(Courtesy of U. S. Army Air Corps) FIGURE 5.-The Rio Grande at Juarez, Mexico. The smelter district, described above, is seen in the lower right-hand cor- It would seem that a high wire fence on the American side about this part of the river would make the smuggler's lot at least a more difficult one. Another favorite base for clandestine entrance of contraband is located at a point in El Paso, known as Cordova Island. The boundary line here runs through a one-time river bed, now dried up, so that it resembles an ordinary country lane. A large, barnlike structure on the Mexican side, now closed, due to pressure from Juarez resort owners, was at one time the scene of day and night disorders. It is a matter of no great difficulty to transport a goodly load of liquor to this place, wait until the coast is clear, and then rush it to one of the adobe structures on the American side. This spot is right in the back yard of El Paso, right in the city limits. A project to erect a high fence at Cordova Island was mutually agreed upon by both Nations, but never materialized for want of funds. Such a structure is a vital need at that point. Battles waged on Cordova Island between customs patrolmen and smugglers occurred on the following dates: November 13, 1928, and February 15 and 28, 1929. Mexican smugglers were killed there on the following dates: October 4, 1928 (two), and December 1, 1928. San Elizario Island, an American possession in Mexico as the result of a shifting of the river, is another favorite smuggling haunt. The line here runs not along the river bed but along dry land. Smuggling at this point is a matter of no great difficulty, but merely one of checking up movements of the patrol and stepping across with the load when that organization is working in other parts. An approximation of casualties from smuggling battles along the Rio Grande in the twenty-fourth district is as follows: Known Mexicans killed since prohibition, 45; known Mexicans wounded since prohibition, 25. Patrol seizures for the year 1929, in the above district, were as follows: The following results were obtained in cases made by the same organization and prosecuted in the Federal court: The above organization, established on the border to combat the smuggling of aliens, functions with 125 men and 40 automobiles, over an area running from El Paso to Brownsville, with stations, men, and equipment at the following places: Prior to 1929, immigration patrol officers were very helpful to customs officers and made many important seizures, which were turned over to that branch of enforcement work. The following table illustrates the difference in seizures made by immigration officers for 1927 and 1929: Immigration authorities at San Antonio advised the writer that a decision by Federal Judge Hutcheson, in the case of United States v. Mason, in 1917, had estopped them from making further liquor seizures. The latter decision is attached herewith (see p. 968), marked “Exhibit D." A perusal thereof impressed the writer otherwise. The judge has held that immigration officers have no authority to stop and search automobiles without a warrant, unless acting upon information that the same are transporting aliens. STATE ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL Sheriffs, constables, State highway police, and rangers constitute law-enforcement forces available in the 254 counties in Texas. Texas Rangers, contrary to popular impression entertained in the East, comprise but a small force of men. The aggregate number of rangers in the State at present hardly exceeds 30. This historic old establishment, reminiscent of the turbulent border era, functioned with fearless men who carried law to Texas communities at the end of rope and 6-shooter. To-day it lives largely in the past, supplanted by State police, and in times of stress, as in the recent Borger oil disturbance, by the militia. Rangers have always functioned in the nature of special police of the governor. They operate in that manner to-day, but their services are not in great demand. Ranger organizations throughout the State cooperate fully with all other Federal agencies, |