Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-08-23
CARIBBEAN
CARIBBEAN
Strongmon Castro Molds
Typical Dictotor's Regime
Continued From Firtt Page

Continued From Firtt Page
Castro has proved to be q man
Of immature political judy
tnent, yet strong-willed and
scornful Of advice from persons
n position to help him. A lack
Of experience and genuine dis
taste for details severely hand
leap him as an administrator.
He is emotional. ultrana-
tionalistic, representative. He
cannot endure the slightest
criticism. Still he heaps vitriol
as he pleases. on high public
ofiicials, lowly private citizens.
United States Secretary Of
State Herter or the Organiza-
ton Of American States.
He pays lip service to demo-
cratic practices. Yet he es-
chews many Of those practices.
: For example, he refuses to
call elections in Cuba. He
won't disclose when he win call
them. He contends the people
don't want them now and
aren't ready for them.
He, alone, Is the supreme law
Of the land. He rules by de-
cree-and frequently by spur
Of : the moment edicts on
television.
Right now the Cuban people
would elect the candidates Of
his choice. But until they get
an election they cannot fix the
limits Of tenure for the govern
ing officials. Mr.. Castro thus
retains O free hand.
Numerous events have dis
tressed substantial citizens.
They were shocked. for in
stance, by undemocratic trials
Of the so-called war criminals
early this year. BY government
admission, approximately 900
war criminals have been exc
cuted. Some unofficial sources
insist the number lined up be-
fore firing squads probably ex-
ceeds 1000.
In the Cuba Of Castro, he
who ventures an opinion at
variance with "El Lider Maxine
de Ia Revolution" is promptly
branded a "counter-revolution-
,ary." This Is an ugly connota-
ton. The accused Is In danger
of abuse, economic reprisal,
'ostracisrn or even death.
Terror In Trinidad :
Conforming to the pattern Of
dictators, Prime Minister Cas-
tro found an excuse in the re-
cent invasion" of the town Of r
Trinidad to Jail 1000 persons :
on suspicion. There were few. :
IL any, bona fide charges. But .
the roundup enabled irivesti- =
gators to question whom they ,
wished.
Civilian courts were reopened =
only after long delays and law 9
yers complain court operations Y
are not yet normal. Habeas ?
corpus procedure was sus-
pended until recently. When c
reinstituted, war criminal cases q
were made an exception. i
Few accusations enrage c
Prime Minister Castro as much q
as the one that Cuba lacks q {
free press. O
Technically he can make Q Z
fair case against the charge be-
cause there is no official CEN
sorship here. The press is free !,
to write and publish what 1t :
wishes but the news media :
carry few items apt to offend !,
the Premier or his government. =
There's good reason. Mr.. =
Castro delivers slanderous at
tacks on newspapers and in {
dividual writer's who cross his n
path. Usually they are victims t
Of Gripping reprisal. Adver- e
Users and readers shun those v
placed on the official blacklist. Il
An example Of Mr.. Castro's v
rule by television was his in
credible performance shortly
before the July 26th anniver-
eary celebration. u
) First he resigned" as pre- A
nlier for a few days. Then he c
went to the TV studio and in n
one Of the widest public Il
dramas on record. turned upon a
his own hand-picked President o
Of Cuba, Manuel Urrutia.
Urrutia Urged Caution
Mr.. Urrutia, a one-time Judge
who had gained Mr.. Castro's
favor by q minority opinion I'M
favor Of some Castro men dur I
ing the revolution, had vetoed 4
some measures the Prime Min
lister approved. q
The President wanted to +
proceed slower than Mr.. Castro y
with the Cuban land reform y
program and he advocated a
governmental rebuke for Com >
munists operating in Cuba.
i Mr.. Castro exploded in front :
Of the cameras. He denounced :
the President as q traitor and =
encouraged a street mob to adj !;
vance upon the presidential =
palace as he spoke. He casti- :
gated the chief executive for :
drawing a fixed salary Of $10,- :
600 per month, and for buying :
o $4,000 house when Cabinet z
ministers had cut their pay to :
$700. !
II have no house, I have
bought no house." roared the n
leader, Enthusiastically omit 4
ting mention Of the villa at his :,
disposal, a suite at the Havana
Hilton Hotel and assorted
apartments, all free. r.
He went on to charge Mr..
Urrutia blackmailed the people a
with communism. The TRADE \
forced the Presidents resigna- .,
ton before the four-hour ha- q
rangue ended. Then Mr.. Castro /,
called of the mob. "
"A prominent American busi- s,
ness man in Havana said to me s,