File No. 812.00/6294b.
The Acting Secretary of State to the American Ambassador.
Washington, February 22, 1913—12 midnight.
28. By direction of the President the Fifth Brigade of the Army, comprising about 5,000 men, will proceed from Fort Omaha to Galveston. This movement is merely one of the measures of precaution previously determined upon on account of the disturbances in Mexico, and represents no change whatever in the policy of this Government. Should you be questioned regarding the movement, or find it necessary to correct false interpretations which might disturb the present satisfactory equilibrium of Mexican opinion, or unduly alarm Americans in Mexico, you will explain the movement as it is above explained to you, and point out that it is only a matter of routine. In this connection the President has today issued the following statement:
The movement of troops is merely to bring a brigade to Galveston, to which place four transports had already been ordered as a mere precautionary measure because of unsettled conditions in Mexico. It is not prompted by any recent news from Mexico, and is only part of the reasonable precautions directed to be taken some time ago, in which the sending of battleships to the various ports in Mexico was the first step. The sending of four transports and two brigades to Galveston is the next and final step.