Evening star., 1934-06-10
PLATT AMENDMENT MOVE
PLEASES LATIN AMERICA
Presidents Sudden but Timely Action
for Free Cuba Significant of Good
Neig hbor and New Deal Policy.

good neighbor, the man who had
promised a new deal in inter- Amer
ican relations, the man who had SOL
emnly announced that the policy of
the United States will be, from now
on, one opposed to armed interven-
tion. decree and carry out the inter
vention provided for in the Platt
amendment?
1t is, precisely, because of these
repeated pledges of the present ad-
ministration against the policy OF in
tervention in Latin America that the
abolition of the Platt amendment had
been forecast, even though it was not
expected to come so suddenly. The
Platt amendment gave the United
States the right to intervene in Cuba
"for the preservation of Cuban indie
pendence. the maintenance Of a gov
eminent adequate for the protection
of life, property and individual liberty,
and for discharging the obligations
with respect to Cuba imposed by the
treaty of Paris" 1t prohibited the
supposedly sovereign government Of
Cuba from entering into ANY treaty or
other compact with any foreign power
or powers" in detriment Of Cuban in
dependence or permitting the eStab-
1ishment of foregn military or naval
Judgments in the island. other than
those given the United States. 1t for
bid the Cuban government from as
suming or contracting any public debt
for the service of which its current
expenses were inadequate.
Elements Of Oppression.
1t must be admitted that in their
interpretations and in their use of
the Platt amendment the statesmen Of
this country were very discreet-un-
usually so, in comparison with their
other Latin American policies. But,
as a matter of principle, it cannot
be denied that in the Platt amend
ment were inherent the elements
which make up for imperialism and
oppression. The Platt amendment
potentially made Cuba a dependence
of the United States. OF course. in
practice that was not the case, but
it could have been so at any time that
the Washington statesmen had chosen
to carry to an extreme the powers
and privileges conferred upon them
by the Platt amendment.
Obviously, an amendment which in
volved such possibilities of aggression,
of hegemony and subjugation by force,
was out Of harmony with the policy
of the good neighbor and with the
policy of non-armed intervention
which President Roosevelt and Secre-
tary Hull had promised the Latin
Americans. At least one Latin Amer
ican statesman had the courage to
say so, in an official way. and in the
presence of delegates from 20 Amer
ican republics. Speaking before the
recent Pan-American Conference at
Montevideo, the chief of the Mexican
delegation, DR.. j. Puig Casauranc,
openly denounced the existence of the
Platt amendment and suggested its
abandonment without scruples Of any
kind, without tragic delays"
On the same occasion DR.. Puig de-
nounced the policy of Intervention
and respectfully requested from the
United States Government a pro-
nomcement against 1t. A few days
later President Roosevelt made such
q pronouncement at the Wilson din
ner. Now that his second requests
request interpreting the voice Of the
whole continent-has been granted,
Dr. Puig and other southern states
men for whom he spoke may feel re-
assured as to the sincerity of the
good intentions Of the Roosevelt Hull
administration toward Latin America.
(Copyright, 1o34.l