Bisbee daily review., 1918-10-27
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CBy Review Leased Wire)
 WASHINGTON, Oct. 26-The status of American investment in Mexico is an object of concern to the United States. Future commercial relations, not only with Mexico, but with the whole of Latin America, may be af- fectsd by the outcome of the dispute over the possession of land and min eral rights in the Tampico oil dis trict, says a review of the oil situation just issued by the department of com merce.
 The government, as well as oil in- terests, is watching carefully the pro gress of suits instituted in the Mex ican courts by the American, British, French and Dutch oil companies, for relief from the program of the Car ranza government, arising from pro- vision of the Mexican constitution of 1917 which attempts to vest in the na- tion only the right to minerals and oils under the soil of the republic.
 'In its bearing on our future com mercial relations with Latin Amer ica," declares the review by the de- partment of commerce, "the status of our investments in Mexico involves far-reaching possibilities. If all our foreign investments were to be trans ferred from the state of property, duly acquired with guarantees of perman- ence (such as occur in the Mexican mining laws of 1884, 1892 and 1909) to the state of temporary concessions requiring renewal from time to time by contracts in the wording of which we have no share, we should face an unprecedented situation. Our com mercial relations, not only with Mex ico but with all of Latin America de- bends upon mutual confidence. The liberal supplies which the United States has granted to Mexico together with Ambassador Eletcher's note of April constitute our side of the pres ent case. A signal factor, however, will be the decision of the Mexican courts upon the suits now in pro gross"
 The note of April referred to was handed to the Mexican government after all oil companies operating in the Tampico fields had been ordered to file manifests of property under penalty of confiscation and it had been decreed that new taxes called rentals" and royalties" should be imposed. It declared that the United States cannot acquiesce in any pro cedure ostensibly or nominally in the form of taxation or the exercise of eminent domain, but really resulting in confiscation and arbitrary depriva- tion of vested rights" At the same n D,-fff governments notified the CarranZa government that in the event confisca- tory measures were put into effect they would be obliged to protect their own interests" This resulted in a modification of the decree of con fiscation.
 Article 27 of the new Mexican con stitution is the center of the dispute. Three decrees have been issued under its provisions, imposing conditions on the oil companies which they regard as oonfiscation. The constitutional article provides that ownership of all petroleum is vested in the nation; that only Mexicans by right of birth or naturalization have the right to ac- quire ownership in lands, waters or mineral fuels in the republic, but that the government may grant the same right to foreigners, if they agree to be considered and treated as Mexicans and waive all right of protection from their home governments, forfeiture of their property being the penalty for such an appeal.
 It has openly been charged that the Mexican government was unduly influenced by German agents who hoped through the decree to cut off the supplies of fuel oil needed to keep the allied navies and merchant fleets at sea as the vestinf of sole rights to this fuel in a neutral government would make the Tampico production national contraband and prevent it's