Evening star., 1933-09-19
TALKS MAY AVOID
CUBAN BL0ODSHED
Rotarians Lead in Effort to
Avert Armed Conflict
Against Regime.
BY COL. FREDERICK PALMER.

By Radio to The Star.
HAVANA. September 10 CN.A.NA)-
With every hour counting in shaping
her future, Cuba remains at the cross
roads OF the extreme left and moderate
right. The Rotarian group OF Cuban
business men and lawyers who initiated
the movement for a new coalition gov
ernment say that negotiations have
reached stage where concrete formulas
are essential.
An early session. continuing the long
conference between President Grau San
Martin and the opposing factions, was
Cancelled because their direct discus
sions had not proceeded beyond a
lengthy exchange Of views. Members
of the Rotary Committee reduced their
views to formulas which the committee
presented personally to Grau San Mar
tin to get his view and counter-pro-
posals.
Col. Batista, chief of staff of the new
army, was invited to none of the con-
ferences. His views are supposed to be
those Of the President He said it was
untrue that any interview had been
arranged between him and Col San
gully, commander of the deposed off,
GERS at the besieged Hotel National. He
had turned the water on again for
them, Batista said, and removed the
insulting placardS about them from in
front of the hotel grounds.
Batista Against Strike.
The union leaders had told Batista
that they were ready to call q general
strike in support Of the Grau San Mar
tin government. but he counseled
against 1t. The new chief of staff is
nleaSnd with fhn nh
enthusiasm Of the new recruits he is
enlisting In the army. He denied re-
ports OF disaffection among his troops
outside Havana or that labor agitations
and strikes In the provinces would in
terfere with the discipline Of his army.
He was sure he could keep order.
The news from the provinces, 50 far
as 1t Is available, has q more serious
turn, including a report that rural
guards had fired into the mob.
Inc main hope in the negotiations
between President Grau San Martin
and the opposition lies now in the pre-
vention Of civil war.
The president might make a conces-
sion OF cabinet Office or two, but the
opposition seems to be indulgine itself
In wish fulhllment in expecting him to
retire from the palace In favor of a
successor.
The president Is too nice and pro-
1essorial to say so in such harsh terms,
but the effect Of his words was sufd-
clently definite to make clear that the
only means of putting him out were the
means which put him in
Even II he is willing to retire, former
Sergt. Batistas soldiers and the stu
dents might not allow him to go.
Opposition Lacks Command.
usually evident as it is here, people
IN the United States do not seem to
appreciate that soldiers successful
mutiny made professor Of psychology
with an agreeable manner and q
Zealot's passion provisional president of
Cuba, and that when the heads Of
other factions confer with him police
men outside the gate and soldier SEN
tries patrolling the street are on his
side.
Batista has the fort and breastworks,
and the opposition is on the outside
divided into many groups which may
cal jackets, but no military formations
and no central command.
Where, then, is the force to over
come the force that put Grau San Mar
tin in and keeps him in7 Is it COM
posed Of landing parties of American
Marines to be followed by division Of
infantry to reorganize the Cuban army?
As an example Of false hopes, the
opposition factions who talked publicly
against Intervention had real faith it
would come because Washington would
not tolerate a Communist government
In Cuba. One of the rllmors which
gained currency said that washington
had given the Grau San Martin gov
aryorna,t 40 tNAssre n which IN y,oSioya
Armed Revolt Possible.
Excluding American military action,
the only means Of ejecting Grau San
Martin and Batista is armed revolt by
Cubans The wisdom Of this divides
the opposition factions. One view
favors giving the calf time to hang
itself. It would allow the provisional
government to go on until wrecked en-
the rocks of bankruptcy and would
allow Batista to continue his career
as chief Of staff until the lack Of funds
to pay his soldiers and the disappoint-
ments of privates who had not been
promoted inevitably brought disaffection
and disintegration. Then. they say, the
students and soldiers empire would fall
Of its own topheaviness.
The second view holds that Cuba
should not bear the enormous economic
cost Of waiting for chaos as cure It's