Evening star., 1933-08-20
NEW DEAL MEETS TEST
In CUBAN SITUATION
President Roosevelt Reaffirms Ideals of
Equality, Fairness and Friendly
Cooperation in Meeting Crisis.

, by force OF an unpopular regime in the
island republic. But in disavowing the
Machado dictatorship, the President did
not 60 so far as to take sides in the
domestic political strife in Cuba, nor
did he even express his desire to see
| the Cuban ruler out.
Did Not Back Machado.
All that President Roosevelt did was
to make known that the Government
Of the United States did not support
Machado, as had been thought for the
past few years. In doing so. he did
not trample upon the sovereignty of
Cuba, and yet he accomplished the
same purpose as If he had sent armed
forces to unSeat the Cuban dictator.
For "a hours after his position was
known, the Cuban Army. Machado's
last nghold-Which had been kept
loyal mainly by threats of American
intervention-ha joined the popular
revolt and given its commander in
chief an uItimatum to resign and leave
the island.
Thus. in all appearances at least,
the Cuban crisis was left to be solved
by the Cubans themselves. President
Machado, who had refused to quit at
the suggestion of Ambassador Welles,
did so at the request of his own army
the establishment Of civil govern
ment. which is now busy consolidating
internal peace.
OF course, even the small amount OF
indirect interference with Cuban 90
mestic affairs, which was in evidence,
may meet with some criticism from
extremist Latin Americans who are
Jealous of the self-sovereignty OF the
| Caribbean states. True enough. the
| 1f LNql1pS
savored of yelled meddling with Cuban
politics. His formula calling for Macha-
dos withdrawal could not have been
drawn by any other foreign diplomat in
any other country. True enough, the
unqualified support Of Welles' actlVltleS
by the State Department revealed only
too clearly on which side the sympathles
| of Washington were. True enough,
rumors of economic pressure, II the
diplomatic pressure failed, were current.
But granting all these, not even the
severest critic of American intervention
could deny that the attitude of the
Washington Government in the latest
Cuban crisis was quite an improvement
over the usual conduct of previous ad-
ministrations in similar emergencies.
Progress Step by Step.
After all in international affairs,
more than anywhere else, progress must
be expected step by step. The ideal of
absolute non-intervention is still far
away. 1t cannot be reached overnight
It probably will never be reached in
countries like Cuba, containing so large
an amount of American capital, whose
economies are so largely dependent
upon the American market and whose
life is so intimately linked, physically
and politically, with the United States.
Besides. it must be borne in mind
that if United States Intervention is
justified anywhere at all, from a luridl-
cal point of view. 1t is in Cuba. Not
because of the Monroe doctrine. as
nearly all editorial writers have been
asserting in the past few days. but be-
cause of the Platt amendment. which
authorizes armed intervention with the
sanction of the Cubans.
Any one who knows the story OF the
Platt amendment and any one who re-
members the views of past admlntstra-
tions on protection of nationals abroad
and intervention, will certainly appreci-
ate the change In these words of Presi-
dent Roosevelt, when announcing the
sending of two men-ofwSr to Havana
Harbor as strictly precautionary
measure: The change of government
now taking place in Cuba is in entire
accord with the recognized constitution
and laws of that country, and no
possible question of Intervention or Of
the slightest interference with the in
ternal affairs of Cuba has arisen or is
intended by this precautionary step to
protect. if necessary, the lives Of Ameri-
can citizens, pending the restoration of
normal conditions of law and order by
the Cuban authorities
Whoever fails to see an improvement
therein does not know the history Of
inter- American relations.
(Copyright, 1889