Castro's Ransom

In a move as cynical as it was cruel, Cuba's Fidel Castro fortnight ago offered to exchange some 1,200 Cuban rebels, all captured in the disastrous, U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion, for 500 heavy tractors, total cost of which would come to about $15 million to $20 million. Castro reckoned well on American humanitarianism (although his Communist propaganda line denies the existence of any such thing) and on an American guilt complex for having sent the Cuban rebels on their abortive mission. Within four days of his ransom demand, a committee of U.S. citizens, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, United Auto Workers' President Walter Reuther and Dr. Milton Eisenhower, had been formed to raise the bulldozer dough by public subscription.

But in his wildest dreams, Castro could hardly have hoped that the U.S. Government--which once went into battle on the ringing cry of "millions for defense but not one cent for tribute"--would lend itself to meeting his extortionist demands. Little did he know. Although great efforts were made to keep the whole thing secret, it was soon as obvious as John Kennedy's forelock that the President himself had taken the initiative in setting up the Roosevelt-Reuther-Eisenhower movement.

Calls from Kennedy. What had happened was this: shortly after Castro's blackmail message, President Kennedy decided that the U.S. should accede to the exchange--but without giving it the appearance of official Government approval. He had both moral and political cause for his decision. The world already knew that the U.S. had sent the anti-Castro Cubans into the Bay of Pigs and thus bore a heavy responsibility for protecting their lives and assuring their freedom. Kennedy also judged--and accurately --that many Latin American nations, previously reluctant to admit that Castro was as bad as he is, would be outraged by his callous offer to trade human lives for machines (see THE HEMISPHERE). And so, Kennedy called Eleanor Roosevelt and Reuther, both of whom were fairly obvious candidates for such a committee. Seeking a Republican, he tried a couple, finally landed Milton Eisenhower.

As soon as the committee announced its aims, the money began rolling in. Cardinal Spellman gave $5,000. William D. Pawley, onetime ambassador to Peru and Brazil, contributed $25,000. Los Angeles' John ("Jake the Barber") Factor, a Prohibition-era hoodlum who got kidnaped by other hoodlums in 1933 and knows all about ransoms sent $25,000.

But then, inevitably, the word got out that President Kennedy was behind the whole U.S. effort. He had also assured the fund-raising committee that contributions toward Caterpillars for Castro would be tax-exempt--even though the particular sort of bulldozer-equipped tractor that Castro was demanding is well suited for work on jet airstrips and missile-launching sites. The secret out, President Kennedy admitted that he had indeed given sanction to the deal. But, he said, indicating that he himself would contribute to the fund, he had acted more in a private than in an official capacity. He gave an eloquent explanation: "When private citizens seek to help prevent suffering in other lands through voluntary contributions--which is a great American tradition--this Government should not interfere with their humanitarian efforts."

Criticism from Congress. With that a large part of hell broke loose on Capitol Hill. Virginia's Democratic Senator Harry Flood Byrd let it be known that the Internal Revenue Service would answer to the Senate if it allowed the tax exemptions for contributions toward Castro tractors, and Byrd is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has a lot to say about such things. By the dozens, Senators and Representatives arose to denounce the bargain. Among the most effective speeches was one by Connecticut's Democratic Senator Thomas Dodd. Said he: "Our national concern for the plight of the Cubans . . . should have been evidenced by effective help on the beachhead to enable their just revolution to succeed. By paying Castro's price for a thousand good men, we give him the means to strengthen his enslavement of 6,000,000 others. The American people will, for the first time to my knowledge, be making use of ransom and tribute as an instrument of policy. If we start to pay tribute now for 1,000 of the one billion Communist hostages, where will it stop?"

Where it might stop, nobody knew. There was surely a possibility that Castro's piratical demand might blow up in his face in terms of adverse world opinion. But until that happens, Fidel Castro might just as well enjoy himself while guffawing through his beard.

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