File No. 812.00/15052.
The Brazilian Minister to Mexico to the Secretary of State.
Mexico City, May 21, 1915.
574. General Garza appeared before the Convention yesterday and made sensational declarations regarding the approaching general [Page 691] famine in the Republic and the hunger already felt in this city as well as the great difficulty in finding a remedy. He made really discouraging utterances about the financial situation, stated that not a cent was to be found in the treasury, pointed out the great expenses of the southern army amounting to about a million and a half every ten days, and asked the Convention where the funds were to be found by him to meet them. He further confessed that to alleviate for some days the financial difficulties he was obliged to hypothecate for 400,000 pesos a gold deposit of 234,000 pesos kept as a guaranty of certain obligations.
With reference to the political situation he earnestly requested the Convention to confirm or reject the appointments of his Ministers which were submitted to it several weeks ago in accordance with a law recently declared by the Convention; and he emphatically declared that by no means would he keep General Manuel Palefox as Minister of Agriculture, as the latter continues to act notwithstanding his dismissal by Garza and the Convention several days ago.
General Garza even stated that he has his resignation already written to be presented to the Convention in case it will not meet his requests. He concluded his remarks by making a warm appeal for the unification of all revolutionary parties including the Carrancistas to save the country and form a stable government saying that it was time for the army to give up fighting and go to work.