The Banker Reforms

Originally Aired: June 15, 1938The Lone Ranger #840, "The Banker Reforms," ruthless banker Martin Gates holds mortgages on nearly every home in Three Corners, and when a poor cattle year makes it impossible for ranchers to meet their payments, he forecloses without mercy. The Lone Ranger and Tonto arrive hoping to help the poverty-stricken townspeople, knowing that if given time to drive their cattle north where prices are better, the ranchers could pay their debts and save their homes. Meanwhile, two familiar Confederate veterans, Bolivar Bates and Hacksaw Hastings, show up at the sheriff's office with a scheme to help the town by running a poker game and paying a percentage of their winnings to the community.The masked rider discovers that Bolivar and Hacksaw plan to take on Martin Gates himself at the card table, using a bankroll padded with worthless Confederate money to appear prosperous. As the Lone Ranger questions the sheriff about whose side he's really on, the stage is set for a confrontation that will determine whether Gates continues his stranglehold on Three Corners or finally learns a lesson about justice and mercy.