Evening star., 1936-04-19


nesday, a luncheon at the Pan-Ameri-
can Union, a reception at the Cuban
Embassy, and dinner at the Mary
land home of Sumner WelleS, Under
secretary of State. DR.. Gomez will
spend Wednesday night at the Cuban
Embassy and the following day he Will
leave for New York.
Continuing improvement of Cuba's
economic situation, which began with
q rise in the price Of sugar IN 1883,
will have a softening effect on the
problems facing President-elect Gomez
when he takes office, but even so, they
will tax his resources to the utmost.
Comezs task will be to bring his
country back to normalcy. Under
Machado, Cuba was for years in the
grip of a ruthless dictatorship. Con-
stitutional guarantees were suspended,
the Parliament and judiciary were
deprived of all power, and no citizen
could call his life his own. The regime
was one of personal government run
wild.
Violence Met By Violence.
Opposition to Machado took form
no less violent For every enemy of
the administration slain by Machado's
porra or his secret police, the under
ground revolutionary groups made re-
prisals. Almost hourly, day and night,
bombs exploded in Havana's streets.
Then in September 1888 came the
coup by the army sergeants, led by
Fulgencio BatiSta. Machado was COM
pelled to flee the country by airplane,
taking with him, according to gossip,
S6,O00,000 in bills hastily stuffed into
a suitcase. Thereafter in rapid Sue
cession the presidency was occupied
by the mild and pacific Carlos Manuel
de Cespedes, the semi-radical Grau
San Martin, the youthful Carlos
Hevia, whose tenure of Office was
limited to "a hours and whose chief
qualification was that he was a gradu-
ate of the United States Naval
Academy and presumably persona
grata to Washington; Col. Carlos
Mendietq, a veteran of the Cuban
war of independence, and the present
incumbent, Jose T. Barnet, career
man in Cuba's diplomatic service.
Followers Expect Reward.
Gomez, like all presidents when they
enter Office, whether in Cuba, the
United States, or elsewhere, has
numerous deserving" followers who
will expect to be rewarded for their
services to him. When and If Gomez
begins throwing Batistas out of jobs
to make way for his own followers, he
will have very serious trouble with
the head of the army. And the
moment Gomez loses the support Of the
army he will be out of job himself.
Depending on whether you talk with
o friend of Comez's in Havana or an
opponent, you will be told (a) that
Cubas call and that he will make
splendid success of his presidency;
and(b) that he will be unable to solve
Cubas economic and political pro-
blems and will go the way Of all re-
cent presidents to oblivion.
The argument which Comezs friends
make in support Of their thesis runs
about as follows: Comes is young
man-in his early forties-and though
not robust he has the endurance to
stay on the job early and late, as he
will have to do; always he has been q
hard and conscientious worker. It is
to his advantage that he does not
belong among the veterans Of 1895
who have dominated Cuban politics
throughout the life of the Republic,
TO Cubas great cost. There have been
Cubans who, to put it that way, have
used public Office to go from poverty
to riches, but Gomez enters the presi-
dency the possessor Of a considerable
fortune inherited from his father,
Jose Miguel Gomez, who was Cuba's
second president.
Wants Pure Regime.
Gomez, the son, will not use the pres
idency to enrich himself The admin
1stration of the elder Gomez has been |
called some very harsh names, and
the son, his friends say. is determined |
that his government will be so upright |
and honest that it will remove any
trace of odium that still attaches to |
the family name
Gomez has been in public life for |
many years, first as Representative |
in the Cuban Congress and later as