Today -100: March 29, 1911: Of retiring gracefully, and secret briefings

Gustavo Madero, the rebel leader’s brother, says that the resignation of the Mexican cabinet was part of a negotiated deal, which will culminate in Díaz being allowed to “retire” on the face-saving grounds of extreme old age. Meanwhile, Díaz’s people say that he may retire, but not while the revolution continues.

President Taft called four Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the White House, giving each one a different false reason, then gave them a briefing on the reasons for the stationing of troops on the Mexican border. Astonishingly, those reasons – which have not been divulged, but which the senators evidently found convincing – have nothing to do with a need to practice “maneuvers,” as the public has been told.