"And gentlemen," he concluded, "citizens of Mexico and officers of my army, I want to state to you that, in my opinion, President Wilson is one of the greatest men that ever lived. Not only has he shown the utmost tact and wisdom in keeping the United States out of the European war, which would have been a terrible calamity for that country, but he has proved himself a staunch and sincere friend of Mexico by giving good advice and exercising patience, and while he has fully maintained the dignity of his country, he has not sought to bully or browbeat us. He will live in history as an international humanitarian."
Those serious-looking, brown-faced officers in their white uniforms listened with rapt attention to every word that General Alvarado said. He was not interrupted by applause or comment during the whole of his long speech. It was impossible to tell from the expression of their faces how they liked what he said. Naturally, I feared that they might resent it a little, perhaps a good deal, and that there might be an anti-Gringo outbreak and perhaps some disorder, for, remember, only a short time before they had been mobilized for the express purpose of lighting us, and they were all ready to do so if war had to come.
Imagine my surprise then when the general sat down and there was a burst of applause that was spontaneous and tumultuous. The whole lot of them clapped their hands, stamped their feet, cheered and shouted "Viva."  Wilson!" over and over again. The room was in a tumult for several minutes. 