File No. 812.00/9344.
The American Chargé d’Affaires to the Secretary of State.
Mexico, October 23, 1913—5 p.m.
576. General Huerta received the Diplomatic Corps today. Pie was accompanied by the entire Cabinet and made the following statement: That as the sole reason for his having taken the Presidency was the pacification of Mexico and that as the elections decreed by law are now about to take place, his Government must await the will of the people; that he had dissolved the Chamber because it was revolutionary and disloyal to the Federal Government, nearly 50 Deputies having joined the revolution in various parts of the Republic, and that incriminating documents had been found in the desks of a large number of Deputies who had been arrested on the dissolution of the Chamber. Coming to the elections, he said that all candidates would have equal protection by the Government; that as he had reason to fear that some of his friends would propose him as a candidate for the Presidency at the polls and would vote for him he wished to make it known that such votes would be null and void, and that even if he should receive the majority of the votes cast his election would be null and void, and that he will under no consideration accept a mandate from the people at this time; that he desired to impress upon the Diplomatic Corps that he would not consider accepting the Presidency not only because the Constitution prohibited him but also because he had given public promise to the contrary. Pie requested the members of the Diplomatic [Page 849] Corps very insistently to inform their Governments in the sense of the above.
After the formal statement Huerta asked me to be good enough to assure my Government of his bona fides, and that his greatest desire is to see Mexico again normal and prosperous in order that the Government of the Republic might approach the question of social betterment, which he says is at the bottom of the revolution and which is being exploited by unprincipled leaders thereof.