File No. 812.00/15179.
The Brazilian Minister to Mexico to the Secretary of State.
Mexico City, June 8, 1915—noon.
612. I beg you to take knowledge of and transmit following message.
The Honorable John R. Silliman, Vera Cruz.
Purely as a matter of courtesy and without taking any responsibility or any particular interest in its contents I accede in begging you to deliver following message:
Mexico City, June 8, 1915.
General Venustiano Carranza:
I do not know why you have not been pleased to answer my telegram of the second24 inasmuch as the same referred to a matter of vital importance for our country. I confirm said message in every particular and beg to add that the easiest way in my opinion to solve the great pending question would be, provided there is good disposition on the part of the principal leaders of the revolution, to arrange immediately for a general armistice, you controlling all the territory now occupied by our forces, General Villa holding that occupied by him and General Zapata the one he now holds. Railroad traffic being thus resumed in the entire Republic it would be very easy for the representatives of the several generals to come to the capital for the sole purpose of electing a Provisional President who shall conduct the national affairs while the constitutional order is restored. Said President will be made to appoint his Cabinet which will be composed of two ministers representing your faction, two more representing the Northern Division, two representing the Liberating Army of the South and the other three representing the civil part of the Republic; this with the idea that each faction may be represented and that the people in general may be guaranteed by the new President.
I believe the above conditions ought to be accepted, as my opinion is that there would hardly be a Mexican who would accept in any form the help of a foreign power to impose upon us as, if such a man should be living, he would deserve to be considered as a traitor to his own country.
Are you not disposed to make some sacrifice for the nation as we Conventionalists are disposed to make?
In case you should think that I am an obstacle for the unification of the revolution I beg you to kindly advise me so as to take some determination which would be no other but that of retiring immediately to private life.
Wishing from the bottom of my heart the coming of new era of peace and concord for all Mexicans I again pray you to answer me.
Roque Gonzalez Garza,
President of the Sovereign Convention in
Charge of the Executive Power.
I would like to know what impression was made on Carranza by this message and the former one on the same subject as well as Carranza’s answer to the American statement.
- Forwarded in the Brazilian Minister’s telegram 603 of June 4, 10 a.m. Garza’s communication was dated June 3, instead of the 2d, as here stated.↩