The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-11-10
Savannah NeNs.l

just r-turned from big game shooting
in Africa, but If YOU want - find q
real. genuine merchant prince You
must % to Abyssinia and introduce
yourself 10 MeneIik.
MeneHk is the greatest Of roya,
traders. As a trust magnate he AN
give American industrial promoters
cards and spades. Throughout Abya-
sinia h. is n whole trust in himself.
He controls not one industry OF oi.e
line Of trade. but every industry a'd
every line OF trade.
"Thare IS no ~autOcrat on the face
Of The -arth more despotin than he,
and h. isn't in the king business for
his h-aIth. He works it for all ii is
worth. He runs stores and factories,
buys the products Of the natives a.
Ms own price. and sells his European
imports TO them for whatever he
chooses TO ask
There s no nonsense about iute.-
state commerce or restraint OF trace
with NrucIik. He is the n grea-
merchant for the whole country. the
buyer # all that goes out and the
seller Of all that comes in.
Anybody can compete with the king
T ne ares - try. Menelik does NJt
object. He might send u file OF So
diers and haul his trade rivals off 10
Jail. If ne chose but he prides him
self ON rein a civilized monarch, dad
he has a better scheme than THAI
He is the tariff commission as well
as the lord high everything else in
the country, so he can charge what
customs dues he likes OF the goods
that his rivals import. and exempt MS
own goods from similar duties. Al.
tired of importing. they try to become
exporters. he puts them out of DuSl-
ness with export duties. until they are
si4I enough TO sell their stuff to MIN
for whatever ne cares to pay
No other merchant on earth has such
q sure profit as this dUSky ~poteuJdte,
and naturally he is n millionaire many
times over. The dollars come rolling
in to- him all The time. but he Is very
liberal in spending them for the good
# his people
Men-Ifk is probably the only mon
1r-n in existence vino i also n great
merchant with Il personal
1f the commerce of his country Most
kings think trade d~erOGatury. bIJ
Neu@Iik holds different views. though
h. has q pedigree us long and a UGe
MS proud as any Of them. He claims
.IueaI descent from King Solomon Il
the Queen of Sheba. and his royal title
IS "C0upueriuG Lion of the Tribe Of
Judah. NeueIik. appointed Of God.
Ne-uS Of ShOa and EeGus \agdSti
lKiug Of Kings of Ethiopia I'M
agIue that title on the front Of 4
store,
But though MeneIIk has sucn I
giants power in matters Of com
ucrcc. - i'm everything Else in his
country. he does not use il as a gIdrt.
When ne buys goods from his people.
ny sells TO them. he fixes fairly red
SrrahIe prices. He has sense enOuSI
not 20 kill the goose that lays the
golden eggs. He knows that if he paid
u~ureasonably low prices, the people
would produce little or nothing for
export. and that if he charged alb
=Urdly high prices, the
powers Of the population would aT-
proach the vanishing point in regard
To- foreign imports.
II seems TRANCE that Il king who
won his despOtic power as an tnv1n-
chile warrior should use it as a
shrewd merchant-and it Is stranger
because he is Il man who cares moth
ing for wealth or luxury. He lives as
simply as he did in the days of his
youth. when he owned nothing save
his horse and his spear But MeneI'N
Is 4 far-seeing many-sided man
-AttrE INt ltdIItiI INV ~ - L-NA-'
pia-you must never call it Abysslnia
in the country. for the Abyssinia?S
l0lthe the of the natives
SUcrUuhed to a severe attack -
'zwelled mead" They had crushed
the Italians. and they thought they
could easily do the same to any other
invaders. white. black or brown. at
any time.
But Neuenk did not catch the pre-
vtiling epidemic. He knew something
Of the power of the white nations, and
also Of their land hunger. He SAN
the slow. reSiStlesS advance of the
English through the Soudau. and t3e
partition IF many African kingdoms
among the European powers.
AT any moment" he reasoned -
himself. I may have x face a fav
more serious attack. I must have
money To arm my troops as the white
men are armed. must buy n Is
and hundreds of thousands OF rifles.
There : only one way II get tie
money I need. l must take all The
i~Ide and m Of my country
into my own hands. and make nj icc
profit there Is to he made Il will ut
ra too much for my needs. ana il w
na better for my country than l-t,Iu-
white ugu make IL ana take Il away
To Europe with them.
This W.tS. COUfeSSedty. hi is"-
~L-QL-s. Srl+lLE- some IN'E'Lt ll--.
think Il MAS economically UuS0ut.t.
nut it seems u have answered u ~
fa-tIou- Ills people stand ready -
day to meet an invasion III times
more formidable than that - il.
Italians. md give the Invaders a Very
warm reception
Europe knows all this. and a. "a re-
suit NeneIik. King Of Kings of F,th.0-
r.l. IS the only African monar I =
whose alliance European powers eag-
--.y compete. and who treats Wiz:
Them or a footing Of fearless equal
.-y. = proud Is he that n VIII II /
rerul- he Russian. French and Ital-
ianr representatives. at his capital &c
fly Jh-.~ national flags over their
residences. The only foreign dag
that floats IT Adds Adeb IS the Brit
81. TIE British representatives hoist
Il il. - 4 matter Of course. anr
1-untly refused to haul It down wner
the AbySsinianS demonstrated. Mere
Ink recognized in him a kindred spirit
n told his officials TO let the has
stay The other foreign nvOys asked
rl-pNr---s-- ~ -hFrr-ER