Published Wednesday, May 10, 2000, in the Miami Herald

Things must have been claustrophobic out at the Wye River Plantation where Elian Gonzalez, his family and school pals are hiding out from almost all but the Cuban Interests Section.

Over the weekend father Juan Gonzalez took Elian, the wife and little brother for a soirée at the Georgetown home of Smith and Elizabeth Bagley, not the sort of folks with whom one might think Mr. Gonzalez, an $8 a month cashier at a Cuban tourist attraction, would typically socialize.

Except that Smith Bagley, heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune, is not only one of the Democratic Party's most generous donors, his foundation subsidizes many groups aiming to lift U.S. trade restrictions on Cuba. What would Elian's mother think?

It was wrong when the GOP used Elian to raise party money. It is wrong now for the father (or the Cuban government) to use the 6-year-old boy to deliver a ``thank you'' note to a Democratic donor.

Copyright 2000 Miami Herald

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