this fact that the government of the United States tendered its recognition to Carranza's government as the de-facto government of Mexico. The military work of that government ever since has been directed toward the suppression of brigandage, which always follows in the wake of civil war, and to the civil work of restoring normal conditions throughout the country.

General Porfirio Diaz, to whom all credit was given in this country and elsewhere for pacifying Mexico, was busy for over three years in the suppression of brigandage, even after he had been recognized by the United States. President Juarez was busy for more than four years in exterminating the small bands of bandits which resulted from the French invasion of 1862. But to speak to you of more familiar facts, I need but to remind you that, although the American Revolution ended with a declaration of peace by Great Britain in 1783, yet it was not until April 30, 1789six years!—that the organization of the present American Commonwealth went into effect. The American Civil War ended in April, 1865, and yet Federal troops were quartered in the South, and scenes of riot and disorder were frequent through the conquered territory for ten years. During the ten years referred to, conditions frequently became so unbearable to the residents of the southern states that they had recourse to a secret and illegal organization known as the Klu-Klux-Clan. The activities of the James brothers in the state of Missouri in the seventies transcended in violence any of the activities practiced by either the Villistas or the Zapatistas in Mexico today; and these two outlaws and their followers held the state at bay for a number of years.

The American Civil War was a fight between two organized armies, one of them the victor under the management of the lawful government of the country. Consequently when the war was at an end the greater part of the country came back automatically into its normal condition. The Mexican revolution has had deeper consequences than your Civil War. It has upset privileges and prejudices and it has put an oppressed and enslaved people on the road to

freedom and democracy, without having the advantage you had, of having a lawful government during the whole period of the struggle. Yet it is only ten months of peace that we have enjoyed, and our condition today is not worse than was this country's for several years after the struggle

was over.

The head of the de-facto government, Mr. Carranza, is surrounded with well intentioned, able men who are busy trying to solve the many problems which confront the first government after such a convulsion. The government controls every one of the twenty-seven states of Mexico. The machinery of both federal and state governments is now in operation discharging its duties and functions. A few scattered bands of Zapatistas in the southern mountains are being pursued or starved into submission and the Villista bands have been almost exterminated. Thus the government has practically all the territory of Mexico under its sway and nothing remains as far as order is concerned but to cope with bandits and a lawless situation that necessarily follows in the wake of civil war.

The only cause of uneasiness today in Mexico is the stay of the American force which by its proportions and strength cannot be called a punitive expedition but an invading army. As a matter of fact uneasiness is the result of the stay of a foreign army in any country in the world. The "German" invasion of Mexico by the United States troops handicaps Mr. Carranza's work of pacification and reconstruction, emboldens the malcontents at home and the enemies abroad, causes a decrease in the public funds and is the cause of excitement in every class of society. Instead of checking the mischief-makers at the border, it only provokes them to new attempts, as has been seen in the raids of San Benito and San Ignacio, because some of the ignorant believe it is patriotic work to raid the United States territory as a retaliation. Others, bandits and cattle thiefs, see their chance in their state of uneasiness, and the foreign interventionists, to whom the President alluded in his recent statement, are gratified by the outcome of their agencies and are likely to produce

more raids since they see in the invasion the practical result of their endeavors.

At the same time all classes of Mexicans believe that an expedition which was purported to pursue 500 bandits can not properly be increased into an army of 14,000 with field artillery an army calculated to be used only against regular forces-and they cannot fail to draw a parallel between the present situation and that just before the war of 1847, which was forced on Mexico by the same methods as those now being used, as American historians have told us. The Mexican government is placed in such a position that to permit the stay might mean revolt and subsequent civil struggle, and to remonstrate against it or request its withdrawal leads to the sad occurrences of the last June days. In fact nobody in Mexico can believe the United States government can wish well to Mexico or try to help its government by this means of sending an army of invasion.

