Source
“Demands that American companies agree to defray the expenses of Mexican contract laborers from their homes to the scene of their labors in the United States and return will be made by the Sonora government immediately, according to Manuel N. Bernal, chief of the State Labor Bureau, sponsored by the States of Mayarit, Colima, Jalisco, Sinaloa and Sonora.
Twenty-three thousand laborers are wanted from the West Coast States of Mexico by the sugar beet, cotton and other agricultural interests in the United States this year, figures complied by the Labor Bureau show. Statistics prove that last year the cotton growers had planted 38,000 acres against 20,000t this year.
In permitting 23,000 Mexicans to enter the United States to harvest this and other crops, the Sonora government, under previously prevailing conditions, would assume responsibility of returning them to their homes. This, if all returned to the border with insufficient money to defray their expenses back into Mexico as between 90 and 85 per cent did last year, according to Bernal, it would cost the government $26 each, or $299,000 in American money.
This the government is unwilling to pay, in as much, the representatives say, as the Mexican laborers furnish a large profit on their work to American companies and leave practically all their earnings in the Untied States. Bernal said today:
‘It is not the desire of the State Labor Bureau to prevent Mexican workers from entering the United States when it is assured that they will be fairly treated and not be a burden on their own government after five or six months of labor abroad.’
‘Careful investigation has shown us that many of the Mexicans who return to Nogales, alleging poverty and demanding fare home, either have ample money to buy their own railway tickets or have wasted their earnings. These men are being ferreted out and will be punished according to their deserts. Many of the false alarmists have confessed to their falsehoods.'”
Introduction
The story in the Mohave County Miner and Our Mineral Wealth newspaper titled “Demand Return Fare for Mexican Labor” demonstrates the U.S’s reliance on Mexican labor and the importance that the U.S. places on how Mexico and outsiders view the country. This specific newspaper article is from July 31, 1920. At this point in history the U.S. has a large agricultural economy that is fueled by the cheap labor the U.S. gains from Mexican workers. Although the tone of this article shows the U.S’s desperation and dependence on Mexico’s cheap labor, we will see that four years later the U.S. will impose the Immigration Act of 1924 that will bar Mexicans from entering the country and greatly sour Mexican sentiments about the U.S.
The relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, specifically the Mexican government, that is conveyed in this article shows a reliance from the U.S. on Mexico for labor that supports the United States’ agricultural economy. However, despite this dependence, the U.S. expresses that it is not willing to meet the Mexican government’s asks that “American companies to defray the expenses” that Mexican workers face when they cross the border back into Mexico. This lack of desire to benefit the country that is providing the crucial labor is a precursor to the U.S. making decisions that only benefit their own interests. This article shows that Mexican labor was at the center of the U.S’s economy and that the U.S’s concern was their reputation in other countries. This media is a prime example of the bias that existed in newspapers all across the United States towards Mexico.
Citation
Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth. [volume] (Kingman, Ariz.), 31 July 1920. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn96060547/1920-07-31/ed-1/seq-6/>