May Ask Huerta To Quit Office.

New York Times 100 years ago today, July 29, 1913:
United States Would Recognize a Provisional Government, Pending Election.
WILL NOT RECOGNIZE HIM
Ambassador Wilson's Retirement from His Post Considered Inevitable.
HIS VIEWS NOT ACCEPTED
Reported Change of Front in Matter of Excluding Arms from the Rebels.
FEDERAL GUNBOAT BLOWN UP
Oscar Braniff and Other Friends of Huerta Watching Trend of Events at Washington.
Special to The New York Times.
    WASHINGTON, July 28.— Henry Lane Wilson, Ambassador to Mexico, was at the White House fifty minutes this afternoon, where the President and Secretary Bryan listened to his report of affairs in the turbulent republic.
    While nothing definite was made public after the conference it was hinted in well-informed circles that a new policy was being considered by the President and his advisers which would involve the resignation of the Provisional President of Mexico and the installation of a Mexican Government that this Government could see its way clear to recognize.
    There were reports to-night that President Wilson was provoked with his namesake of the diplomatic service and that the Ambassador had been made aware that his resignation would be accepted soon. These reports could not be confirmed. The Ambassador said that he had been treated with the greatest courtesy by President Wilson and that he had been pleased with his interview. There has been a general understanding in Washington in official circles for more than a week that Mr. Wilson would not return to Mexico in a diplomatic capacity.
    Considerable significance is attached to the attitude shown by President Wilson toward Ambassador Wilson. The Ambassador arrived in Washington on Saturday, but the President did not receive him until this afternoon, and then gave him a hearing lasting not quite an hour.

Only Sought Facts.
    Only facts in connection with the Mexican situation were discussed, and the President did not ask for Mr. Wilson's views as to the policy he thought the United States should adopt to bring about the restoration of order in Mexico. It was learned late to-night that the President's interest in the Ambassador's plans for bringing peace to Mexico was not sufficient to cause him to read the memorandum left with him by tho Ambassador embodying the latter's views on the subject. Nor has Secretary Bryan, in his several conferences with the Ambassador, questioned him as to what Mr. Wilson thought should be done to end Mexico's state of perturbation.
    This negative attitude on the part of the Administration is construed here as indicating that the Ambassador will not be permitted to return to Mexico as a representative of the United States. Additional significance is attached to a statement by the Ambassador that he did not know whether he would see President Wilson again.
    President Wilson will not recognize the de facto government of Mexico under present conditions, as long as Huerta remains at its head. His whole attitude has shown that and it was reported that at the conference with the Ambassador he emphasized his determination in that particular. In the President's opinion, it is said, the assassination of Madero brings a moral element into the situation that operates against Hureta's recognition.
    The Ambassador wants Huerta recognized on certain conditions which he laid before President Wilson in a prepared statement to-day. His insistence that Huerta actually is in control of most of Mexico and that the only revolution worthy of the name is in the State of Sonora has been backed up by reports from various persons who have been furnishing to the President and the State Department information concerning conditions in Mexico. These reports have surprised Administration officials in view of advices that Huerta was on his last legs and that the revolutionary movement in northern Mexico was stronger than ever.
    Personal agents of Huerta are in Washington and it is asserted that some of them have become convinced that unless Huerta resigns and establishes a provisional Government that will be acceptable to the United States drastic action may follow. There is a belief here that advice of this character sent directly to Huerta by men who are on the ground here will have a marked effect on any course that he may contemplate.
    The knowledge that the Wilson Administration feels that it cannot afford to give formal recognition to the Huerta government was emphasized to-day just as strongly as ever. Ambassador Wilson's desire to have the President adopt a plan that includes such recognition has not served to change the President's policy in any particular. There is good reason to believe that Huerta has been informed of this by telegraph, and there is a growing expectation that he will be forced to the conclusion that he alone stands in the way of an adjustment of the situation.
    Washington is full of persons who recently have come here on business in connection with the Mexican situation. Agents of the revolutionists and personal representatives of Huerta are among them and all have been exceedingly busy all day. Representatives of big business interests in Mexico also are here. One of the men whose presence in the capital has attracted attention is Oscar Braniff, a wealthy citizen of Mexico, who is regarded as a personal friend and agent of Huerta. Mr. Braniff has been in New York for some time and arrived in Washington yesterday. He had a talk with Ambassador Wilson last night and saw the Ambassador several times to-day.

