Evening star., 1927-05-27
Safety in Financing
Projects for Cuba

From the Wall Street Journal.
Free Cuba-free in every usefui
sense of the word-has rounded out a
quarter Of a century. Her upright
and intelligent President Is guest
| among us and welcome as the flowers
| in Spring. The advance of that island
under the protection and tutelage OF
the United States has been spectacu-
lar. if we compare the condition at
the beginning Of the century with
conditions today. Her exports and
imports have multiplied six times, her
school enrolment much more than
doubled, her road mileage quadrupted,
while her railroad over an area less
| than an American State of moderate
size, with $500 miles, would make up
| a first-class system in the United
| States.
| 1t would be a poor American who
| did not have warm sympathy with
aspirations for representative govern
| ment completely responsible to free
| people. President Machado, however,
represents an unusually high type OF
Latin American politician, for in many
| of the countries to the south of us
politics may be described as an end
and not d means. So much the worse
| for politics and for the people gov
erned, and Cuba's otherwise creditable
| record includes at least one dismal
| failure, which it became necessary for
| the United States to rectify.
| Cuba has in view an important and
systematic development which will re-
quire large capital from somewhere,
and the only possible source of that
| capital is the United States. Cuban
credit with the supporting hand of
| the United States behind 1t is one
| thing, and Cuban credit with complete
| theoretical freedom and a welter of
local politics of the kind once expert
enced in the not far distant past is
another matter. If Cuba intends TO
build, as she should build, broad
| highway 700 miles long, from one end
Of the island to the other, with tribu.
| tary roadways opening up the country
from the north coast to the south, she
can best finance the undertaking with
| long-term bonds.
Such bonds could hardly be main.
tained as regards interest, to say moth
ing Of an allowance for a sinking
| fund, by any possible system OF tolls.
The value of the roadway would be
| In the increased assessment for taxes
| or the country Openeu up. iHe ieIul u
| is certain, but this is a matter CT
time. The bonds would be well Sc
cured by the maintenance of the pres
ent status in Cuba for some years
| ahead. 1t is rash to hope that the
| successor of President Machado Will
| be another Machado, with the same
| rectitude Of character and administra'
tive ability. In the lntime, Cuba
| needs the infiltration Of American pfl'
vate enterprise, with complete secu-
rity for American investment which
| only Washington at present can give.
| In the life of a young country a
| quarter Of a century Is negligible.
| Even if it is true that good govern
ment is no substitute for self-govern-
ment, it is also true that the self-gov-
ernment which is brought about grad
ually by the growth Of a people in
| character and responsibility is the
| only government that lasts. 1t is
therefore sympathetically suggested
that Cuba should go slow for the
present, so that she may safely in
crease her speed in ears not far
away.