November 14th.
Last night the atmosphere cleared—for a while, at least. Congress will not be convened to-morrow, which puts quite a different aspect on things. If it had been held, Mexico would have been the only country, by the way, able to display a triplicate set of Congressmen, i. e., those in jail, those elected since the coup d’état, and the last new ones.
Sir L. called yesterday to offer his services. Great Britain knows she must be in accord with us. Many other colleagues also called, fearing some trouble when it was understood that N. was not to attend the opening and that the United States proposed to declare null and void any act of the Congress. Quite a flutter among the expectant concessionaires Belges! It all had a very salutary effect. There is no use in any of the Powers trying to “rush” the United States, no matter what their interests on the Western Hemisphere.
Later.
President Wilson has decided to delay the announcement of his new Mexican policy. Incidentally, I told Berthe to unpack. Well, we will all be quiet until something else turns up. Hundreds of dollars’ worth of cables went out from the Embassy yesterday, N. dictating for hours and the clerks coding. Several of them are sleeping at the Embassy, anyway—so much night work that they are needed on the ground.
I am giving this letter to M. Bourgeois, the French consul-general, leaving on the Espagne, next week. He is an agreeable man of the world, who has just been assigned to Tientsin.
Evening, 10 o’clock.
Matters very serious. N. is to deliver to-night what is practically an ultimatum. He called up Manuel Garza Aldape, Minister of Gobernación (Interior), and arranged for an interview with him at his house at nine o’clock. Then he rang up the ministers he needs as witnesses, to accompany him there.
Von Hintze arrived first. When he had read the paper here in the drawing-room he said, after a silence, “This means war.” (Some one had intimated such a possibility on Wednesday last, to Garza Aldape, and he had answered, quietly, “It is war.”) Von Hintze went on to say: “Huerta’s personal position is desperate. Whether he fights the rebels in the north or the United States, it is disaster for him. Only, I fancy, he has less to lose in the way of prestige if he chooses the United States. His nation will make some show of rallying around him in this latter case.” Von Hintze is persuaded that we are not ready for war, practically or psychologically. He kept repeating to N.: “But have you represented to your government what all this will eventually lead to?” N. answered “Washington is justly tired of the situation. For six months our government has urged and threatened and coaxed. It doesn’t want any more useless explanations. It is too late.”
However, until the note is in Huerta’s hands it is not official. So I still hope. Garza Aldape is one of the best of the ministers.