It is enough to say now that the sensationalist and predatory press is largely responsible for feeding to the American public a mass of misinformation and distortion of facts and exaggeration of trivial incidents. This forms a part of the deliberate endeavors of interventionist interests which have set their minds on bringing war with Mexico for their personal ends. Among the malevolent group stands out the name of William Randolph Hearst, as chief marplot, with James Gordon Bennet, editor of the New York Herald, as his able second. Along with this pair may be coupled the names of numerous lesser lights of journalism in the border country, where such papers as The San Antonio Express have striven ever since the advent of Mr. Madero to the presidency of Mexico to bring about hostile intervention. They have gone so far as to issue papers in Spanish with a view to inflaming the resident Mexicans of the United States along the border. But to stop this the Mexican government is impotent and the representations of our consuls at the border towns have been met with indifference.

Of course it follows as the result of any war that many

foreigners will loose their lives, others some property and others liberty. It would be impossible to conduct a war without some of these results. In the American Civil War, the lives of a great many foreigners were lost and much property destroyed and there were many claims asserted against the United States growing out of the conditions referred to. No adverse conclusion should therefore be drawn from the fact that a number of Americans have lost their lives in, and as a result of, the Mexican Civil War. The number of Americans killed during the actual European War is far greater than those killed in Mexico. In the sinking of the Lusitania alone, 115 lives were lost, while during a period of five years as stated by Secretary Lansing less than 200 Americans have lost their lives in Mexico. It is also noticeable that notwithstanding the peaceful condition of the United States in the same period, more than 200 Mexicans lost their lives in Texas and along the border.

But if this comparison is favorable to Mexico, there is something else which deserves your kind attention. Most of the loss of life and property occurred during the war with Villa, and we should not forget the fact that if Villa turned his arms against Carranza, it was to a great extent due to the intervention of two well known agents of the United States state department, and also to the endeavors of the enemies of Mexico in this country to boost Villa as a great hero. He was also permitted to import all his arms and ammunition from the United States. Villa had so much support in this country that when he was smashed by General Obregon in five successive battles, many endeavors were made to bring Carranza to compromise with him. Regardless of the fact that each day's report from the fighting front indicated unmistakably that the Villa army and the so-called convention were speedily disintegrating, the American administration continued to urge upon Carranza the necessity of dealing with his weakened enemy, and it was not until the Latin-American diplomats, with their thorough understanding of the situation, were called in, that the administration finally discerned that Carranza

constituted the dominating force in Mexican public affairs and the soul, source and fountain head of the executive power of the republic. It is also to be observed that Villa had that support in spite of the atrocities attributed to him during the fight against Huerta, of which two at least had been investigated and found absolutely true. I refer to the murders of Benton and Shaw. Whereas a year ago South and Central America were indifferent to Carranza, there is today an unanimity of opinion extending from Costa Rica southwards to Cape Horn, that the Carranza government is the actual existing dominating government in Mexico and should be treated as the sovereign power of that nation. Latin America is of one mind with regard to the American so-called "punitive expedition." It is believed in Argentine, Brazil and Chile, the great powers of South America, as well as among the lesser nations of this hemisphere, that the present attitude of the United States government is one of unreasonable prejudice and unfairness to her nearest neighbor.

Mexico stands good for all claims for damages caused by the revolution in lives, liberty and property, of Americans and other foreigners, illegally taken in the course of the prosecution of the war. This is the only way that reparation can be made. Mexico will stand good for those claims, even when most of the looting and life taken and general violation of international obligations in Mexico, were done by Villa and his associates when he was countenanced in this country, and not by General Carranza and the government agencies under him.

A nation is generally not justified legally, under the principles of international law, in intervening in the national affairs of another country except when the country referred to has so flagrantly and continually violated its international obligations that there is no other recourse. What I have said of the situation in Mexico will serve to show that no such condition has heretofore existed there or now exists. The war has been over for a number of months and the taking of life and destruction of property as incidents of war are practically at an end; and there