Evening star., 1926-09-12
AbYSS|N|A PLEADS
CASE At GENEVA
Regent Protests Division of
Country Into ''Zones
of Influence y

BY Consolidated Press.
PARIS, SEPTEMBER IA furry
at Geneva sends us scurrying to the
atlas to relearn our forgotten geogra.
ply. Ras Taffari, regent Of Abys.
sinia, has applied to the League of
Nations to know how come that Eng.
land and italy have divided his coun-
try up into zones of inf1uenceS with
out his consent.
He remarks, not without irony,
that when Abyssinia Joined the
preston that all the members Of the
league were free and equal nations.
Not Without Irony.
He adds with still less lack Of
irony that up to the beginning of the
league era of freedom and equality
AbysSinia's relations with civilized"
countries had been uniformly diSap-
pointing. The only time that civil
lied" countries ever took any interest
in Abyssinia. was when they saw a
chance of profit to themselves.
The Abyssinian regent thinks that
n treaty dividing Italy or England up
into zones of foreign interest probably
would bring forth some protests from
Rome or London, and he wants to
know whether Abyssinia's right to
protection is just as good as theirs,
and if not, how SO?
The principal imports of AbySSinia
are cotton goods.
Ras Taffari seems to have a lot of
logic on his side, but England has
the cotton mills on hers.
Tourists Pay in Belgium.
Brave little Belgium has decided to
make foreign tourists from gold eX
change countries pay double taxes on
their board and lodgings as well as
tax of 10 francs day on their motor
cars The foreigners, of course, can
afford 1.-THE whole thing won't
amount to more than Il couple of
dollars q day for a motor party-but
the question is whether Belgium can
afford it.
So far as Americans are concerned,
at least there is nothing they detest
so much as discrimination. and
whether the tax is 10 cents or $40
the irritation is such that thousands
of them will remember nothing OF
their trip through Belgium except
that they were annoyed by tax col
Ioctors, This will not do the Belgian
tourists industry any good in the long
run, nor will it help to endear Bel
gium to the hearts of the Americans.
Repartee la France.
Rapartee is a French Gift-as wit
messed by the fact that the English
language has to use a French term
for it,
Deputy Franklin Bouillon felt the
keen edge Of it in the Chamber the
other day when he was making some
mild criticisms of the Poincare cab
met. This is the kind of cabinet
have been urging all along" he said,
"and now that 1t is formed, l nave
only one regret to express.
THAT you are not In 1t yoursef,
cried a colleague on the right side
of the Chamber. The rest OF NJ.
Bouillon's remarks were drowned in
wave of hilarlty.
Rut the art is not confined to pub.
lie sneakers. Paris has been having
an epidemic of ''petting parties in
the Bois de Boulogne and police have
been detailed to put stop 10 these
eoines-on. AS a result of the police
mems zeal. a number of near scandals
have been created. in which proml-
nent ladies are rumored to have par
ticipated.
4 masher in the Champs Elysee the
other evening stopped his runabout Mt
the curb, where a pretty shopgirl was
waiting for the bus.
Want to go for a drive in the
Rois?" he asked.
"Sav." she replied witherinGly,
what do you take me fora society
woman"