Wilson Suggests Plan To Mexico.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 5, 1913:
Let Fighting Cease, Huerta Quit, and Both Sides Agree on a Government.
NEW ENVOY OFF TO TELL IT
Ambassador Wilson Dismissed and Lind of Minnesota Is Sent to be Mediator.
BATTLESHIP TO TAKE HIM
Ex-Governor to Act as Personal Representative of the President.
Special to The New York Times.
    WASHINGTON, Aug. 4.—The resignation of Henry Lane Wilson as Ambassador to Mexico has been accepted, and John land, ex-Governor of Minnesota, is on his way to the Mexican capital to act as adviser to the American Embassy, and in that capacity to attempt to carry out the policy of President Wilson's Administration, the first definite intimations regarding which came out to-night.
    These two announcements came from the State Department in rapid succession this afternoon and put a new complexion on the Mexican situation.
    While no authoritative information was forthcoming from the White House or the State Department, the plan of the Administration for bringing the Mexican troubles to an end, and which ex-Gov. Lind was instructed to endeavor to execute, was understood to be as follows:
    1— An agreement among the contending factions for a suspension of hostilities pending the election of a constitutional President.
    2— An effort to persuade President Huerta to retire from office and the installation of a provisional President acceptable to Huertistas and Constitutionalists.
    3— Constitutional elections for the choice of a President and Congress and the establishment of a Constitutional Government that will be recognized by the United States.
    It is the intention of President Wilson to announce the full details of his mediation policy in a very short time. In the meantime Mr. Lind, who started for Mexico this afternoon, will be endeavoring to ascertain the situation and establish relations which will aid him in the negotiations he is to undertake.

Bryan's Announcement.
    The announcement of Mr. Wilson's resignation was made by Secretary Bryan in this statement, after a conference with the Ambassador:
    Ambassador Wilson's resignation has been accepted, to take effect Oct. 14. The part which he felt it his duty to take in the earlier stages of the recent revolution in Mexico would make it difficult for him to represent the views of the present Administration in view of the situation which now exists.
    The Ambassador in the ordinary practice is entitled to sixty days' leave, exclusive of Sundays, which accounts for the fixing of the date of Oct. 14 in the announcement.
    The announcement of ex-Gov. Lind's mission was made in this official statement:
    Ex-Gov. John Lind of Minnesota has been sent to Mexico as the personal representative of the President to act as adviser to the Embassy in the present situation. When the President is ready to communicate with the Mexican authorities as to the restoration of peace he will make public his views. Gov. and Mrs. Lind departed for Mexico over the Southern Railway at 4:35 this afternoon by way of New Orleans or Galveston.

Why Wilson Was Dropped.
    Although some mystery surrounds the circumstances of Ambassador Wilson's resignation, no doubt remains that virtually he was forced out of the Diplomatic Service. The reference to "the part which he felt it his duty to take in the earlier stages of the recent revolution," and which, it was explained, "would make it difficult for him to represent the views of the present Administration in view of the situation which now exists" was understood to apply to the action of the Ambassador in bringing Huerta and Felix Diaz together in the American Embassy in Mexico City and persuading them to sign an agreement which would restore peace in the capital. President Wilson did not approve of the Ambassador's course at that time. It was explained in an authoritative quarter that in the President's thought the Ambassador had no right to take a hand in the settlement of a political situation.
    This is the official explanation. The real story of the reason for dropping Mr. Wilson from the Diplomatic Service is understood, however, to pertain to another aspect of the Ambassador's exercise of his duties. President Wilson has been set in his refusal to accept suggestions that the first step in bringing about the restoration of peace in Mexico should be the recognition of the Huerta Government. The Ambassador advocated this, and the President was not pleased.
    Everything goes to show that a decision to separate the Ambassador from the Diplomatic Service had been reached by the President and his advisers before the Ambassador was recalled to Washington for his present visit.

President Wouldn't See Him.
    Ambassador Wilson reached here from New York early this morning. In accordance with instructions telegraphed to him yesterday by Secretary Bryan he went to the White House at 10:30 o'clock and sent word to the President that he was there. The Ambassador was informed by one of the executive clerks who had notified the President of Mr. Wilson's presence that an error had been made and that Secretary Bryan was waiting to see him at the State Department. The Secretary of State and the Ambassador had a conference lasting nearly three hours, and at its conclusion announcement that the Ambassador's resignation had been accepted was made.
    Just what took place between Secretary Bryan and Ambassador Wilson was not disclosed in any official way, but, according to the story told by officers of the Government to-night, the Ambassador was informed by Mr. Bryan at the very outset of the conference that President Wilson had decided to accept his resignation.
    It is reported that in response to inquiries, the Ambassador learned that President Wilson preferred that he should not return to Mexico in his official capacity. This, it was said, drew what amounted to a protest from the Ambassador, who, according to report, maintained that he was being treated very unfairly.
    During his conference Secretary Bryan admitted that one of the reasons that the President and himself were so anxious that the Ambassador should not go to his post again was that they feared demonstrations there in his honor which might stir public feeling and have a bad effect on the efforts which this Government contemplated to bring about restoration of normal conditions in the republic. The Ambassador, it was said, conceded that such demonstrations would be exceedingly probable should he appear in the City of Mexico again.
    Mr. Wilson made this statement: I believe that both the President and the Secretary of State in their consideration of the situation are actuated by the highest patriotism and with the best intentions to both countries. I am unaware of what solution of the existing situation is proposed, but I trust that it will be found satisfactory. I have no pride of opinion with reference to my recommendations, claiming for them only that they were conscientious and represent the views of ninety-eight per cent. of the Americans and foreigners in Mexico.

