The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-26
Front
BY HARRY CANNES

BrltlSh-Itallan Pact
Why the War Starts Now
ITALIAN Fascism is march,
L ing into Abyssinia, clearing
the way with its bombing
planes, hoping to turn this
Ethiopian country into a new
ManchUkuo.
You will not find the real
story behind this sudden inperial-
ist thrust Of Mussolini on the Afris
can continent in any of the capital
ist newspapers. They try to make it
| appear as a border incident, a mis-.
understanding over a boundary
survey and grazing rights. Because
the Abyssinian troops resisted the
murderous advance of Italian fas-
cism's colonial army, Mussolinis
progress is not as rapid as he
expected.
The present colonial adventure of
Mussolini has its origin in an agree
ment between British and Italian
imperialism made in December, 1925.
At that time Great Britain and
Italy agreed between themselves
that they would support each other
to secure for the British the right
to build "a dam at Lake Tsana, the
source of the Blue Nile. The British
required this dam in order to turn
tens Of thousands of acres of desert
land into cotton producing area, so
that it would be less and less de-
pendent on American cotton.
But MusSolini, of course, got his
consideration for this little piece of
imperialist bargaining. In return
for Italian fascism's support to the
British imperialist aims of pene-
trating Abyssinia to control Lake
Tsana, Mussolini was to be sup
ported in his robbery of Abyssinian
territory-in precisely the place
where the Italian army is now
marching-for the purpose of build
ing an Italian-owned railroad be-
tween Eritrea Can Italian colony)
and Abyssinia.
A BYSSINIA at that time protested
"A to the League of Nations. Great
Britain replied that no encroach-
ment was intended, and the matter
was dropped publicly only to come
out now with the war-like actions
of MusSolinis troops.
1t is very clear indeed that Mus
solini would not undertake his pres~
ent aggressive actions against Abyss
sinia without the consent of British
Imperialism. The two robber powers
are preparing for the rape of Abyss
sinia and the division of the spoils.
Recently Mussolini's troops. heavily
armed with the most modern weap-
ons of war, preceded by bombing
planes, made an attack on the
Ahyssinians. They defended them
selves until the last ditch, causing
the death of so of the italian troops,
wounding 400, though the battle
cost 100 Abyssinian lives.
The matter then came up before
the League of Nations. The ques-
ton arose on whose territory did
the fighting occur. Now there hap
pened to be map in the League of
Nations press room made in 1897 by
the italian Geographical Society,
which showed Ualual, the spot in
vaded by Mussolini's bandits, we'll
within the Abyssinian frontier.
THE ITALIAN delegates stormed
l and demanded a more anthem
tic" map. So they got hold of a
map made up by Mussolini's cartog-
raphers in 1925, at the time the
British-Italian agreement was made
for the rape of Abyssinia. And this
map, too, showed the territory vio-
leted by Mussolini's troops was 100
miles inside of Abyssinia.
Italian fascism, in other words,
had already encroached one hun
dred miles into Abyssinian territory.
Mussolini has decided that maps
are more accurately drawn with
bombs thrown from fighting planes,
and machine-gun fire.
In recent years, new imperialist
factors have entered the struggle
for the control of Abyssinia. Japan
csc imperialism, which thought
nothing of setting the style in mod
ern colonial thievery by its seizure
of Manchuria, entered the Abys-
sinian scene as the savior of the
colored races from white imperial
ism. Japan began to maneuver with
the Abyssinian ruling class in order
to gain advantage against the other
imperialist robbers, who were better
situated territorially to seize Abyss
sinia outright.
At one time American imperial
ism, under Hoover, also was playing
the game of protecting" Abyssinia,
in the interest of Wall Street.
THE RECENT action of LATHAM
faScism seems to indicate that
some inside dirty deals have been
made, not unconnected with the
sharpened naval rivalries. Japanese
imperialism seems to have lessened
its propaganda in and around Abys-
sinia, in return for British naval
support against their common foe.
Wall Street, and are conceding to
Italy and Britain dominant hand
in Abyssinia.
Mussolini, with the growing acute
ness of the economic and financial
crisis in Italy, finds it necessary to
undertake some war adventures to
stave off internal conflict. Mussolini
believes now is the time for a
wholesale raid on Abyssinia, for the