Evening star., 1960-07-14
Cuban Situation

who hesitates is lost, q
prompt landing in Cuba,
with, or without OAS sup
port is the safest answer to
Khrushchev's history-mak-
ing insolence in threatening
the United States with rock
cts "if the Pentagon dares to
start an Intervention"
Such clustering at a time
when Russia is utterly in
capable of winning a nuclear
war gives an arresting pre-
view Of what to expect when
the Russians catch up with
us as they are rapidly doing.
Banking heavily on Demo-
cratic and Republican fear
of the war party" tag, the
quite sane little peasant who
poses as an impulSive mad
man has thrown down a
challenge which could end
diSastrouSly for us if we ig-
nored 1t or met it with gen.
tlemanly warnings" He
takes the risk-and has un-
doubtedly weighed it care
fully-of losing his enor-
nous prestige in the world
and his power and very life
in Russia if the challenge is
taken up sharply as it would
be by an Andrew Jackson or
a Theodore Roosevelt.
Edward Caffery.
The Cuban situation has
been allowed to get out-of-
hand in our State Depart
ment's Notwithstanding to
rally South and Central
American countries to our
support. A voice from Mexico
shows the long rendered view
of the average non-United
States American: That the
United States citizens have
taken many profits from
their countries in the past
and present, and now, turn
about is "fair-play." Any
United States citizen who
has Travelled extensively will
agree that the majority of
people believe we have money
and property to burn, and
should it be confiscated &.
too bad! Consequently, the
rest of the Americas will not
support us as we would like.
We are on our own! Castro is
committed, and must de-
pend on slow Russian aid,
unless United States busi-
nessmen supply him with his
direly needed food and thus
ruin our chances of showing
the Cuban people the Castro
revolution and his ideals are
not the solution, and that the
communicating Cuban
leader will end in failure,
being replaced by. other Com
munistS more acceptable to
Mr.. K. Is the United States
to meekly throw away its
guarantee for the protection
of the rights and property of
its citizens? Our prestige is
a deficit. Will our State De-
partment become a lame
duck this election year while
Castro ridicules us? Herter
has already indicated he in
tends to resign: why does he
even mention this? After Mr..
KS visit to Cuba agreements
will be made for the estab-
lishment of missile bases in
Cuba and then action will be
too late. Confiscation of our
property in Cuba is legal and
moral reason enough to phys
ically intervene and regain
a small degree of our lost
prestige.
James Payne.
y II
The Government is said to
be facing a problem in al
locating the 100000 tons of
sugar trade we are taking
away from Cuba. If that is
a problem, it is an odd one.
Our farmers are produc-
ing surpluses of wheat, corn
and cotton that are costing
over a million dollars a day
just to store. Practically any
land that will grow these
staples will grow sugar beetS.
Sugar made from beets can
not be told from cane sugar.
Because we are paying a
premium above the world
price, our sugar purchases
from Cuba represent a sub
sidy to that Government re-
ported to be $3.50 million a
year. At the rate of $100 an
acre that sum would subsi-
die a million and a half
acres. Sugar beetS yield up to
two tons of sugar an acre,
which gives a total of 3 mil
lion tons. With what could
be saved by a reduction in
the wheat, corn and cotton
surpluses, far more addition