The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1921-06-17

WASHINGTON, d. C.-Secretary
of State Hughes has delivered strong
note to Mexico promising treaty and
recognition if Mexico agrees that the
constitution of 1917 shall not be used
as means Of confiscating property
acquired previous to that time.
The principal issue is oil lands.
On this matter the Mexican consti-
tuition restates the principle of old
Spanish common law that mineral
rights belong to the crown or public,
set forth in the old Mexican constitu-
lions.
Hughes mentions property rights
validity acquired and not contested.
During his long reign of tyranny with
American help Diaz sold vast proper
ties and concessions which he had no
right to sell under Mexican law. When
he left Mexico, pursued by revolution
lists, he had fortune of over $780,
100000 acquired in this manner:
Our state department would I'M
doubtedly contend that such property
rights acquired from him personally
by Americans were valid. Mexico is
anxious to break up and use some of
the vast oil reserves held on these tt
ties for speculation; she is anxious to
break up great estates largely unused
or worked by poems to give land to
small farmers, or rather to make small
farmers out of landless country work,
ers s-. .:s.-. - 's
While Intervention is not directly
threatened by US if this work pro-
ceeds, it is written all over the mes
sage between the lines. If Mexico
does not make this promise she will
not be allowed to go along as she is
now-unrecognized. She must either
promise and be recognized or we in
tervene.
OBREGON'S POSITION
Hughes demands place the Obregon
government in delicate position. The
Mexican people made their revolution
for this Objectionable principle in the
1917 constitution. If Oregon makes
this promise he discredits his govern
ment with the people. If he doesn't
make it he gets Intervention.
On the other hand, the Mexican gov
eminent would probably be willing to
admit q great deal Of what our Stand
ard Oil company wants if it could do
10 quietly, and we could be assured Of
peace with our southern neighbor.
SMALL ARMY MOVE FAILS
Small army advocates in the senate,
including such senator's as Ladd, La
Toilette, Borah, Norris and Kenyon,
lost their fight on June when the
senate, by a narrow majority of four,
passed the army appropriation bill
recommended by its military affairs
committee, carrying $s55. 10000.
RAIL GRAFT PROVED
The chief examiner of accounts for
the interstate commerce commission
has testified that the New York Cen
trail is guilty of padding costs as
charged by railroad labor and other
intelligent critics of private manage
ment at the present time.
Examiner w. B. o. Stevenson finds
that. on 1856 locomotives repaired in
outside shops for the New York Cen
trail in 1920, charges were $3,169, 1922
in excess Of what these repairs would
have cost in the company shops.
The cost was an average Of 49,
1866 for repairs per engine at an
outside plant in Rome, N. Y, as
against $10,195.S1 as an average for
the same class Of work in the COM
pany's own shops.
At first thought it might seem hard
to believe that railroad executives
would try to keep costs low and thus
make better showing for their man
agement, but there are three compel
ling reasons why they do the opposite:
l. The government committed itself
to cost plus 6h per cent profit guar
antee. Hence the more costs the more
the roads can take out Of the public.
This money wasted q far as the. pub
lie II concerned does not get away
from the insiders.
2. Railroad labor Is protected in
certain ways by federal laws Hence
BY eliminating their own repair work
the roads can make thrust ct labor
q = part Of the open shop drive.
8. Railroad oficials are largely pup
pets Of the big banking syndicates,
chiefly the Morgan syndicate. This
syndicate controls most Of the big out
side repair shops and locomotive
building works. II can thus bleed the
roads on repairs and on new cars and
locomotives. And the stockholders Of
the roads % we'll - the public suffer.