin ivory handled Colt .45s--might as well 
have been the Hope Diamond itself.
  Well, when it came to sentencing I really had no choice in the 
matter. This was the Lone Ranger after all and he had been wronged. It 
was my duty as a Texan and a man of the law to punish this outlaw in 
the name of everything holy and sacred--600 hours shoveling manure at 
the Houston Police Department Mounted Patrol stables.
  And through it all, I refused to reveal the true identity of the Lone 
Ranger. I allowed him to remain ``masked'' and wear his white hat in 
the court--even over the loud objections of the defense attorney. I was 
not about to go down in history as the man who un-masked the Lone 
Ranger!
  These lawmen have always had a certain swagger; a certain something 
about them that made them Rangers. Another legendary Ranger, who lived 
up to his nickname, ``Rip'' (Rest in Peace) Ford said this about the 
men that served under him: ``A large proportion . . . were unmarried. A 
few of them drank intoxicating liquors. Still, it was a company of 
sober and brave men. They knew their duty and they did it. While in a 
town they made no braggadocio demonstration. They did not gallop 
through the streets, shoot, and yell. They had a specie of moral 
discipline which developed moral courage. They did right because it was 
right.''
  Whether they be fact or fiction, Texas Rangers are a special breed. 
But, would we really expect anything less from Texas? Nowadays they 
mainly work alone. They are the finest law enforcement agency in the 
world.
  By the way, Ranger Captain Bill McDonald successfully stopped the 
Dallas Prize Fight Riot--by himself.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________