The Washington times., 1935-12-07
|. n. 5. SCRIBE
BEARS HORROR
OF BOMBING
(Continued from Page -

hour rained death upon us from
ten giant bombers.
Back and forth they cruised
over the city, the roar Of their
motors mingling with the crackle
of machine-gun and rifle fire from
the city's defenders. and drown
ing the cries of the stricken popu-
lation.
Flames Everywhere
Flames Sprang up on every side
and pillars of fire shot up to the
sky as incendiary bombs struck,
while columns of earth and debris
shouted in geySerS a hundred feet
tail as highly explosive bombs de-
tonated, flinging arms, legs and
torSoc in a ghastly shower.
The war-torn city reSounded
with the walls of a furious and
grief-stricken population as six
European and one Ethiopian
surgeons labored throughout the
night amputating and operating
endleSsly upon the victims OF
Italy's death blow air raid"
The number of wounded who
had passed through their hands
numbered 100 by nightfall, and
at least so more were waiting.
grimly holding their wounds.
Estimated at so
The dead were not yet
gathered, but this correspondent
counted 10 and doctors estimate
they must total up to so.
A dozen women and score
Of children were among the
casualties. The worst wounds OF
all were suffered by a group Of
women.
DR.. Loeb, with n lifetime Of ex'
perience in warfare as major
in the German medical corps
called me over.
Look" he said ironically, "this
is the best proof Of the benetitS
of civilization have ever seen.
He uncovered woman whose
two legs and breast were torn of:
We gained a painful idea ot
what the Ethiopians suffer at the
front, where there is no Red
Cross, as we watched the tolllng
surgeons operating by lantern
light while lines Of wounded lay
groahing in the dark outside.
Journalists Help
Correspondents and camera
men pitched in and helped as best
they could in contributing to the
medical stores and assisting
operations.
BY the light of my lantern DR..
Loeb Worked throughout the night
with Greek physician, DR..
Georges Dassio, and an Ethiopian,
DR.. MaIlako Bayan.
Shaving until staggering from
exhaustion, DIR. Maximilian Belau,
commander of ambulance No. 5,
with Dr.. Thaddeus Medinsky
worked until daylight. with Wen.
nese. DR.. AndreaS Stadin. head OF
the American Hospital, labored IN
the Quilted remnants Of a once
neat little operating room.
Many of the casualties were
horribly burned by thermite bombs
which were unextinguiShable. They
famed when the natives threw
water on them.
Emperor Halle SelasSie out
wardly was not perturbed at the
bombing itself, but he obviously
was shocked and enraged on get
ting his first sight Of his own
ueople being killed and mutilated
by the enemy.
2 Failed to Go OFF
Among the bombs which
failed to detonate were two huge
2OO-pounders. The Emperor had
them brought to his palace and
there. in front of his personal
machine-gun, allowed cameramen
to photograph him and Prince
Makonnen. his 12-year-old son,
and ali his cabinet ministers
here.
The Emperor and the young
prince put their feet on the
italian bombs to show contempt.
Miss Fay Gillis, American
neWspaperwoman, narrowly es-
caped death when the Emperor
ordered her to return by air
plane to Adds Ababa. She was
hadfway down the mountains to
the airport in the early morning
when guards. ignorant Of the
Emperor's orders. halted her and
turned her back.
She reached camp just as the
italian war planes loosed their
hail of death. Had she flown,
she certainly would have been
shot down.
Answer to League
The Emperor. viewing the
Journalists camp, pock-marked
from the bombs, remarked:
God has indeed been with
you in that you were not all
killed"
The view here is that Premier
MuSsolinis bombing was his an
swer to the decision Of the
League of Nations to enforce
more strict sanctions. But no
body can understand what ad-
vantage the attackers antici-
pated by the destruction Of the
hospital and the bombing of the
undefended camp of neutral
newspapermen.
From the literal rain of bombs
concentrated on our camp, the
thought arises the attackers in
tended to leave no witnesses OF
their handiWork to tell the world