A Brighter Mexican Outlook.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 27, 1913:
    The gleam of hope that a way out of the Mexican difficulty has been discovered is most gratifying. The request by Gen. Huerta, through Mr Gamboa, for the postponement of the delivery of President Wilson's message to Congress is a reassuring sign, the importance of which cannot be belittled. While we can scarcely hope that the terms suggested by the Washington Administration will be accepted at the Mexican capital without modification, compromise is the very essence of all international negotiations. Our Government has demanded of the Provisional President of Mexico that he resign, that hostilities shall cease, that provision shall be made for an early and free election, in which Huerta shall not be a candidate for the Presidency. It seems now that the demand for the Provisional President's withdrawal has been withdrawn, but it is not within the power of Gen. Huerta to stop hostilities. An armistice with the Carranza contingent, the influence of which except in the far north is very dubious, would not bind Zapata, or keep that eminent soldier, Genovevo de la O, formerly a fierce enemy of Madero, now an adherent of the remnant of Maderistas, out of mischief. While refusing to recognize the authority of Huerta, it seems that our Government has credited him with much greater power than any ruler of Mexico could possess in a revolutionary period.
    The indication that Gen. Huerta is willing to negotiate, however, that the mission of mediation has not altogether failed, justifies the hope that some modified plan of action may be decided upon which will be acceptable to both countries, and the President may not be called upon, at this critical moment, to lay the whole matter formally before Congress. That body already knows what has been done, and what the President of the United States would like to have done. The chief desire of Congress, and of all good Americans, is to have peace restored as quickly as possible in the sister republic, the lives and property of American residents protected, and the wheels of commerce set in motion. If this can be done, through the offices of our Government, by the exercise of the spirit of conciliation on both sides, a vain desire to appear sternly consistent should not delay the agreement.
    It is intimated that President Wilson's action, thus far, has been influenced by the course of President Hayes toward the Provisional Government of Porfirio Diaz in 1876. There is no exact parallel. The Lerdistas, so called, exercised powerful influence in the United States. Lerdo de Tejada, the deposed President, was a man of unusual qualities, a jurist of high ability. Nevertheless, events proved Hayes's mistake. He accomplished nothing, and President Wilson is surely not modeling his international policies on those of President Hayes.