The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-12-20
BRITISH TROOPS
 RUSH TO BORDER
Continued from Page 1)

charge of the Italian naval squad- ron in the Red Sea.
 Need of Prayer
 Addis Ababa, Dec. 20-(UP)- While the armies of Emperor Halle Selassie engaged in their first of- fenSive of the war on the Takazze river front, the Abuna of Addis Ababa, high priest of Ethiopia, is- sued a proclamation calling the na- ton to a week of prayer and fast ing.
 The fast, starting next Monday, will be designed ito show our fath- CTS, brothers and husbands that we too are behind them.
 Our soldiers in the north," the proclamation said, Twill go thorugh burning days and freezing nights and experience hardships of all kinds because they are willing and glad to pour out their blood against the invaders.
 Just as the Israelites prayed for three days without food and re- ceived Gods aid, and just as Jesus Christ prayed for 40 days and nights in the wilderness and re- turned to conquer his enemies, so must we now.
 'Let the priests remain at all times in the churches and conduct prayers thrice daily. Let the people join-inothers, fathers, wives, chil- dren, soldiers and monks alike.
 Let everyone eat only meager food-a handful of grain. Let the butchers cease butchering cattle. Let nobody eat or drink talla or tedj. Let all reflect upon the difh- cult times facing the nation.
 Jesus Christ will punish all who disobey my order and bless all who obey it, for it comes from him. His blessing be upon you"
 BY LOUIS F. KEEMLE
 United Press Cable Editor)
 The emphatic disavowal by the British government of the Franco British peace" plan for settling the Ethiopian war left the European at mosphere considerably clearer today, with the nations definitely com- mitted to a policy of preventing any unjustified attack by one power on another,
 The frank statements by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Sir Samuel Hoare in the house of com- mons yesterday permit it to be said without danger of seeming to edi- torialize that the plan was pretty bad; it gave Mussolini almost every thing and Ethiopia practically noth- ing.
 Has To Avoid War
 The abaShed Sir Samuel explain ed to commons that the plan was a desperate expedient to avert a general European war. That state ment leads logically to the con- clusion that if danger of Euro pean war existed before the plan was drafted, it still exists now that the plan has been killed.
 Dispatches from various United Press correspondents in various Eu- ropean capitals, however, indicate that they still believe war can be avoided. The belief is based on the suppoSition that Mussolini can be punished sufficiently by long, bloodless war of attrition; that the cutting of of credit and the strang- ling of Italy's export trade, already in effect, will bring him to terms.
 May Retaliate On Britain
 The real danger of war lies in the possibility that Mussolini, rather than permit himself to be starved out, will prefer to decide the issue by re- sorting to arms against Britain. France is committed to aid Britain.
 To the newspaper correspondents, particularly American and British, goes the credit for smoking out the devious scheme which the diplomats planned to slip over and put into effect secretly before public opinion could be aroused.
 There were amazingly unabashed complaints by statesmen both in Paris and London about the press "leak" that let the public in on the proposed rape of the black people. Ralph Heinzen, chief of the United Press staff in Paris, was one of the first, if not the first, to disclose au- thentic details of the plan, which later were borne out 100 per cent when it was published.