The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-10-31
Washington
Merry-Go-
Round
BY DREW PEARSON and
ROBERT :. ALLEN.

WASHING ION ", % 81
w matter what may be the out
come of the African war, one tnlng
is certain. Halle Selassie, Amounted
OF God. Emperor Of Ethiopia, KING
of Kings. Light Of the World, De-
Scendant Of Solomon. Conquering
Lion Of the Tribe Of judah, VIII go
down in history as one Of the worlds
greatest statesmen.
Actually. Ethiopia is anything nut
an empire. II Is a collection Of
tribes-Mohammedan. Coptic Chris
tan. Negro. Egyptian, Arab, Semitic
whose chief occupation in times Of
normally is to pasture their flockS,
till their fields, steal each others
wives. refuse to pay taxes. and wage
their own tribal warfare.
The descendants Of the Queen of
Sheba and King Solomon the Wise.
have held only tenuous and some
times broken reign over their nomi-
nal empire.
DESPITE that history, Halle
- SelaSSie has sold Ethiopia to
the world as a homogeneous, patri-
otto people with a culture and civil
iZation worthy of preservation.
Furthermore, he has won the en-
tire worlds sympathy.
He has conducted his press con-
ferenCeS with a skill which even
President Roosevelt might envy He
has shown an uncanny instinct for
invoking exactly the right article
of the League covenant at exactly
the right time His notes to the
League have rung with an eloquence
rivaled by few others filed in the
dusty vaults of Geneva.
Finally. his gesture Of ceding one
half his domain to American oil
interests, just as it was about to
be conquered by the enemy. had a
quality of tragic shoWmanShip
which deserves to rank with the
wooden horse than vanquished Troy.
Halle SelaSSie'S craftsmanship
really dates back to the days when.
as prince regent, he set out to pay
his respects to the crowned heads
of Europe.
CONSTANTINE BROWN. co-au-
~ thor of The American Diplo-
matte Game" tells how he met the
future emperor at that time in
Shepherds Hotel in Cairo, accom-
suffered eXcruciating pain from the
shoes they were forced to wear in
the dining room. while their chief
dined upstairs-barefoot.
These men are able, faithful
souls" explained Halle Sela5sie, but
their minds follow simple funda-
mentals. I am merely regent of my
country, now, and it is possible that
during my absence one of them
might attempt to replace me.
did not want any one to lose his
head as a result of such a BRAIN
storm, so I brought my rases with
me. 1t is safer for them and safer
for me.
MOT long after this, Halle Selas-
~ sic made another attempt 10
sell Ethiopia to the world, when he
discovered-in 1925-that Britain
and Italy had made a secret deal to
partition his domain. Selassie
promptly wrote a note which re-
mains a classic among the archives
of Geneva.
"On our admission to the League"
he said, Eve were told that all ma
tions we're to be on an equal foot
ing, and that their independence
was to be universally respected,
since the purpose OF the League is
to establish and maintain peace
among men in accordance with the
will be God
THE people of Ethiopia are
anxious to do right, but throughout
their history they have seldom met
with foreigners who did not desire
to possess themselves of Ethiopian
territory
I'VE should like to hear from the
members Of the League whether
they think it right that means of
pressure should be eXevted upon us
which they themselves would doubt
less never accept.
D EALIzING, however. the faults
IN and failings Of the League,
Selassie turned his craftsmanship
toward the United States, sent as
special envoy Dr.. Waldo Martin,
who made a deal with the J. G..
White Co. to build a dam at Lake
Tana.
Martin also persuaded the par
simonious Mr. Coolidge to send an
American minister to Adds Ababa
despite the fact that Congress
turned down an appropriation for a
legation. Later the State Depart
ment helped send economic and
educational advisers to Halle
SelaSsie.
Copyright 1895 by United Feature
Syndicate. IncJ