Braniff's Views Significant.
    In view of his friendliness to Huerta and the understanding that he was sent to this country as the confidential agent of Mexico's Provisional President, a statement made to-night by Mr. Braniff is regarded as having a significant bearing on the belief that an effort is being made to induce Huerta to retire.
    "Among the responsible classes in Mexico who have been more or less indifferent to the progress of events," said Mr. Braniff, "there is a large and growing sentiment in favor of a cessation of hostilities and an agreement on some candidate sufficiently acceptable to both sides to permit the holding of an election."
    Mr. Braniff added that he felt there was a good chance that something along this line would be accomplished, and that he believed the United States Government would be in accord with it.
    Another visitor in Washington in connection with Mexican affairs is Edward N. Brown, President of the National Railways of Mexico. He arrived in New York on board the same steamer with Ambassador Wilson last Friday and reached Washington this morning. In the course of the day Mr. Brown had a long conference with Secretary Bryan, but neither would discuss what was said during the interview.
    "I am willing simply to say," said Mr. Brown, "that I did have a long talk with the Secretary of State and I told him as well as I could what I knew of the present conditions in Mexico. We did not discuss any plan or policy in the slightest degree. It was purely a talk about conditions, which are very bad. That is all I can possibly say. I expect to remain here for a few days in case I should be called on for further information."
    Mr. Brown had a long conversation to-night with Ambassador Wilson.
    According to the statements made by Secretary Bryan and Ambassador Wilson the conversation with the President to-day did not embrace any reference to plans of the Ambassador for bringing about a restoration of normal conditions in that country. After he left the President the Ambassador dictated the following statement:
    "The discussion related entirely to the facts of the situation and not at all to any question of policy. All my views have been placed in the hands of the President for consideration and will receive consideration in due time."
    Ambassador Wilson left with the President a prepared statement giving his views of the manner in which the United States should attempt to settle the Mexican question. He indicated afterward that these views did not accord with the summarization of the policy that had been attributed to him, which embraced the recognition of the Huerta Government under certain conditions, one of which was that the United States would undertake to pacify Northern Mexico, or, failing to induce Huerta to agree to this proposal, the United States should intervene in Mexico by the inauguration of a bottling-up policy. It was inferred from the guarded remarks made by the Ambassador after he had seen President Wilson that he had modified his original plan to some extent.

To See Senate Committee.
    President Wilson indicated to the Ambassador that he thought the latter should go away from Washington for a short time, but should keep within call so that he might be summoned here at any time. The Ambassador agreed to the suggestion, and was making arrangements for a trip out of town when he got word that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would like to examine him, and Mr. Wilson therefore remained in town. He is expected to appear before the committee to-morrow.
    Members of the committee said to-day that the proposals of Ambassador Wilson for an adjustment of the Mexican situation were in accord with a plan he had laid before the Taft Administration late last Winter. This plan was considered by President Taft and his advisers and was viewed with some favor, but on account of the fact that the Administration would soon give way to that of President Wilson it was decided that it would be unfair to the incoming President to undertake a radical policy with which President Wilson might not agree and which would embarrass him considerably.
    President Wilson's apparent hope is that he will be able to get both factions in Mexico to accept the mediatory offices of the United States, if the situation is not relieved sooner by the retirement of Huerta. The Ambassador's idea that the first step by the United States should be the formal recognition of the Huerta Government upon assurances by Huerta that he would be able to reestablish order south of the 26th parallel, the United States in turn to undertake the pacification of the territory north of the 26th parallel, does not meet with the President's favor. The Ambassador's understood intervention policy would contemplate removing every American citizen from Mexico and then blockading all Mexican ports and establishing a patrol of both coast lines, and the whole United States-Mexican frontier, so as to prevent the shipment of arms and ammunition and other supplies into Mexican territory.
    The Ambassador said earlier in the day that the plan of action attributed to him was entirely unauthorized. Later he made a stronger statement indicating that the views which he was supposed to hold in regard to a remedy for bringing an end to the present situation in Mexico had not been correctly stated. In fact, he seemed to repudiate them altogether. From these statements of the Ambassador it seems to be clear that before putting his plan of action to President Wilson this afternoon he made certain modifications in it.

