Havana. Jack Scott, special to the star, an assessment of the popular support of castroism, communism, an unreliable business in any year, is further complicated. Now by hardening in the attitude of those who direct or endorse the revolution, the philosophy that if you're not with us, you're against us, has been strongly held here since the beginning. Yet in earlier visits, I had interviewed many people who readily voiced opposition now, except in the most clandestine circumstances that is no longer possible. It became an open, searing issue in early April when one angel Maria Betancourt, a flight engineer of Cubana airlines, attempted unsuccessfully, to hijack to Miami, an illusion 18 passenger plane, and in the process, killed the pilot and an escort guard and wounded The co pilot. The call the repercussions were swift. At the call of the party, sell the airlines, the call of the party, sell the airline's employees held flash meetings demanding the dismissal of those whose loyalties were for any reason questionable. This housekeeping action was editorially endorsed by grandma, the official organ of the Communist Party. Grandma was the name of the cruiser in which Castro and his early followers came from Mexico. The paper, provingly called the response revolutionary fervor, and suggested, on its own that the trustworthiness of personnel must be harshly judged. Friendship is possible within the principles of the revolution. It editorialized outside of those principles. It is not one of those meetings Lieutenant Mariano Mijares described as a political instructor, gave a talk calculated to send a chill of fear up the spine of the mildest critic. We will crush our enemies before they crush us. Mihae said, referring to opposition elements at home, we will not grant them the right to make the slightest criticism. We have stood enough from them. Tolerance is over. The party instruction is that when the worms start raising their heads, we will close their mouths for them in the light of such threats. It's hardly surprising that the visiting reporter finds it impossible to measure except by meaningful silence, the extent and depth of opposition even those who still supporting Castro find distasteful the transition to orthodox doctrinaire communism. Are unwilling to air their objections because of a fear of reprisal, the reporter then must make his judgment mainly on the basis of those who declare their allegiance. My own estimate, after three weeks of questioning men and women in every walk of life, is that two of the three Cubans is that two of three Cubans either actively support or passively accept the present state of the nation. It is not a figure calculated to be comforting to those who fear what is happening here. Robert S Allen and Paul Scott who widely syndicated Washington. Oh. Widely syndicated Washington columnists have unquestioningly quoted refugees as saying that 50% of the population is eager to escape. Yet even a cursory survey of life in this country reveals realities that make any such estimate of Castro's following mere wishful thinking. Castro retains an unswerving loyalty of three main groups that in themselves would give him anywhere from 65 to 75% of public approval, academic, the first and principal group are those country people and urban dwellers who once lived in poverty, if for no other reason, they are with the revolution because their lives have been materially bettered by it. Political freedom is of academic interest to them, remembering only the Iron Fist dictatorship of fulgencia Batista. Second group is Cuba's youth now in the eighth year of Castro's leadership, they're truly the children of the revolution. No effort has been spared to identify the young generation with the aims and ideals of socialism Cuba style, and to give men and women under the age of 30, the most responsible positions in every state endeavor. They are now the most dedicated and articulate advocates of this society. The third group, less conveniently categorized, is made up of those Cubans who have found a niche in the new order, just as millions of the days of Batista managed a meaningful life in a climate of repression, so these people live for their jobs, their homes, their families. They very often say, I'm not interested in politics. Or as an architect put it to me, fatalistically, the country is going ahead. The people are getting a square deal. You can't turn back the clock. It is in the country areas that you find the most uncritical, very often emotional support for Castro, 40 miles west of Havana, at a state run experimental dairy farm called La recompensa. I talked to 39 year old narcisco Rodriguez, a tall, gaunt looking man who's in charge of the operation narcisco. Matter of fact we describe the system rotating pastures for 250 Holsteins, the progeny of Canadian imported stock, but later over coffee in the new three bedroom bungalow that his family is given, rent free and fully furnished, including the first Soviet refrigerator I've seen, called a milk ba narcisco suddenly became eloquent when I asked him how life was now compared to in the pre revolution days. The difference, it is the difference of day and night. He said, I worked on this same farm. You know, when it was owned by one man. I remember the Christmases. He would have a slaughter pigs and take them to the police captains and the generals. There was never a thing for the workers. We worked seven days a week, 14 and 15 hours a day for $2 a day. If you were too sick to work, then there was no pay at that we were lucky. For most people around here, there were only temporary jobs, and look what we have now. Our children are in good schools, and I, myself, with no education whatever, have passed grade three, our medical needs are cared for. We have what is best of all, a pride and dignity that no Cuban worker knew before. I tell you they are not idle words. Men here say they would die for Fidel Castro, the youth of the nation is no less committed in Havana, one day, I went to the Instituto pre universitario del Vedado selected students and spent an afternoon talking with them for boys and girls, who spent 45 days a year between semesters as volunteer manual workers in the cane fields or charts and vegetable gardens, I found them engaging vital, intensely defensive of any criticism from an outsider. Here, briefly is a sample of some of their viewpoints in their own often precocious words. Anna Maria Diaz, age 16. Father, an electrician, plans to become a doctor. Oh, I think we are like teenagers. Anywhere we go steady, we do the twist. We conform a lot in our dress. We'd all like to drive cars. We laugh a lot and have love affairs and go to parties. I. If we're more serious than North American kids, as you say, Well, it's because we know that so much is expected of us. Cuba needs teachers, doctors, technicians, professional people. That's where we come in. It makes you feel very much that you are participating when your country is waiting for you to take part. I'm mistaken. Jose Alberto noanes, age 18, father, a university professor, also plans a career in medicine. When you say that we're children of the revolution, you are not mistaken.