Evening star., 1935-08-20
V00D00 TURNED
AGAINST Il DUCE
West Indian Hill People
Gather at Night to
Bring His End.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

PARAMARIBO. Dutch Guiana
CN.A.N.A) Beside the tom-tom fires
that burn nightly In secluded West
Indian mountains, hundreds Of black
witch doctors are trying to put the
voodoo on Mussolini. The hill people
collect at night about dim fires pre-
sided over by magicians Of the black
art, and in the day come down into
the village streets and beg for money
to buy new pictures Of the Italian
dictator.
"Gi' a shillin' to down MuSsolini
boss!" more than one black man begs.
What do you DO with the shilling?"
The answer is always the same.
"Fo' buy ah magazine wi ah picture
Of MuSsolini in it,"
why do you want his picture -
II you want to down him?"
I'VE cuts it out from de magazine
and sends 1t up into de mountain SO
de magic man can make voodoo."
Some Laugh at Magic.
There are those who-usually at a
distance-will laugh at the black
mans obeah, at his tom-toms. at the
idea that a buZzard's feather stuck
through a mans photograph where
his heart is, with oil from a certain
tree poured over the image and then
set afire, could ever be instrumental
in bringing that mans life to an
actual end. But strange things have
come from the magic making that
goes on in the dead Of night beside
West Indian witch fires.
In the villages, the intense feeling
against Italy and Mussolini has pro-
duced mass meetings, placard parades
and Soap-boX orators. In each island
may be seen many crudely lettered
posters, most Of them highly libelous
and sufficiently blasphemous, all Of
them. to give Italian consuls and vice.
consuls apoplexy. But no matter how
much they complain about each new
poster as 1t is discovered, and no mat
ter how quickly the island governments
rush soap, water and bonfire brigades
to tear down, wash away, or burn up
the offensive works of art, others even
more colorful take their place before
the next dawn.
Ingenious Poster.
One poster in Trinidad is composed
of cut-outs Of four pictures ingeniously
pieced together. A chrome of the Brit
ish lion had been cut from a travel
poster and pasted on white sheet so
that the lion seemed to be chasing a
jackass (Which had been cut out of
another advertising poster. Over the
Jackass' head was pasted a sized
face Of the Italian dictator. The pic
ture pasted over the lions head was
that of Col" Hubert Julian, the
black eagle" from New York's Har-
lem, but now, so reports have it, sky
knight in Emperor Halle Selassie's
service.
To the West Indians. all Abyssinia is
competently lmpersonated and drama
tized by the Harlem boy who made
good. Somebody has caused hundreds
of Autographs of the Negro aviator. in
gold-laced uniform. to be run off and
he is the hero of the hour
In Trinidad, St. Lucia. Barbados
and British Guiana an organized anti
Italy campaign has made Italian mer-
chandiSe q drug on the markets. so
far as Negro buyers are concerned
and this is receiving serious atten-
tion on the part Of West Indian mer-
chants. since not only are great guam
titles Of Italian merchandise, espe-
cially designed for the poorer classes,
piling up. but also the Negro popu-
lation. and especially the cooks and
other house servants who do the gen.
eral buying, are boycotting establish
ments which offer for sale any article
made in Italy.
Ready to Back Emperor.
Not for long time have the island
blacks had such subject of common
agreement or interest. II the Emperor
of Ethiopia-and Julian-cant win
without them, they say they will re-
cruit enough men to finish the job.
The many BLACK Eagle Well Wishing
Societies" which are springing up in
every island can be quickly turned
into recruiting stations. They haven't
ally llOLl ShlLlS, Uut tliCLC arc plSAty
of red baboon hides to be obtained.
The Negro gold miners who come
out of the British Guiana jungles with
gold nuggets have been induced by
plantation blacks to finance a save
Ethiopia legion" and to pay for
cablegram to Adds Ababa which read:
Don't let Mussolini back down now.
Go ahead, Ethiopia: We are behind
you"
There is much unemployment in
the West Indies, and Halle Selassie
can get all the black Caribbeans he
wants to fight for him in return for
three square meals a day.
tCopyrieht 1898 by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. 1nc)
MIMnP hM VIM hT0QC