The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1919-07-03
WE MUST HAVE PETROLEUM.

The United States proposes to have
fleet of ocean going vessels, 1000 or more
in number, to carry the products of our
soil and mills to foreign lands and to bring
back such things as we need. Work is
being pushed in the construction of these
vessels and they are to be driven by steam
produced by using oil as fuel. To operate
this American fleet we must have Ameri-
can officers and should have, for the most
part, a. least, an American crew. This is
a hand cap because the wages of sailors
are higher here than in any other coun-
try. It has been found that oil burning
ships cut down the fireroom labor expense
80 per cent and lessons expense in other
ways. A recent writer in Golfers said
that a vessel using oil for fuel could be
run fer % per cent less than the same
ship using coal. The Emergency Fleet
Corporation purchased 80, 1000, 900 barrels
of oil for use in 1919 and the price paid
was less than the figures on which the
statement in Golfers were based, SO that
the percentage of saving would be some
what more than 80 per cent, at present
prices
Otler nations are using oil as a fuel
and MANY of them having no domestic
supply are always in the market for for
eign Gil. We must use oil or our new fleet
will rde It's life out at anchor. We pro-
duce now no more oil than we need and
soon will be pumping less than we need
Mexico has great oil resources and uses
very little oil
The CarranZa government has for some
time been deriving large part of its in
come from the tramways, railroads, ex-
press companies, telegraph lines and other
public utilities which it has conGscated
from American, English, French, Belgian
and other foreign owners 1t has also ex-
torted collections from foreigners owning
mining rights, the alternative being pay
quit, OF be murdered" The owners of
the oil lands would have been treated in
the same manner but for the fact that in
1884 the laws of Mexico distinctly pro-
vlded, as an inducement to purchase, that
petroleum is the property of the owner of
the soil and that he may legally dispose
of 1T. This has been the only way in
which oil lands could be obtained in Mex
leo. Relying on the above enactment,
Americans have bought extensive hold
Il
for our future needs if American capital
and skill were allowed to carry on the
business of drilling wells and transport
ing oil to this country Englishmen have
also been very large purchasers, while
Germans, Frenchmen, Belgians and COM
panies formed in several other countries,
have entered the field of purchase and
development. More than 5000, 600, 600 of
foreign money have been expended for
development alone. Carranza now pro-
poses to confiscate all the oil properties
owned in Mexico by foreigners. He has
created what he calls constitutional
Assembly," which is representative of
less than per cent of the people of Mex
leo, it's members being his willing TOOLS
This assembly has adopted new consti-
tuition which declares that the Mexican
nation owns all the petroleum deposits
and may proceed to sell or lease them.
This new constitution goes further and
says that no American corporation or in
dividual may have the right to buy or to
lease. Protests have been poured into
Carranza's ears and England has refused
to receive the Mexican minister to that
country unless this confiscation scheme