Evening star., 1940-04-22

tlle washington DaVld Lawrence.
administration really didn't mind
the seizure; in fact, looked with
sympathetic interest on it. This
untruth has been allowed to grow.
Now when the formal note of the
United States Government, sent on
April 3, 1910, is made public and
1t reveals that the American Gov
ernment does not believe in the con-
flScatlon of private property by any
government unless adequate COM
pensatlon is arranged for, the Mex
lean government is at its wits ends
to know what to do. Dispatches
from Mexico City tell of the means
being used to arouse national pride
TO the point where to yield to the
American note is difficult if not i'm
possible.
But the present situation would
never have arisen if truth and full
publicity had been permitted to
permeate to the Mexican people.
Thus, on March &c, 1888, the United
States Government wrote a note
which made virtually every point
that has been made in the note of
April 8, 1910. But the earlier note
has never been made public. The
Mexican government objected and
the Washington Government de-
ferred to its wishes in the hope of
advancing a settlement.
Pride" Blocks Arbitration.
The controversy is not difficult
to understand. Any government
may seize the property of foreigners
If 1t wishes to do so, but must pay
for the properties seized. 1t is a
bad policy to seize foreign property.
because it discourages investment
In the future, but once seizure is
made there must be prompt pay
ment. The Mexican government does
not have the financial resources to
pay for the oil properties. 1t has
made several suggestions of vague
character about paying for the
properties out of future oil taken
from the wells over a period Of
years. This is not prompt or ade-
quate compensation within the
meaning of the term in interna-
uonal relations.
The United States Government
has asked that the controversy be
submitted to arbitration. This the
Mexican government, according to
latest reports, is about to decline
because of Mexican pride" which
presumably in this instance fears
the result of an impartial adiudica-
tion.
The truth of the matter is that
the Mexican labor unions, encour-
aged by Communist philosophy,
have forced the Mexican govern
ment to confiscate the oil properties
and now that the wells are in the
governments hands all sorts of
difficulties of management and wage
disputes have arisen. What is
termed pride" may also be the
political pressure of the labor unions.
which, incidentally. are counting on
the support of the G. I. O., whose
leader went to Mexico not so long
ago and delivered an address SYM
pathetic with their cause.
L. S. Position Is Final.
But the die has been cast here.
The United States Government has
taken its final position. If arbi-
tration is rejected the Congress of
the United States will receive full
details of the controversy and ac-
tion will be up to both houses.
There have been reports that Con-
gress would cut off the silver sub
sidy on which Mexico counts so
much. But this is an unfortunate
coupling of two things that are
really unrelated. The silver sub
sidy to the rest is on the way out
anyway, irrespective of the outcome
of the controversy with Mexico
about oil. Within the next year the
silver subsidy on imports will be
thing of the past.
The trend here Is to remove the
silver subsidy while President Car
denas is in Office on the theory that
If 1t is to be removed anyhow it