services affected with a public interest such as the railways, tramways, and light and power companies. On July 31, 1919, the Department of State of the United States reported that 942 claims had been filed by American citizens. Of these 789 made a statement of the extent of damages suffered totaling $26,629,397.61. The claims of the largest companies operating in Mexico appear not to be included. No information is available showing the extent of damages of citizens of other nationalities. On November 24, 1917, President Carranza by decree established a commission for the consideration of all claims by foreigners against the government, but the procedure provided was of such character that the United States did not find it possible to approve it.[1]
It is not possible at this time to state the amount of the debt of Mexico which involves the rights of foreigners. The current discussions are seldom detailed. Thomas R. Lill, an American accountant, in the service of the Carranza government, stated before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on September 23, 1919, that the total debt left by the Diaz régime was about $425,000,000 Mexican gold. He declared the bonds approved by the Madero Congress and issued by Huerta amounted to another 190,000,000 pesos; loans due to banks, 53,000,000 pesos; and back salaries due to employees to 25,000,000 pesos. This would make a total of 693,000,000 pesos,[2] not including about 170,-
