Page:Mexico under Carranza.djvu/75

Rh solid, — liquid or gaseous" were the property of the owners of the lands in which they existed. Under this law the title to the petroleum deposits as well as to coal mines, was acquired by foreigners who invested their money in the development of these great natural resources which had been neglected for four hundred years by the Latin masters of the country. Thus, at a stroke of the pen, all these great deposits of natural wealth, which had been bought and paid for by their foreign owners, are confiscated and the ownership transferred to the nation.

The effort on the part of the Carranza government to assert the national ownership of these petroleum deposits has recently called forth a letter of protest from our ambassador at Mexico City. In this letter the position, entirely correct under international law, is taken that the attempt on the part of the new Mexican constitution to transfer the ownership of the oil deposits, that had been acquired by American citizens by purchase, to the Mexican nation is a violation of international law which works great injustice to our citizens and can not be tolerated. This matter is now under discussion, but there can be no doubt that, unless the Carranza government is compelled by the sternest attitude on the part of this nation to hold its hand, this robbery will be consummated.