Rumors About Resignation.
    Ambassador Wilson, it was said, did not write a letter of resignation to-day in response to the statement made to him by Secretary Bryan that the President had decided to relieve him of his official duties. There is considerable doubt in Washington as to just what the President had as a basis for his note of acceptance. It is supposed, however, that the President acted on the formal letter of resignation which the Ambassador. In accordance with custom, tendered at the beginning of the new Administration.
    It has been said that Ambassador Wilson tendered his resignation several times since the incoming of the Wilson Administration.
    Beyond the brief statement that he gave to the press Ambassador Wilson had no comment to make in regard to his resignation. He said that he had no plans.
    "I have been in the Diplomatic Service for sixteen years," said Mr. Wilson, and he added, laughingly, "I went into the service naked and I leave naked. I suppose I'll have to go out now and look for a job."
    Attention was called to-day to a letter written to Ambassador Wilson by ex-President Taft on June 29, 1913, in which Mr. Wilson's course in Mexico was approved highly. The letter is as follows:

My dear Mr. Wilson:
    You were Ambassador of the United States to Mexico during the most trying time that the people of Mexico have passed through and during a period when the relations between us and Mexico were constantly being subjected to a serious strain. I have great pleasure in expressing my high approval of your zealous and courageous efforts in the protection of American interests and indeed, the interests of foreign Governments generally during the critical periods of Mexican disorders. No one can understand the difficulties or your position and the exceptional excellence of the work you did who is not familiar with the constantly changing circumstances of the situation and the variety of the exigencies which you had to meet.
    You have my full permission to publish this letter.
        Sincerely yours. W. H. TAFT.
        Hon. Henry Lane Wilson, American Ambassador, Mexico, Mexico.

Battleship for Lind.
    Ex-Gov. Lind, the President's personal representative and mediator in the City of Mexico, will embark on the United States battleship New Hampshire at Galveston as soon as he reaches that port. This was not officially announced, the official statement given out by the State Department leaving it in doubt whether Mr. Lind would take passage at Galveston or New Orleans. He should reach Galveston on Thursday, and it is estimated that the battleship will land him at Vera Cruz next Sunday. The railroad is open between Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, and the journey usually takes about twelve hours. Mr. Lind therefore may be expected to be ready to begin his important duties next Monday morning.
    As the President's special representative in the City of Mexico Mr. Lind will have a freedom of action that will tend to give him greater powers than those possessed by an Ambassador, who would be restricted by the customs and practices of diplomacy. In endeavoring to compare his mission with any similar duties entrusted to a personal representative of the United States, experts in diplomatic matters were at a loss to-night to find a precedent for the authority invested in Mr. Lind.

Like Blount's Mission.
    In a measure, it was said, the instructions he was supposed to carry approximate those of James H. Blount of Georgia, who was sent by President Cleveland to Hawaii in 1893 as Paramount Commissioner. Mr. Blount's mission was to arrange for the restoration of Queen Liliuokalani to the throne of Hawaii and the disestablishment of the republican Government.
    Mr. Lind will endeavor to persuade President Huerta to retire from office or arrange for the holding of an election that will result in the choice of a President by constitutional means. It is supposed that Mr. Lind bears credentials from President Wilson, but it is not believed that these are addressed to President Huerta or the Mexican Government. The Administration is extremely anxious to do nothing that would in any way indicate recognition of the Huerta Government by the United States.
    Ex-Gov. Lind has had no experience in diplomacy and has not resided in a Latin-American country. He served in the House of Representatives when William J. Bryan was a Congressman, and his choice for the important office of mediator is credited to Mr. Bryan. During the time that he and Mr. Bryan were in Congress Mr. Lind was a Republican. He bolted the Republican Party in 1896 on account of his adherence to free silver views and became a follower of Mr. Bryan. He remained in the Democratic Party in the Roosevelt-Parker campaign of 1904 and the Taft-Wilson campaign of 1912.
    Mr. Lind was born in Sweden 59 years ago, and came to the United States when he was 14 years old. The Lind family settled in Minnesota, and the future Governor was educated in the public schools there. He taught school, studied at the University of Minnesota for a year, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. He began the practice of law in New Ulm in 1877. He was receiver of the United States Land Office at Tracy, Minn., from 1881 to 1885, a member of Congress from 1887 to 1893, a Lieutenant in the Twelfth Minnesota Volunteers during the Spanish-American war. was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 1896, was elected Governor in 1898. He was defeated for re-election in 1900 and again served as a member of Congress from 1903 to 1905. His home is in Minneapolis. Mr. Lind lost his left arm in an accident when he was a young man.