Cuban Cabinet Meets to Draft Policy on Refugees; 1,240 Barred

The Cuban Cabinet met today under the chairmanship of President Laredo Bru in a special session officially described as being for the purpose of settling the question of ”Jews flooding the country.” The Jewish population was in a state of alarm as anti-Semitic agitation was intensified in a section of the press and over the radio. Last night Jewish organizations met to consider unified defensive action.

A crisis in the Government threatened on the question of refugees, 1,240 of whom were refused permission to land from three ships over the weekend. Col. Fulgencio Batista, military chief, was reported to have favored the admission of the refugees, but President Bru, who has issued a decree banning entry of Jewish refugees, was said to have threatened to resign if they were allowed to enter.

The German steamship San Luis was at sea with 936 refugees aboard, barred from landing. Intervention with the Government by Jewish communal and refugee-aid organizations had so far proved fruitless. Dr. Puchol, presidential minister, received Max Stone, president of the Jewish Center, and promised to do what he could regarding the refugees, but held out little hope for their admission. Meanwhile, it was learned that President Bru called representatives of the Hamburg-American Line and demanded that the San Luis leave Cuban waters immediately and return refugees to Europe.

The steamer Orduna brought 154 more refugees, of whom 50 were permitted to land and the remainder barred. The ship put out for Chile with the 104 still aboard. Another 200 exiles arrived on the French steamship Flandre, which was not permitted to disembark its passengers and proceeded to Veracruz, Mexico.

The Jews aboard the San Luis were desperate. One of them, Prof. Meier Weiler, 63 years old, died on the ship of a heart attack. Others were seeking to commit suicide by throwing themselves overboard.