Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-08-28
'OIL INTERESTS SAY
 MEXICO'S PLANS TO
 C0NFISCATE UNJUST
Attack Justification Given By Carranza Officials for
 Seizure.

recent statements by members of President Carranzas official family in Mexico City to the effect that the Mexican government had a right to enact laws that would result Tn the confiscation of property owned by foreigners, and that retroactive laws were justifiable in international law, was made by the American Associa- .tion of Producers of Petroleum in Mexico in a letter presented today to the state department.
 "The newspapers for several days" the letter said, nave carried statements emanating principally from Mexico City intended to justlIy Article 27 of the Mexican constitu tion of 1917 which declares that all petroleum in the republic belongs to the nation.
 Cabrera, Schiaffino and the others now plant themselves on the broad ground that in the public in- {, terest the Mexican government can confiscate the private property of Americans and other foreigners with out violating international law. Ac- cording to their theory, property rights such as the oil companies have acquired, are subordinate to the well fare of the Mexican public and therefore can be wiped out. This has been their real position from the be- gining, though it has undergone mild disguise from time to time. They started out by citing American ! law on, the subject, but it was shown that American law is precisely the 1 reverse of their contention and now they cite the French authority Fran cois Laurent. He is quoted as fol- lows:
 Laws may have retroactive eff feet when public interests are at stake.' 1The actual statement by Laurent (Droit Civil, Vol., 1, Chap. ", Sec. 31) was:
 "'It is commonly argued that laws have retroactive affect when general interest so demands, because no right may be acquired against public in- terest. According to our view, this is too absolute. If private parties may invoke against the application of retroactive law, only their in- terest before general inte laws terest impaired by the retroactive ef- feet, the impaired interest should cede before general interest. But, when private parties have right impaired by the law, the court may not in the name of general interest destroy or modify the rights of citi- I Zens. The maintenance of rights is the greatest of all interests
 l "So, again. it transpire that the a,,th0ritv relied m is sunaro1v On posed to their theory.
 "They have dropped the expostula- tion that the constitution and the sole and only authority cited to prove that such things may be proved to be plainly against their contention. On such base is built up their justifi- cation of spoliation.
 "Their argument that to seize the oil lands from their rightful owners, and turn them over to the Mexican government to develop would re- bound to the public benefit is answer ed by the record made in the mana cement of railways, express compan- ies and other industries so seized" All these arguments have been carefully weighed by the state de- partment and the decision of this government was stated in the note of April 2, 1918, which protested against the specific articles of the constitution as confiscatory. The same conclusion was reached by the governments of France, England and Holland. It is stated by officials that Mexico will not be allowed to confiscate the oil properties.