15 AUGUST 1931, Page 3

Cuba A serious rebellion has broken out in Cuba. Martial

law and a strict censorship are in force throughout the island. Although Senor Menocal, a former President and the reputed leader of the insurgents, has the support of the aristocracy and the intelligentsia, it is economics and not politics which have forced the issue. President Machado's virtual dictatorship would not have been so formidably challenged but for the severe depression from which the whole island has for some time past been suffering. Widespread unemployment has fostered the spirit of unrest, which not even firm—not to say relentless—measures, backed up by the President's undoubted administrative ability, have been able indefinitely to repress. _America, whose economic interests in the island are extensive, will watch the situation with anxiety. Should it become very much more serious, she may possibly give warning of her intention to intervene, for since the Spanish-American War she has had the right to do so in the interests of the Republic. This, however, is still a remote contingency, and is likely to remain so as long as the army remains loyal to government.