Campaign Of Unrest

Originally Aired: November 18, 1938 The Lone Ranger #907, "Campaign Of Unrest," the masked rider and Tonto arrive in Hillsdale just in time to rescue wheat farmer Ezra Pike from a group of taunting cowboys who have trampled his fields and cut his fences. The tension between cattlemen and farmers runs deep, but the Lone Ranger quickly realizes something more sinister is at work. Ezra explains that banker Thaddeus Gruber is deliberately refusing to loan money to struggling farmers, hoping to force them to sell their land cheaply before the railroad arrives and property values soar. The cattlemen, suffering from drought and burned-out grazing lands, are equally desperate but equally stubborn. When the Lone Ranger decides to investigate, he discovers Gruber's true scheme. The banker is plotting to orchestrate violent conflicts between the two groups, using their mutual hatred to drive the farmers off their land without having to pay them fairly. With hired hand Lem failing to bribe the cattlemen into helping, Gruber plans to provoke a devastating fight that will accomplish his land grab through fear and chaos.