October, 1935
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virtually claiming a protectorate, and notifying the other Powers to that effect. Menelik strongly resented this infer ence, broke off negotiations, and in 1896 met the Italians in battle at Adowa. In spite o f Mussolini’s recent claim that only 4,000 Italians participated in that engagement, the official British handbook gives the number as 17,000, of whom some 7,000 were killed, and a great number wound ed. It was a crushing and decisive defeat, due largely to the precipitous nature o f the country and the Italians’ defective knowledge of it. The Peace of Addis Ababa was signed toward the close of that year, and the Italians withdrew from Abyssinia. How dominant is the Japanese influence? the Italian influence? the English influence? the French influence? Personally, I have seen very few Japanese in Ethiopia,
How intelligent and capable are native leaders in Abys sinia? The standard o f intelligence is quite above that of the ordinary Negro races. The Ethiopians have a proud and independent spirit and learn quickly. Their consciousness o f superiority to the Negro races gives them a certain quality o f leadership. Is slavery common? The Emperor has made great steps toward the abolition o f slavery. Slave raiding is very rare now, and when offenders are caught, they are summarily dealt with. Many slaves have been freed. The feudal system of the' country, o f course, as in England years ago, involves many serfs, but this condition is distinct from slavery, and will dis appear as the country progresses. The law o f June, 1923,
made slave trading punishable by death. The edict of March, 1924, made possible the emancipation of children o f slaves and the freedom o f slaves when their master dies. In August, 1923, a special depart ment was opened to deal with the slavery question. How near is Ethiopia to Pales tine? The distance is approximately two thousand miles from Addis Ababa to Jerusalem. Are there any banks? What is the coin of the country? The Bank o f Abyssinia, con trolled by an English bank, was purchased by the Ethiopian Gov ernment in 1931, and was renamed “ The Bank o f Ethiopia.” ,. The standard coin is the Maria Theresa Austrian dollar, at present worth about fifty cents in United States coin. What are the mineral resources? While often said to be great, not many large deposits of minerals have yet been found in Ethiopia. A number of foreigners have had concessions, but without any great
and apart from Japan’s export trade which is of more recent date, I would not say she had any dom inating influence in the country. Italian influence has not been strong since the Italian defeat in 1896, but Italy has maintained c o n s u l a t e s and has been studying the country very syste matically for some years. Britain maintains a consulate and has been on friendly terms with Abyssinia for some years. Britain has never attempted to secure territory there, and since the beginning o f this cen tury, the various European powers have acted somewhat as a check on each other, so that Ethiopia has been politically unmolested. In 1906 a treaty was signed be tween England, France, and Italy, these powers agreeing to respect the integrity of Ethiopia, to refrain from internal interference in the country and to observe each other’s boundaries and interests in sur rounding countries. In 1925 Britain and Italy drew
up a more concise understanding as to their own interests, chiefly for conservation of waters of Lake Tsana to Britain’s Anglo-Egyptian interests. In 1928 Italy and Abyssinia made a treaty of friendship in which it was agreed that all disputes, for the next twenty years, would be settled by arbitration, and granting Abyssinia free use of Assab, a port in Eritrea. The predominating influence from 1896 on seems to have been French, and it was interesting that before the present troubles commenced, there was a secret agreement between France and Italy (January, 1935), when in ex change for some European concessions, France agreed to give Italy more freedom in Ethiopia. No sooner was this done, than Italy raised difficulties over some small border incidents in Africa, and began her definitely aggressive policy which has continued up to the present time. W h y does Italy want Ethiopia? There are various reasons, probably the chief one being Italy’s need for colonial territory for her growing popula tion. Under modern cultivation, Ethiopia could produce vast quantities o f grain, fruit, and vegetables. There are supposed to be mineral deposits in some sections. Then Ethiopia has on the whole a climate more suitable for Europeans than other parts o f A frica would afford. And [Continued on page 373]
success attending their efforts. It is known that gold, iron, and silver exist, but no definite survey has yet given details. What are the facts about the Abyssinian army, arma ment equipment, and financial background? Every man is a potential soldier, and the love o f fighting is in his blood. There is a standing army of probably 100,000 men (augmented since the present troubles), and then the governor o f each province has numbers of soldiers attached to his person. Until recently, the old Franco- Prussian War rifles were used, but the standing army today is equipped with fairly modern weapons. The great bulk o f the people—possibly one million could be put in the field — have just their old-time spears and shields. Lack of funds hinders great modern supplies, and it is doubtful whether such supplies would be o f use to the great number o f the people. They have had no experience o f well-con trolled commissariat for conducting long campaigns. What is the record of Ethiopia’s association with Italy in the past? Menelik II subdued most of the warring tribes within the country, having been supplied with arms and ammuni tion by Italy. In recognition o f this fact, he concluded the treaty o f Uccialli with Italy, in 1889. The terms o f the treaty, however, were somewhat ambiguous, the Italians
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