The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-04-16
MEXICO WILL BE
 STRICTLY NEUTRAL,
 STATES CARRANZA
First Chief Addresses His New Congress on Course to be Pursued in the
 World War

Mexico City, April 15-GeneraI Carranza in his address to the new Congress to- night declared that Mexico would main tain strict and rigorous neutrality in the world war
 E. Von Eckhardt, the German minister. was seated in box with the Austrian spanish and other diplomats Henry F. Fletcher sat with the British minister.
 READS LONG REPORT
 General Carranza also read to the Con- gress, which held it's first formal session tonight. complete report of his admin istration as first chief. The narrative extended from the time of the Madero revolution in 191O
 Particular attention was given the re- volt against Madero by Felix Diaz in 1912
 General Carranza declared that the fail- ure to treat Diaz with severity was a great mistake, as it allowed the awak- ening of the ambitions of Diaz and old favorites. He gave in detail the alleged efforts of Henry Lane Wilson, then American ambassador to Mexico as fol- lows:
 Just after the assassination of Pres ident Madero the consul and vice consul of the United States visited me at the government palace in Saltillo under in- structions from Henry Lane Wilson, the American ambassador, to bring pressure to make me desist in my attitude of non- recognition of the Huerta government. They insistently affirmed that all resist ance would be futile because Huerta had immense resources. sufficient to choke the revolt in Coahuila, and they made known to me that the government of Huerta had been recognized by all other POU6rOn1enfS inplndinp the al which had diplomatic representatives in Mexico and added that by order of the ambassador all the other governments had accepted the government, and that l was the only one maintaining a rebeIlious attitude.
 WOULD NOT ACCEPT
 Tn answer I said that I would not ac cept the arrangement and would follow my duty as governor of the state what ever the outcome. Afterward I obtained a full copy of Ambassador Wilson's mes sage to the said consuls to bring pressure upon me- A few days later Vice Consul Silliman asked what would be my cond1- tions to avoid war, saying he would transmit the conditions to Huerta through Ambassador Wilson.
 T wrote in reply that my terms were that Huerta and the others connected with the Cuartelazzol leave the country and that tlfe capital be evacuated and oc- cupied by troops of Coahuila and Sonora, and that Congress designate legal sub stitute for the President. MT Silliman promised to see that this letter reached the capital, but I never had an answer
 KNOX STORY DENIED
 Tt is opportune to make clear these facts, in view of the recent interview given by Senator Knox in the United States in which he said the, intervention of Ambassador Wilson was due only to the fact that I had asked his mediation, which is entirely false, as the facts are as above.'
 In explaining the decree of May, 1915 providing for the rights of nationals and foreigners to collect damages suffered in the revolt, General Carranza said the de- cree did not refer to damages that always follow civil war, but only through the occupation of. private property by the constitutional authorities by reason of