File No. 812.00/15261a.
The Secretary of State ad interim to Special Agent Silliman.
Washington, June 18, 1915—7 p.m.
When an early opportunity permits, please say to General Carranza casually and in an unofficial and personal way that the Government of the United States is watching with the greatest earnestness for indications that the leaders of the principal factions in Mexico are assuming a conciliatory attitude toward each other with the view to finding in the near future some common basis for an understanding which will result in peace, order and reconstruction in the strife-ridden Republic. Emphasize determination of United States to adopt such measures as may be expedient to preserve Mexico for herself and the world. Intimate cautiously that it is within the possibilities to this end that the United States might recognize [Page 716] General Carranza in view of the way in which things appear to be shaping themselves—at any rate the possibility of such recognition is not excluded by the policy of this Government—but that if General Carranza does not go the full length of conciliation and conference with all the principal factions, with the aim of adjusting differences and restoring peaceful conditions which the opinion of the whole world demands, the situation thus created may prevent the possible consideration of recognizing General Carranza, who need not in that event expect the Government to consider that course, much less adopt it. Impress upon him the utmost interest which the United States Government and the people generally throughout this country have in the early termination of personal jealousies and factional quarrels. They hope for and expect a unity of purpose on the part of the leaders to sink personal pride and aggrandizement and patriotically unite in an effort to rescue the Republic from the present conditions, which are causing poverty and famine at home and discrediting the Mexican people throughout the world. If the leaders are inspired with these motives the United States is hopeful that a new state of affairs may result, which will pave the way for sympathetic understanding and mutual confidence between the two great neighboring Republics. In this view General Carranza cannot overlook the advantage and possible duty of not insisting upon the establishment of his own dominion over Mexico until he has exhausted all reasonable means to unite the contending parties in a common movement which will bring peace and order to the entire Republic.
In your conversation with General Carranza mention that while the Buford was unloading 60,000 pounds of corn and beans consigned to the Consulate for charitable distribution to relieve famine conditions, and while meat, corn and other provisions are becoming more scare in Vera Cruz, the Ward steamer Mexico loaded roughly 100,000 pounds of beans for export to New York. Such occurrences, presumably with the sanction of Carranza authorities, have had wide circulation in the United States, as well as similar acts by factional authorities in the north, and are producing an extremely bad impression as to the motives of leaders who allow such practices when it is well known that the food supply of Mexico is at the famine point and that the President of the United States has been under the necessity of appealing to the American people for assistance to satisfy the starving in Mexico. Such exportations ought to be stopped at once. The true situation in this respect is a fact which ought to be admitted, regardless of the question as to who is responsible for bringing it about, and which can be met by cooperation in relieving an appalling lack of the necessaries of life.