Arms for Both Sides.
    There were indications to-day that the Administration was not regarding entirely with its former disfavor the suggestion that the neutrality bars be thrown down and shipments of war supplies permitted to be made from this country into Mexico, to the revolutionists as well as to the Huerta forces. When this suggestion was made to President Wilson at a conference with the Chairmen of the Congressional committees having to do with foreign affairs, he declined to consider it, and indicated that his own idea was that if anything were done along this line, it should be in the direction of stopping the shipment of arms to the Huerta Government.
    To-day, however, there was some reason to believe that the Administration ultimately might adopt the course of letting the revolutionists have arms and ammunition from this country, so that both factions in Mexico would have a chance to fight it out on a fair basis of equality.
    Among Democrats of the Committee on Foreign Relations intervention of any sort is viewed with absolute disfavor. One prominent Senator on the committee said that as things stood mediation was the first thing to be attempted, but he did not seem to expect large results from that plan. This mediation, he said, should be undertaken by a commission of notable Americans, whose first duty would be an inquiry into whether mediation would be acceptable to the contending Mexican factions.
    If mediation failed, as he seemed to think it would, the Senator thought the best solution of the difficulty would be to raise the embargo on the shipment of arms and give the contending tactions every opportunity to settle the question of their supremacy by a severe process of elimination. In this way, he said, the strongest faction ultimately would win and recognition then could be extended to the victor.
    This Senator thought the recognition of any faction at present or even the recognition of the belligerency of the rebels would be unwise. Such recognition at once would place in jeopardy American claims for damages, because American losses would be set down as the unavoidable incidents of a state of war, and in any event neither faction could be held responsible for the depredations of the other.
    It became known through official sources to-day that the diplomatic representatives who recently met in the City of Mexico and adopted an identical dispatch to their Governments setting forth that the condition of affairs in the country was deplorable and suggesting that the Government of the United States should take action were the representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. The British Government forwarded the dispatch to the Government of the United States. It was said that two other Governments of those named also laid the dispatch before the State Department.
    The German diplomatic representative in Mexico City, it was learned, declined to join in the representations of his European colleagues.
    It was said to-night that telegrams came to Washington to-day from revolutionary leaders in the northern Mexican States denying Ambassador Wilson's assertion that there was no organized revolt against Huerta. In each message was a request that it be laid before President Wilson.
    Two of the messages, it was said, were from Gov. Pesquiera of Sonora and Gov. Lucio Blanco of Tamaulipas. Both of them. It was asserted, declared their allegiance to Carranza, and said they were acting under his direct command for the Constitutionalists' cause.
    All the advices received at the State Department to-day ware distinctly favorable to the Huerta cause. The most important news was from El Paso to the effect that two trains had come into Juarez over the National Railway from Chihuahua. This road has been in a bad way for weeks and all communication over it has been suspended over a month. To-day, however, a military train and a construction train were able to get through and a train loaded with provisions was sent back to Chihuahua. The managers of the road said that permanent service was uncertain, however, because conditions are still unreliable, although they claimed they were better than they had been for some time.

Americans in Madera Still in Peril.

    Representations were made to Secretary Bryan to-day that there was no truth in the report sent to the State Department by Thomas D. Edwards. Consul at Juarez, that the Americans who are being besieged at Madera by a force of bandits, and were believed to be in danger of death by starvation or violence, had been rescued and were on their way to El Paso.
    Representative W. R. Smith of Texas asked Mr. Bryan to remove Edwards for alleged incompetency in failing to relieve the distressed Americans at Madera. Several telegrams received by Mr. Smith and other members of the Texas delegation, said that fourteen American men and twenty-one American women and children were still at Madera and when last heard from they were in the greatest danger. Representative Smith laid before Mr. Bryan charges that Consul Edwards had refused to permit a relief party of fifty Americans to go to Madera.
    "I told Mr. Bryan that as long as we did not recognize the Huerta faction, we should not encourage it by permitting it to obtain arms from this country. We should give arms to both factions or neither."
    Late this afternoon Representative Smith received a long telegram from Turney & Burges of El Paso, which accused Consul Edwards of misrepresenting conditions in the State of Chihuahua, and asserting that thirty-five Americans were still in peril at Madera.
    Urgent appeals were made to Secretary Bryan to-day by Senator Pomerene of Ohio and Representative Linthicum of Maryland to make every effort to save the life of Bernard McDonald, who is held captive in Chihuahua, and is reported, to be under sentence of death. McDonald, who is a British subject, is manager of the San Patricia Mining Company in the Parral district of Mexico. He has influential business and financial friends in Maryland and Ohio who have been told that his captors have threatened to execute him.