Dear Editor
DEAR EDITOR INTERVENTION IN CUBA Irving Kristol's is undoubtedly the best analysis I have seen of the principles that should govern our policy towards Cuba ["The Case for Intervention in Cuba,"...
...On the other hand, I do not feel Kristol has made much of a case for intervention...
...For myself and the many friends to whom I have recommended Stern, I want to thank Stanley Edgar Hyman for bringing this book to our attention ("An Exceptional First Novel," NL, October 1...
...DEAR EDITOR INTERVENTION IN CUBA Irving Kristol's is undoubtedly the best analysis I have seen of the principles that should govern our policy towards Cuba ["The Case for Intervention in Cuba," NL, October 15], This isn't saying much, so let me add that it's a very good one...
...invasion against the benefits of removing a Communist regime from Cuba...
...Washington, D.C...
...While Kristol attempts to discuss the problem in an incisive tone of realism, I feel he takes little notice of present-day reality...
...I don't know how well Stern is selling, but if one may judge by the number and range of people who are talking about it (and the rash of post-publication reviews), the book will be another "hidden bestseller," like Catch22...
...Should it occur, I hope that the publisher (and all publishers) realizes that this literary ripple was stirred by one man alone...
...If the "Keynesian diagnosis" were as "banal" as Lekachman says, one would think it would have reached our Secretary of Commerce...
...One of the great economic challenges of 1963, as noted by Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges in a recent address, is the economic education of America...
...Nor does Kristol discuss the Latin American response...
...Nor did it bring us quite so close to the brink of war as Kristol's proposal, had President Kennedy followed it, would have...
...3. Finally, what will happen to Cuba once it is liberated...
...2. The slightly higher costs of later intervention should be balanced, then, against the chances of internal revolt...
...Were it not for Soviet occupation, East Germany might have revolted successfully...
...New York City Frank R. Crosswaith IS KEYNES BANAL...
...Hungary did, until Soviet reoccupation...
...Had the President accepted the counsel of Kristol, we might have succeeded in our objective, but one thing is certain: We would have lost the support of the nations that comprise the Organization of American States...
...Those of us who have been associated with the labor movement are not only proud of the history of the ILGWU, but we are confident that its attackers will utterly fail...
...The accusers, following the usual path of reactionaries, are recklessly attacking one of the most advanced, idealistic and progressive sections of the American labor movement...
...Chicago, III...
...I only hope that the interventionists are not currently offering each other congratulations on the fact that their "hard" line was successful...
...Since the Government's "administrative" budget is slipshod and fails to inform the citizenry adequately about the economic impact of Federal finances, you would think the bank would insist on financial prudence...
...It would be hard to disagree with, and I don't...
...Why would it be impossible in Cuba...
...If anything, the events of recent weeks have showed that there was an intermediate course, a course that was both more sensible and effective than intervention could possibly have been...
...Such a regime, controlled by a nation that espouses the principles of democracy as its chief weapon in the cold war, is hardly an attractive asset for the U.S...
...occupation of a restless post-Fidel, but not post-Fidelism, Cuba...
...New York City Ernest van den Haag I agree with Irving Kristol that, before the recent crisis, American policy toward Cuba was vacillating, uncertain, and internationally embarrassing for the United States...
...Nor could we have hoped to avoid the universal condemnation that would have accompanied the act of our giant nation swallowing the pigmy Cuba...
...He does not deal with the months (or years) of probable U.S...
...If a case can be made for an invasion, Kristol has not presented it...
...He makes little attempt to weight the consequences of a U.S...
...Kristol notes, but then forgets, a Pentagon estimate of 25,000 casualties in any full-scale invasion...
...Any full-scale invasion would turn the increasingly influential democratic Left in Latin American against the United States for years to come, and might well prove a crippling if not fatal setback to the already shaky Alliance for Progress...
...But though it wants to "balance the budget," the bank sets its face against any improvement of budgeting practices...
...We feel that the recent House Labor Subcommittee hearings on alleged discriminatory practices on the part of the ILGWU were calculated to make labor policies a political football and to discredit the movement as a whole...
...perhaps then our publishers might appreciate the power of honest criticism as opposed to the hard-sell hoopla that the daily reviewers dish out...
...Apparently it was a surprise to the publisher, Simon and Schuster, suddenly to discover that it had a "sleeper" on its list, and it belatedly began to advertise a book of which only one critic had taken note...
...Now, of course, events have laid to rest the sense of urgency which inspired Kristol's hard-headed plea for such a foolhardy act, and I for one breathe a sigh of relief...
...As Kristol himself must recognize, there would be nothing for us to do but establish a puppet regime on the island...
...If he thinks Keynes is "banal" among bankers he ought to read the First National City Bank of New York's August Monthly Economic Letter...
...I find it shocking that this novel, a true literary achievement, was neglected by every major publication except The New Leader (the New York Times and the New York Herald-Tribune each devoted a brief and superficial paragraph to the book...
...New York City Barry M. Lando Upon reading Irving Kristol's article, "The Case for Intervention in Cuba" (NL, October 15), I went into a white-hot fury at the very suggestion of another invasion of Fidel Castro's island...
...The Negro Labor Committee, of which I am chairman, owes a debt of gratitude to the ILGWU for the assistance it has given to us under the leadership of David Dubinsky and his affiliates...
...Fortunately, Kristol's case for intervention was ignored...
...Sydney Koretz...
...There is no inkling here that Hodges thinks that lack of realization of the importance of adequate total demand for goods and services is part of the "economic illiteracy" he complains about...
...1. Can we be altogether sure that domestic revolt is impossible...
...Lewis Merrill STERN I read and enjoyed Stern by Bruce Jay Friedman...
...In his article, "Status Quo Economy" (NL, October 15), Robert Lekachman states that "The Keynesian diagnosis is by how banal save among members of Congress...
...Particularly if liberation occurs from the outside, it will neither be easy nor cheap to set up and support a government that is anti-Communist, powerful enough to keep the Communists subdued, and yet not something like Batista's or any of the preCastro governments...
...This bank is one of only six banks which are "dealers" in Federal Government securities...
...A "departure from historical principles will open up a Pandora's Box of possibilities for confusing the public," the bank's letter states-as if the public was not already confused...
...There are some questions about timing, however...
...Because of the deficiency of economic education, Secretary Hodges says, "It is not surprising that many of our people think you can produce higher living standards simply by jacking up wages or increasing Government spending...
...In the end, I believe it will be found that President Kennedy was wise in recognizing that the U.S...
...An effort is apparently now being made by certain elements to destroy this record by accusing the ILGWU of being anti-Negro and anti-Puerto Rican...
...And where would we have gone from there...
...Poland came near...
...Judge for yourself whether he deplores the absence of knowledge of Keynesian economics...
...These would be months of frequent bloody uprisings, guerrilla skirmishes, restrictions of political liberties - all conducted under the harsh glare of international publicity, with the inevitable violent reaction of the Afro-Asian bloc...
...could not afford an American Hungary...
...New York City Nancy Hofstedder THE ILGWU The International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) has a rich history of service and assistance to the Negro...
Vol. 45 • November 1962 • No. 23
