Evening star., 1934-02-18
Continued From First Pageo
/. Thus, sometimes, Is history


lectual and a strong contrast to the
| soldier Mendieta, for whom, incident
ally. he has great respect and friend
| ship. Indeed, so far as can gather,
all the Cuban leaders are intimates,
no matter how violently they differ
politically. When they communicate
or talk with each other they all use
the familiar "thou."
asked one Of my informants how
1t was that so many Of the Cuban ex-
lies contrived to live in comfort at the
best hotels. "They are all either rich
or well-to-do men," was the explana-
ton.
But aren't their estates conflscated
when they are exiled?"
Lord, bless you, MOI" he replied.
you see, there's an unwritten gentle
mems agreement in Cuba. For all
they said against Machado, he never
had any of the real leaders among his
enemies killed; neither did he touch
their property. The fellows who were
murdered by the Porra were small fry
student agitators, Reds and so forth.
1t is generally understood among
Cuban politicians that the man who is
in today may be out tomorrow. When
Machado found 1t necessary to arrest
prominent enemy, he kept him in
prison Tor few days, then let him out
and gave him 48 hours to leave the
country.
Gentlemanly and Polite.
Consider, for instance, the abortiye
Menocal1st revolution of August, 1881.
AS you may remember, on that occa-
sion both Gen. Menocal and Col. Men
diet1 were captured at sea by the Ma
chadist forces. They were brought
| to Havana on a gunboat and treated
with the utmost consideration. Every
courtesy was extended to them. and
by President Machado's orders they
were entertained at luncheon as dis
tlngulshed guests. 1t was ever 50
gentlemanly and polite.
After they had been brought IN
Havana they were firmly, but alway vs.
with the utmost courtesy, persuaded
OF the superior advantages of the cli-
mate Of the United States. And that
was that. Not only were they un-
harmed, but not a dollar was taken
away from them.
Machado himself would have been
treated in the same vay when his
tnrn came but for the fact that the
revolution got beyond the control of
the leaders.
The A. B. c. crowd was in COM
plete harmony with the leaders at
hrst. They were cooperating in every
way and were taking their orders from
the llnta In the United States The
Whole trouble came about because the
youngsters were too eager. They over
stepped their orders and did not await
the appointed time. In short. they
sprung their rebellion three davs too
soon. This took their elders, their
own leaders, by surprise Just as much
as 1t did the Machado government.
SO there was the junta with an ap-
parently quite successful revolution on
It's hands, but no organization per-
fected. So the A. B. C. leaders and
the soldiers and the left wing ran
away with it. Hence the bloodshed,
hence the dreadful slaughter of the
Porristas, the secret police, and hence
the prolonged turmoil that has only
just come 10 an end"
Back Room Plotting Don't Count.
Taking it by and large, the tech
nique Of the Cuban revolutionists is
pretty much the same as that of all
others. I am sorry to have to upset A
popular legend. The conspirators do
not hatch their schemes in dark.
smoke-flled rooms Oh, there are
plenty of small fry who do; in the
Spanish-Speaking districts of Harlem
and Chelsea and under the Manhattan
end of the Brooklyn Bridge there are
societies which practice all the mystic
rites Of E. Phillips Oppenheim plot
ters. They have passwords and oaths
and all the glamorous hocus- -pocus-
that Is, it is glamorous until you see
it and them. The same is true Of the
Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and other in
triguers.
But all these fervent and desperate
plotters in back rooms don't count. A
few of them come into the picture, but
only when they are used more or less
as messengers by the big shots. The
man who makes a revolution is the
one who can get the conf1dence-and
money-of New York flnancier. For,
although the distinguished exiles may
have enough TO live comfortably at q
swanky hotel, they prefer to let the
gringos pay for the rebellion.
And this provides a diverting sit
uation In all the Latin American
countries there Is usually just one
topic on which both the ms and outs
are in full accord. Conservative and
Liberal, Nacionalista and Commu-
nista, they all agree that the real vii
, lain Of the piece is your Uncle
Samuel. But when the water becomes
too hot for them down south, where
do they run for refuge? Right into
the sheltering arms Of the same old
Uncle.
OF course, Uncle has laws which
say that no plots against foreign
governments may be Matched on his
soil. But it is exceedingly difficult for
the Department of Justice to prove
that a group Of Spanish-speaking gen.
tlemen in a luxurious suite at New
York hotel have engaged it for the
purpose Of conspiring against the
peace CT u 1IIcIIOly SONC1 C1A1AIlCAlLs
London Once Was Headquarters.
Once upon a time most of the revo-
lutions through the world were or
ganized and financed in London. The
hospitality and latitude of the British
laws made the Soho district a con-
spirator's paradise. The Englishman's
tolerance went so far that he would
not suffer the extradition of even a
murderer refugee if it could be proved
that the murder he had committed
was political. Hence there was an un-
written, unspoken agreement between
the London police and all direct ac-
tionists,' whether Nihilist or Anar-
chist. Provided they threw no bombs
and committed no murders on Brit
ish soil, and provided they hatched no
plot against the British Raj, they were
left alone.
The conspiracy scene has shifted
to New York for the simple reason
that money is easier to get here. An
other factor is that Of travel and
communications. Not so many years
| ago South and Central America were