File No. 812.113/355.
The American Ambassador to the Secretary of State.
Mexico, April 3, 1912.
Sir: Referring to my March 15, 5 p.m., March 22, 12 noon, April 2, 12 noon, and April 2, 11 p.m., and to the situation which has [Page 774] developed here as a result thereof I have the honor to explain details more fully than was possible within the limits of telegraphic communication.
In conveying the wishes of the American colony for arms and ammunition I did so in the knowledge that the authorized committee of this organization had consulted, with reference to their contemplated action, with the Governor of the Federal District and with the Minister of Interior, and I felt further fortified by the fact that Mr. Calero, Minister for Foreign Affairs, had said to me that this Government had no objection to Americans or other foreigners arming themselves for the defense of their persons or property against mob violence. It is well known and established that the Government, and especially the municipal authorities, are desirous of having the foreign elements of the population well armed, not only for reasons relating to their safety but for the moral effect which such organizations would have upon the disorderly elements of this city. I assumed therefore that this Government, in the absence of reassuring and convincing statements to foreigners of its ability to protect them, would be glad to aid in furnishing all foreign organizations with arms or to aid them in obtaining such from elsewhere. Under the influence of these views and because of a desire to avoid newspaper and public comments upon our plans, I deferred asking for the permit for the entry of the arms until Monday, the 1st, when Mr. Madero, the Minister of Hacienda, agreed to take entire Chargé of the shipment from Vera Cruz to Mexico City and mentioned the probable duty as about $1,000. Following this I arranged for Captain Burnside, the military attaché of this Embassy, to see Mr. Madero the next day and furnish the invoice of the shipment. At this interview, Mr. Madero, who, it appears, had either misunderstood or miscalculated the weight of the arms and the quantity of the ammunition, informed Captain Burnside that the amount of the duties on the total shipment would be in the neighborhood of $15,500. Upon receipt of this information I immediately sent the Department my April 2, 11 p.m., and this morning, realizing that the American colony in its present straitened circumstances would be unable to raise the amount necessary to pay the duties within a practical period, I saw Mr. Calero and said to him that, while I quite understood that the Government was exercising its rights in levying the duties, the abnormal situation which prevailed here, and the widespread belief that the Government might not under certain circumstances be able to afford protection to foreigners, would appear to warrant the Government in lessening the rigidity of its regulations, more especially as these arms were addressed to the Embassy. Mr. Calero replied in substance that the French and German ministers had made requests similar to mine, which had been denied, and that he saw no way in which the Government could consistently depart from the established regulations in behalf of the American colony. I then asked him if the Government would consider the proposition to take a certain number of arms and ammunition in lieu of the duties. This tentative proposition, which I made without knowledge as to the Department’s views, he agreed to lay immediately before the President and the Minister of Hacienda with his recommendation and to notify me of their [Page 775] conclusions later in the day. In the event that the Government indicates no disposition to relax from the position which it has taken, I shall then, with the Department’s approval, submit a proposal that the Mexican Government take the entire shipment to its own account and immediately turn the arms and ammunition over to the American colony for their free and absolute use for a stated period.
I have [etc.]