Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-26
MISSION TO MEhELEK
Results Of Com ssioner Skin
ner's' Visit.
OUR LATEST TREATY
WILL PROVE A BENEFIT TO BOTH
PARTIES.
Incidents Of the Trip to Ethiopia's
Capital-At the Palace Of
the King.
Written for The Evening Star.


Written for The Evening Star.
The treaty Of commerce just negotiated
with Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia by
Commissioner Robert p. Skinner is indeed
the most picturesque document Of the kind
placed before the foreign relations commit
tee Of the Senate since 1t considered our
high contract with the Dey of Aigiers, in
1895. 1t is written in duplicate in the
French and Amharic texts, and is accom-
panied by an English translation directly
from the French. The use of the French
as the second official language was one of
the conditions under which Mr.. Skinner
agreed to sign the treaty French is the
only foreign tongue more or less under
stood by the Ethiopian court. The State
Department did not care to take any risks
with the Amharic language alone, for 1t Is
an unytelding tongue. very limited In Its
range. After the Abyssinians ceased to
speak the ancient Ethiopic tongue they re-
tanned its characters to express the SOUNDS
of the Amharic, also introducing few new
letters.
Our Future Legation at Addis-Ababa.
The exchange Of representatives by Eth
opia and the United States is one of the
provisions Of the treaty. 1t is not probable
that we will accredit minister plenipoten-
tiary to the Ethiopian court 1t seems
more likely that consular and diplomatic
functions will be combined in whatever
agent of the government is sent to Adds
Ababa, the capital of Menelek's empire. He
may have either the rank of minister resi-
dent and consul general as our representa-
tive at Monrovia, or that of consul general
and diplomatic agent, has our repre-
sensitive at Cairo; or he may be simply
consul general with understood diplomatic
functions, as in the case of our agent at
Tangier. 1t is highly probable that the
mission will be in combination with an
other, near by, and that only part of our
representatives time will be spent at Adds
Ababa. His status would then be similar
to that of our consul general at CONSTANT
nople, when he had additional diplomatic
rank as diplomatic agent at Sofia.
The treaty of Addis-Ababa guarantees US
all of the rights of the most-favored ma
ton; the same use of railroads, telegraphs,
posts and other means of transportation
as the other powers. 1t is now realized
here that Commissioner Skinner pushed his
caravan into the black empire none too
soon England, Italy and France, hemming
in Ethiopia on all sides, were striving hard
to supplant our trade. especially that In
cotton goods, which is the most envied in
the empire. Strong efforts have lately been
made to divert this into foreign hands.
After the ratification of the new treaty we
will be in position to supply every need
Of Ethiopia and to receive in our market
her raw skins, raw wax, civet, elephant
tusks, coffee gums etc. The empire yields
three crops year. In Commissioner Skin
ner's opinion the evidences of mineral
wealth which he found thereof gold. sill
yer, coal, asphalt and petrerum-lead him
to think that 1t is sin all probability the
richest possession In Africa
Ethiopian Mission Coming Here.
Menelek will return our courtesies almost
immediately-or allow US to return his. as
the case may be. A commission of dis
tinguished Ethiopian courtiers will arrive
here this summer. OF course, we will be
expected to expend some money upon their
official entertainment. After leaving Wash
ington they will take charge of an exhibit
which the emperor will send to the st.
Louis exposition.
1t is for Congress to say whether the
members of the exposition to Addis-Ababa
will be allowed to retain their presents and
decorations received from the emperor All
Of the officers of the mission were decorated
with the "Star of Ethiopia" all of the en-
listed men with the 'Menelek Medal" These
were all accepted by Mr.. Skinner with the
reservations imposed by the Constitution
zebras for Cross Breeding Here.
President Roosevelt cannot personally ac-
cept the pair of young lions and the two
valuable elephant tusks sent by Emperor
Menelek on the gunboat Machias but he
will receive them on behalf of the nation
installing the lions at the National Zoo
logical Park here and the tusks in the Ma
tional Museum. The Machias is bringing
from Ethiopia also several hyenas col
lected directly for our geological collection.
A pair of large zebras for the Agricul-
tural Department were ordered by Mr.. Skin
ner. They are wanted by Secretary Wilson
for breeding purposes, experiments abroad
having proven that the ''zebroid" a cross
between zebra and horse, is more docile
than the former and more enduring than
the latter animal. Zebras are now very
scarce and difficult to capture alive, but
arrangements have been made to have sent
to Washington the first pair of good speci-
mems caught in Ethiopia.
A successful American coffee crop may
be one of the results of the Skinner expe-
dition. From Kaffa, remote province of
Ethiopia and the original habitat of the
wild coffee plant was ordered a quantity
of wild coffee seeds for experimental plant
Ing. The experts of the Agricultural De-
partment have theory that the degenera-
ton of modem coffee plantations is due to
the fact that coffee culture has been based
upon seed originally imported from Arabia
and that by getting back to the aboriginal
parent stock In Kaffa a new variety of
incalculable value may be created.
Our western desert wastes will blossom
with Ethiopian vegetation If further seed
importations arranged for by Commissioner
Skinner arrive. He secured seeds of the
most important crops peculiar to Ethiopia.
which Secretary Wilson's experts predict
will thrive in the climate of our arid south
west.
Details of Expedition.
Since the brief reports of Commissioner
SINNERS expedition were made public a
fortnight ago detailed official accounts of
the trip have been received both by the
State and Navy Departments, together with
an interesting set of official photogran mis-
made for Mr.. Skinner by a photographer at
Addis-Ababa, on the day of the caravans
entrance into the capital of Ethiopia. All
of this data has been scourteousIy placed
at the writer's disposal. These several re-
ports, woven into one fabric, form one of
the most interesting chapters contributed
to the annals of our foreign relations since
1885, when our consul at Tunis with a de-
tachment of marines guarding a caravan
of camels, marched westward for 1000
miles across northern Africa, on less
peaceful mission and captured Derne
Through French Territory.
Commissioner Skinner sailed from New