is never prone to declare its existence for the making of public records, especially in countries where such records may be made the basis of tax collection or forced loans during periods of revolution. That the valuations in tax assessments are in most countries far below the actual worth of property is notorious and Mexico is no exception. On the other hand, whenever interests claim damages from their own or from foreign governments, they have a tendency to exaggerate the importance of their violated property rights and the degree of persecution endured. To a less extent the same tendency to overstatement is found in the estimates made by those who describe the importance of their co-citizens' interests in foreign lands.
American investments in Mexico are greater than those from any other foreign country. The estimates of their total amount are many. Two coming from consular officers of the United States have a semi-official character. Neither claims to be complete and there are points in which each is subject to criticism for underestimate and overestimate of certain items. That there is less probability of error than in other approximations is indicated by the detailed information they contain.
Consul General Barlow's estimate published by the Bureau of American Republics in 1904-5 indicated that the American money invested in Mexico at the beginning of the century by 1,117 American companies and individuals was about $500,000,000 gold. Practically all of it had been introduced in the previous 25 years and about half of it in the five years preceding the report. The greatest single American interest was the
