Heritage, 2007, Volume 3 Page: 12
31 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas
very state government has a criminal investigative
arm with statewide powers. In Texas its officers are
called Texas Rangers. In other states, most residents
cannot name the comparable agency, but they all have heard of
Texas Rangers. For almost two centuries, with periodic lapses,
the Rangers have been an elite and legendary group treasured
by most Texans but denounced by others. Today's Rangers are
highly professional, dedicated, effective lawmen who still cherish
the history and traditions that have given them worldwide
renown.
Modern Rangers bear little resemblance to their predecessors
of the 19th century. Before the Civil War they were sometime
citizen-soldiers called up periodically to fight Indians or
Mexicans. Not until 1874 were they institutionalized by the
Legislature as a military unit to fight Indians. The U.S. Army,
however, conquered the Indians in this very year, and the Rangers
transformed themselves into lawmen. Although remaining
under command of the state adjutant general, they rode the Old
West as the legendary foe of outlaws who became enshrined in
fiction, history, and the hearts of Texans-though not Hispanic
Texans, who vividly recalled earlier atrocities against their
people.
The watershed year that divided the old from the new-the1rv
iaan rs
Utley
"horseback" Rangers from the "motorized" Rangers-was 1935.
In that year the Legislature created the Department of Public
Safety (DPS), combining the Highway Patrol from the Highway
Department with the Rangers from the Adjutant General's
Department and laying the groundwork for specialized units
dealing with scientific criminology. Under the new department,
the Texas Rangers evolved into the professional crime-fighters
of today.
The man largely responsible for transforming the old into the
new was Colonel Homer Garrison, DPS director for 30 years,
1938-68. At six-feet-two and a robust 190 pounds that grew to
210 by the 1960s, he appeared even taller in the high-heeled
cowboy boots he usually wore. A layer of severely combed-back
hair crowned a bespectacled countenance featuring high forehead
and square jaw. At his desk he wore a business suit. Away
from his desk, which was often, he affected conventional western
garb, with broad-brimmed hat. On ceremonial occasions
he strapped on a pair of embellished Colt revolvers or automatics.Fearful of being pushed aside or even absorbed by the larger
Highway Patrol, Rangers greeted the new organization warily.
Homer Garrison came out of the Highway Patrol, as did his assistant
director. Understanding the Rangers' dilemma, at onceHER ITA GE Volume 3 2007
The
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, 2007, Volume 3, periodical, 2007; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45361/m1/12/: accessed March 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.