File No. 312.115C96/42
Special Agent Silliman to the Secretary of State
Department’s January 13, 5 p.m., received at 8.20 and immediately placed before General Carranza by me in person. General Carranza said that he had already issued orders for the immediate pursuit, capture and punishment of those responsible for the atrocity. He stated that he believed this outrage was committed by men associated directly with Villa and that it was done specially to provoke international troubles at this time. Said he had declared those responsible outside the law, to be punished with death if caught.
[Page 660]He asked that Villista soldiers who may from this time on take refuge in the United States be apprehended by the military authorities without civil process, to be delivered to the military authorities of Mexico. He appeals to the Secretary of State and to the public of the United States to consider the wide strip of the Central Railway, the great difficulty of guarding the entire distance, and the comparatively easy task of destroying a train or attacking a small place. Says that nobody can lament more than he such an atrocity or be more concerned about it, but that protection is relative and that even in the best requested [regulated?] states outbursts of disorders and lawlessness may cause destruction of property and loss of life. He says he is expecting full reports from General Trevino and that all efforts will be made to protect Americans and any other foreigners who may be in the district. His belief is that the massacre was made premeditatively by a band who fled at once after the raid.