The following is a partial account of the life and times of Edgar T. Neal. This story will be the final chapter or Part III of the book, The Texas Rangers & the San Saba Mob. This series is the narrative for the application of a new Texas Historical Subject Marker for San Saba County. Endnotes are available upon request. Ross J. Cox, Sr.
Part 7.
In January 1935, James V. Allred took office as governor. He implemented many reforms including the rebuilding of the Ranger force. Allred also instituted a “youth movement” in state government. However, when most men retire at age sixty-five, Neal found himself re-enlisting with the Rangers for a third time, on February 8, 1935. On February 15, 1935, The Floresville Chronicle-Journal reported:
Former San Saba County Sheriff Is Again Appointed Ranger. Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 10. – Edgar T. Neal of Lubbock, who served as a Texas ranger on the border, again has been appointed a ranger, it was learned today. As a youth, Neal served under Captain Bill McDonald. He was one of the rangers whom Governor Culberson sent to El Paso to stop the Mayes-Fitzsimmons fight. When three of the “best rangers to be found” were called for by the governor, to go with Captain McDonald to San Saba to quell a mob, Neal was one of the trio selected. The mob broken; Neal was elected sheriff. He was San Saba County sheriff for 16 years. Neal at one time was a resident of Wilson County and will be remembered by many of the older citizens of the county. At the time he first went into the ranger service, he was endorsed by Capt. W. L. Wright, former sheriff of this county, and by T. J. Williams, former well-known citizen here but now of Wilson, Texas, and other local citizens. Friends of Mr. Neal are glad to hear of his appointment by Governor Allred.
Although he lived in Lubbock, he was officially stationed in Fort Stockton. However, his duties took him all over Texas. 34
During the 1930s the depression brought hard times and more crime. Neal traveled the state assisting local agencies investigating bank robberies, stabbings, labor strikes, murders, and of course bootlegging. On February 29, 1936, Neal resigned to run for sheriff of Lubbock County. 35
In his campaign Neal presented his record as a Ranger - suppressing the old San Saba Mob, his experiences as a former sheriff, and his crime investigations across the state. It was impressive. However, he also emphasized his special training for the position of senior enforcement prohibition officer. Although Prohibition had ended, people were in no mood to hear about the failed “Noble Experiment” and the problems it had brought to the country. On July 25, 1936, the Democratic Primary Election was held. Neal lost; he came in second. Again, the Old Scout was the right man at the wrong time. 36
In 1933, the Works Projects Administration (WPA) was created to stimulate construction and put people back to work. After the disastrous Central Texas flood of July 1938, WPA money was approved to improve the Travis County Marshall Ford Dam, which had failed to control the flooding on the Colorado. The project was massive and would employ 1,500 out of work Texans amid widespread poverty and unemployment. The project also offered some of the most complex engineering challenges ever tackled as it was designed as two dams, one for flood control and one for hydroelectric generation. 37