Ogden Daily Standard | 1919-07-01 | Page 1 | Mexico Commits Overt Act of Confiscation

w MEXICO COMMITS OVERT ACT OF CONFISCATION WASHINGTON. July 1 The Mexican Mexi-can government has committed an overt act of confiscation in preventing American oil well drillers to work on lands owned by Amercan Individuals I or companies by sending soldiers into the fields and driving away the workmen, work-men, state department officials said today. Complaint was made to the I Mexcan government on April 2 of this year, it was learned, against the refusal re-fusal of the government to grant permits per-mits to the oil companies to drill. Noj answer was received until after the i Juarez incident. It was sd, and theni President Carranza announced no per-1 mlts, provisional or otherwise, would be granted until the companies had complied with the Jaw. Compliance with the law, it was said by state de- j partment officials, would constitute recognition by the companies that the Mexican government owned the oil lands. The orders to the military forces to prevent drilling by force of arms were issued bv President Carranza last May 16. according to advices from Mexico City today. The petroleum department i Instructed the Mexican war depart-J ment, by direct orders of Carranza, to ! use iny force necessary to prevent; drilling without permit, although the i lands on which drilling was done were legally acquired by the present owners own-ers The war department transmitted the! orders with specific directions as to action to be taken by the soldiers to the military commanders at Tampico and Tuxpam and immediately com- panies of soldiers were sent into the fields. It was not known how many drilling gangs were driven out of the Oil fields by the soldiers, but two have been reported and raids have been made, according t official reports, on the camps of oilier oil workers.