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2. “Wire Me before Shooting”: Federalism in (In)action—The Texas-Mexico Border during the Revolution, 1910–1920
- Texas A&M University Press
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ChaPTeR 2 “Wire Me before shooting” Federalism in (In)action—The Texas-Mexico Border during the Revolution, 1910–1920 Don M. Coerver The Rio Grande region has a long history of rustling, smuggling, banditry, and revolutionary activity. By the early twentieth century, however, Mexico had experienced a lengthy period of relative stability under Porfirio Díaz while, on the Texas side of the river, the area seemed to be leaving behind its troubled past and pursuing economic development. Officials at the local, state, and federal levels in bothTexas and Mexico were ill prepared for the unprecedented violence and disorder that the Mexican Revolution would bring to the border area from 1910 to 1920. With much of the revolutionary activity centered in northern Mexico near the international boundary, officials struggled throughout the period to keep the revolution from spilling over the border. The US system of federalism guaranteed that there would be a wide variety of agents and agencies involved in law enforcement along the border. At the local level, mayors, sheriffs, and city councils all had varying law-enforcement responsibilities. Under state law at the time, mayors and sheriffs even had the power to call up the local unit of the Texas National Guard. At the state level, governors had a particularly active role to play. The governors during this period—Oscar B. Colquitt (1911–1915), James E. Ferguson (1915–1917), and William P. Hobby (1917–1921)—faced a wide variety of political, military, and financial problems. Colquitt, in particular, would be actively involved in maintaining law and order. He took office in January 1911, just as the impact of the Mexican Revolution was about to be felt along the Rio Grande. In dealing with the situation, governors could call out the Texas National Guard or utilize the Texas Rangers.1 It cost less to use the Texas Rangers, but in January 1911, the entire Ranger force consisted of twelve men—two officers and ten 36 • don m. coerver enlisted personnel.2 In his 1910 campaign for the governorship, Colquitt had talked about the possibility of reducing even that small force. An array of federal agents and agencies also played a role in law enforcement on the border. The Department of State had overall responsibility for US-Mexican relations, of which border policy was one aspect. The War Department was actively involved in law enforcement on the border, especially enforcement of the neutrality laws, although it did not technically have lawenforcement responsibilities. The Department of Justice was responsible for implementing federal laws and also served as an intelligence-gathering agency using its recently formed Bureau of Investigation. Immigration issues were the responsibility of the Department of Commerce and Labor. The Treasury Department was also active along the border, going beyond its fiscal activities to engage in intelligence gathering. The two presidents during the period—William Howard Taft (1909–1913) and Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)—also engaged in actions that generated jurisdictional disputes and communications problems. Taft ordered a major concentration of military forces in South Texas without previously informing his secretary of state. Later, he entered into a formal agreement with Colquitt for state enforcement of federal neutrality laws, leading the governor to assume incorrectly that federal officials would reciprocate and assist in enforcing state laws. Wilson confused the lines of communication by frequently bypassing the State Department in favor of using his personal representatives in developing and implementing his Mexican policy. Washington directed army commanders in the field not to inform state officials about what specific instructions they had in case a border incident threatened lives and property in Texas. Commanders operated until March 1916 under orders not to cross the international boundary without prior approval from Washington. However, US troops could return fire across the border.3 An important feature of the border area that would be affected by the revolution was the series of twin cities along the Rio Grande. These border twins stretched from Brownsville-Matamoros to El Paso-Ciudad Juárez; the latter was the most important of the twin cities.4 For the Mexican federal government and assorted revolutionary groups, Juárez held a number of attractions. Control of the customs house provided an important source of revenue. As the most important port of entry on the international boundary, Juárez was a major avenue for the movement of war materials from the United States into northern Mexico. Possession of Juárez had an important psychological value and provided a high profile for groups...