Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1933-10-18
ETHIOPIA AND
IT'S MANY RACES
Claims To Be the Oldest
Christian Sovereign State
in the World
MELTING POT OF RACES


Washington, d. C-"Ethiopia, ma
tive land OF Prince Desta Demtu
special ambassador Of Emperor
Sale Selassie i, who recently wa.
q visitor at the White House, Is
100000 square miles (more thar
seven times the area Of New York
state) OF rich and productive north
eastern African plateau says G
bulletin from the National Geo
graphic society.
ALSO commonly known as Abys-
sinia, Ethiopia is mainly a noun
famous region, much broken by deep
valleys. Arid, semi-desert country
surrounds it on every side. 1t does
not touch the sea, although some
Ethiopian feudai chieftains like to
grasp q marine telescope as they
pose for formal photograph.
I'm the empire there are about
100000 inhabitants. about one
half of whom are Christians of the
true Ethiopia (Hamitic-Semitic)
type. They are the inheritors of
an ancient civilization under whose
feudal form Of government are esti-
mated to be several million Moslems
and pagans. The latter are mainly
negroes.
Ethiopia Is surrounded by At
rican colonial possessions Of Great
Britain, France and Italy. AS the
Ethiopia of Solomon's time, it prob
ably included all Of these adjacent
territories, with an Egyptian from
Tier. and that part Of southwestern
Arabia known today as the Yemen
and Hadhramaut.
Melting Pot Of Races.
THE traveller is not long in ETH
opia until he Is aware that the coun-
try Is sort Of melting pot Of Afri-
cans and Asiatics Of many races.
Some Of the blood came from an
Gent Palestine, some from Arabia,
and some from the shores Of the
Caspian The Philippians claim with
pride strong relation to the sem
ties.
-Ethiopia's front door is the
French port, Djibouti, French So
maitland. Viewed from an ap-
preaching steamer, the port towns
small group Of white-washed stone
and mud buildings and pyramidal
piles Of salt glisten and sparkle in
the tropical sun. Evaporating salt
from sea water Is Djibouti's lead
ing industry.
"Djibouti IS the terminus Of the
500-mile railway line that links the
port with the Ethiopian capital, Ad-
dis Ababa. The railway IS ETH
opia's only modern connection with
the outside world.
@The railroad right-of-way skirts
the Harar district OF Ethiopia, the
center Of production Of Ethiopian
coffee. The coffee bean produced
there is of excellent quality and
ranks next to Mocha In the worlds
markets. 1t is called 1ongberry
Mocha and is sold to a discriminate
ing clientele in the United States
Although the Harar plants are
descended from seed introduced
from the Mocha district Of Arabia,
Ethiopia is the home Of coffee The
tree was found originally by Arab
travellers In the Ethiopian province
of Kafa, from which It took its
name
"Addis Ababa, which, incidentally
Is the home of Prince Desta Demtu.
sprawls in a forest OF blue gum
trees with the church-crOwned
Mount Intotto. forming lofty back
ground.
Becoming Modern.
ALTHOUGH somewhat Isolated, the
city Is steadily improving along
modern lines. In 1929, a one-story
frame building was replaced by a
handsome stone railroad station. At
this building the traveller not only
gets a glimpse of the capitals per-
manent and transient population,
but OF some of Ethiopia's leading ar
ticles Of trade. They include bales
of hides and skins. collected from
interior provinces and brought to
Adds Ababa for export IN Europe
and America; stacks of coffee bags;
piles Of elephant tusks; and bales
of American cotton piece goods
which are a principal import.
"A ride Of twenty minutes on
mule or horseback or five minutes
by motor takes the visitor to the
main part Of the city of the New
Flower On one of the two prin-
cipal elevations of the city Is the
ever-interestIng market place. There
once stood the great tree which
served for generations as a gibbet
In bygone days it sometimes bore
as many as seven criminals, gen.
orally thieves. On the site now Is
fine equestrian statue Of the late
Emperor Menelik.