Evening star., 1936-02-16
ETHIOPIANS~ TO CHANGE
TACTICS TO DEFEAT FOE
Savage "Rhinoceros Horn" Warriors to
Be Spearhead-Italians May
Rely on Thalers.

Ing to the girth in mud, to those poor
troops in Shammas who sit like droop.
ing birds through the rainy chill Of
equatorial nights. It will be tough
going for both sides, with the burden
OF attack, the necessity for develop
ing initiative, upon the Fitawraris.
To give these yeoman lords their
due, they will be willing to take the
burden for their own. They are all
bred to conflict under any savage
condition and capable of witnessing
any mischance with fortitude. Halle
Selassie holds his King of Kings
throne thanks to their relentless sup
preston of rebellions, their indefa-
tigable squeezing of taxes, building of
feudal families, controlling Of agrarian
Serfs. have never seen one who has
not-thanks to his affluence in the
matter of ammunition-a rife shot
worthy place on a Camp Perry
team. Nor have ! ever met one who
was not, in his own right, champion
at any sort of savage fighting. Until
the Italians bombed Aduwa. they were
immensely friendly to whites; they
were, I daresay, country gentlemen
according to their lights. ] have seen
one drink half bottle of cognac be-
fore breakfast and the other half
before saddling-up for the day.
Detection Is Chief Danger.
The Italians know that these men
will do their utmost to revive the
tradition that finds Ethiopia loosely
held but hard to take. Certainly an
advance which leads the Italians of
the beaten roads, once the little rains
begin, will find the advantage all
going over to these highlanders who
bear the rhinoceros horn and who
collar their shoulders in lions name.
In the meantime the little rains,
with their slowing up of communica-
tions, will find Halle Selassie more
than ever hard-pressed to control his
forces in the field. The Ethiopians
won the old first battle of Aduwa
partly through Italian disorganiza-
ton; but measurably they attribute
their success to the fact that they
were starving, and there was food
in the Italian camp. The Emperor
effected a miracle in his organiZa-
ton last Fall. when by heroic work
he rationed his troops for at least six
months Of campaign. Henceforth he
must trust to his Fitawraris for forag-
ing, for confiscations of foodstuffs
from any countryside.
Silver Thalers Talk.
That, I think, will be the point at
which the Italians will direct their
efforts. In the past week a royal
Ethiopian cousin and 200 soldiers, the
Italians announced, have come over to
their side. 1t is this sort of detection
and not the unthinkable one of
faint heartedness-which may defeat
the new leaders. They, like feudal
chiefs and border lords since time
immemorial, are on the side of the
greatest princely power. Against them
the Italians must. while standing in
their fortified positions, direct the
wiles of the colonial Office.
That Badoglio must now stop his
creeping advance seems sure; he cam
not reach the heights of Dessye be-
fore losing many thousands of his
troops. And even at Dessye he will
be many moons away from taking the
Ethiopian capital. Instead of en-
ploying machine guns, he must en-
ploy money through the rainy season,
sacks of silver thalers clinking against
the saddle at a Fitawrari's knee. =
Those who hail Col Lawrence as the
inventor of guerilla warfare should
recollect that much of his work was
done with sacks of British gold. Halle
Selassie, when he takes to this prac-
tice, must be prepared to oay the
same price as the Italians through
the trickery that will usher in the
season Of the little rains.
(Copyright 1861