File No. 812.00/6394.
The American Ambassador to the Secretary of State.
Mexico, February 26, 1913—4 p.m.
46. I have the honor to submit the following for the consideration of the President and the Secretary of State.
The Government of Madero during its entire existence was anti-American; neither appeals nor veiled threats affected it in its incomprehensible attitude; during the last three, and perhaps six, months of its existence it presented the aspect of a despotism infinitely worse than that which existed under General Díaz. Though the new Government resulted from an armed revolution and at certain critical stages events occurred for which the responsibility has not yet been definitely fixed, and which must be deplored by the civilized opinion of the world, it nevertheless assumed office according to the usual constitutional precedents, and therefore is, in my opinion, clothed with the form of a representative Provisional Government. The new administration is evidently approved and accepted by Mexican public opinion and especially by the more respectable part thereof; it is equally approved and accepted by the foreign [Page 742] elements in Mexico; the Cabinet is united, active, and moderate in its policy, acting in full concert with the President, with prevailing public opinion, and with the army. Anti-American sentiment has almost entirely disappeared and the new Government is showing decided pro-American proclivities. The prospects for settlement of all of our existing complaints against Mexico in a prompt and just way are excellent. If this Government can not be maintained, chaos must inevitably result and the demands and necessity for intervention could hardly be resisted.
Moved by these considerations, which I believe to be also entertained by my colleagues, I am endeavoring in all possible ways, and frequently on my own responsibility, to aid this Government to establish itself firmly and to procure the submission and adhesion of all elements in the Republic. It is assumed that in the course which I have adopted I have the approval of the Department of State and the President, and an expression to that effect will enable me to proceed with great vigor and more confidence in a delicate question, work which I believe to be not only in the interest of our Government but also in the interest of the peace of this continent.