Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-11-29
i. s. IS TAKING
FIRM POSITION
WITH OLD MEXICO
Murder of Another American
Citizen Leads Secretary
Lansing to Lay Down Law
to Ambassador BoniIlaS.
my nosa,ss 1ouHnAt SPECIAL l.AsEp w,Hs

! Washington, Nov 2S,--Anothei
American murdered in Mexico, clos'
on the Imprisonment of Consular
Agent Jenkins, coupled with reports o
revolution in Mexico City with Car
rama in flight to Queretaro, added
complexities today which seemed tC
| force the already tense Mexican situa'
| ton toward the long expected break
| ing point
There were no official pronounce.
ments for the guidance of public opin-
| ion as to what action, If any, the
American government might be con.
templating, but administration off
cials by indication, were willing tc
| show that the government is taking a
| firm position, considering the eventu-
alities and is prepared TO deal with
| them, once course is chosen,
Another Of 1.-The last straws," as one
official put it, was laid on today with
the official report of the murder of
James Wallace. an American oil man,
by a Carranza soldier near Tamplco
on wednesday.
The Wallace referred to is believed
here to be w NJ. Wallace an employe
of the Gulf Refining company, famil-
Wallace, who recently went to Tam
pico after having been in Colombia for
the Gulf company. He is about 40
years old.
Bonillas Calls on Lansing.
The Mexican ambassador, Ignacio
Bonillas, called on Secretary Lansing
at the state department today and
they not only went over the Jenkins
case, but Mr.. Lansing also laid before
the Mexican envoy the report on t 2
killing of Wallace which has Just
been received Their conference was
confidential, but it is understood the
secretary confided to President Car
ran2a's representative, a message more
forceful and direct than any yet trans.
mitted in any diplomatic note, Mr..
Bonillas was informed that the de-
partment placed no credence in the
charges on which Jenkins is held in
jail in Puebla, in which the Mexican
government declines to intervene, and
il is understood that Mr. Lansing fur
ther outlined to the ambassador the
inevitable consequences of continued
murders and molestations of Ameri-
cans, probably more pointedly than
was dore In the governments official
note of last July
Chop OFF Capuve's Finger.
About the same time word came
af the death OF n~ct@Er Smcrieap aa
the result Of brutal treatment of ban
dts who held him for ransom He
was Otto Lund, of Swedish birth. q
naturalized American, who died of
blood poisoning after being held for
ransom five months in the state May
arit. His captors chopped off one OF
!, 4 /, III,
written demand for ransom money
Tepic. Blood poisoning and gangrene
killed the man while his wife. an
American woman, and their child are
-renorted in want in Tepic.
The murder of Wallace, however,
assumes proportions of overshadow-
ing Importance. Portrero Del Llano,
the ranch on which he was murdered,
is six to nine miles south of TampicO.
The oil pipe lines of the Aguilar, Gulf
Refining and Huasteco oil companies
run through the property. When word
of his death was received here the
officials of all three companies were
communicated with for identification.
The Gulf company's office at Houston
Tex, responded that the Wallace was
probably w, M. Wallace, who was
known to be in the Tampico district
and on the Potrero del Llano prop
erty.
Eight Americans Murdered.
II the Identification be correct, Wal.
lace Is the eighth employe Of the Gulf
to meet death at the hands
of Mexicans in the Tampico district
and the eighth American to be killed
in Mexico since July 90, when the
rt,ff Nat
further murders Of Americans would
seriously affect the relations between
the two countries.
According to state department rec
ords, the eight murders have been in
this order:
July 81: R. A. Cunningham at Mat
August 2s; Adam schaefer at
Pinos.
August 30: H. S. McGil. at Coapa,
September 2: A. p. Hennessy at La
Colorado
September 21: Lieut.. C. H. Connol-
ly, U. S. A., at Bahia. Lieut.. F, b Wa
terhouse at Bahia. (These were the two
army aviators WHO lost their way, were
starved and finally murdered by Mex
lean fishermen)
November IA: E. K. Lack at Mexi-
cali, who is said to have been killed
by a Mexican official.
November 26: James Wallace at
Tampico.
Investigation Ordered.
1t is further said from the unoffi- |
cial records that Wallace is the sew
enth American killed by Carranza SOL |
diers in the Tampico district.
Immediately on receipt of the news
Of the death of Wallace the state de-
partment ordered investigation and
further reports in the details
Investigation and report on the new
phases of the Jenkins case, raised in
the Mexican note refusing to meet this
governments demand for the consul
ar agents immediate release, already
had been ordered.
The whole effect of today's devel-
opments was to, put the Mexican situa-
.:on, already acknowledged bad. into
he worst light Of probably more than
/ year. The reports of fighting in
Mexico City and the reported flight OF
-arranza, should they be verified, are
expected TO have material bearing
Ipon it. So far as revealed, no news
vas received directly from Mexico
city. The state and war departments
ind the department of justice, all Of
which had been receiving information
'ecently tending to forecast such a
development, set about seeking fur
her information and verification of
he days reports which came to the
border.
Reaction Against Angeles Execution.
There was just suspicion that the
rouble in the Mexican capital was q
'eaction from the execution of Gen.
Felipe Angeles at chihuahua City,