MEXICO: The Women

The attractive wife of Mexico's President General Lázaro Cárdenas (see p. 16), last week headed a drive to help raise funds to compensate former U. S. and

British owners of the $400,000,000 oil properties recently expropriated by the Mexican Government. President Roosevelt has made clear that under his good neighbor policy Mexico need not pay anything like as much as $400,000,000 in compensation, but the British Government take a much sterner view, and Mexico needs to borrow heavily to finance Government operation of her oil lands. Best argument to use on prospective lenders is evidence of a desire to pay and thus last week Señora Cárdenas and other politicos' wives donated table silver and trinkets (see cut). Wealthy Mexicans took almost no part, since they hate and fear Cárdenas. Poor Mexican women were snapped bringing in chickens—worth in Mexico about one peso (25¢)—as their contribution, while banners were unfurled (see cut) reading: "LIVE TO BE FREE! OR DIE TO CEASE BEING SLAVES! (Signed) THE WOMEN." On the sixth day of the collection a dispatch from

Mexico City estimating the take at less than 100,000 pesos ($25,000) was immediately followed by another estimating it at more than 300,000 pesos ($75,000). Meanwhile, Mexico's Second Federal District Court handed down a decision that when the 18,000 Mexican petroleum workers staged their uprising and seized the oil lands for the Mexican Government, this was equivalent to their having been discharged by the former U. S. and British owners. Judge Ignacio Martinez Alomia handed down at Mexico City last week a blanket decision that the former employers of the 18,000 workers owe them "severance pay" equivalent to three months' wages. This totals over $13,500,000.