Evening star., 1936-01-01

BY the Associated Press.
Italy and Ethiopia exchanged bittel
recriminations today over their war
fares newest cause celebre-the Fas-
cist aerial bombardment Monday on
the Southern front.
Emperor Halle Selassie. from his
field headquarters at DeSsye, tele-
graphed protest to the League of Ma
tions. charging Italy with using poison
gas in the attack and with effecting
complete destruction of a Swedish
Red Cross ambulance"
The Rome government. in turn.
countered with an official communioue
insisting:
The bombardment which took place
on the Somaliland front was fully
justified by the proved fact that two
Italian aviators who fell at Daggah
Bur were killed and decapitated and
their heads carried to Harar in tri-
umph."
Details Begin to Emerge.
From the rival government COM
munications, outlines of what actually
occurred in the bombardment on the
Guenale Doria River, about 80 miles
north of Dolo, began to emerge.
Original indications were that only
a Swedish ambulance. in the Ethiopian
version of the incident, was attacked
Halle SelaSsie's protest indicated now
that Ethiopian troop concentrations
came under the bombardment.
The Rome communique confirmed
these indications:
The italian planes did not mean
to bomb tents of the Swedish Red
Cross and other Red Crosses. although
it is well known that Ethiopian chief
tains take shelter under Red Cross
signs when they see Italian airplanes. u
Although first Ethiopian reports said
8 Swedes and % Ethiopians of an am
bulance unit died in the assault, the
Italian government reported:
News of the number of dead is not
definitely stated"
Shlt ASSICtNu 1TOODS.
The Swedish Red Cross unit was be-
lieved by Ethiopian officials themselves
to have been in the heart of their
troop masses which have been menac-
ing Gen. Rudolfo Graziani's army on
the Ethiopia Italian Somaliland from
tier.
Halle SelaSSie, seizing on this case
as sequel to the bombings of Aduva
and Dessye, told the League:
We again protest explicitly against
the criminal acts of the Italian gov-
ernment."
To which the Rome communique
1nferentially, replied:
THE war methods of the Ethiopians
on the Somaliland and Eritrean fronts
are already shown in documents given
to the League of Nations"
While Fascist officials thus defended
vigorously the conduct of their cam
paign, other Italians at home saw the
new year in more quietly than usual
but with the customary cry-'Vivi L
Duce!"-still on their lips.
New Year Eve Cut Short.
Italians went home early from their
New Year eve celebrations. under the
economy rules of the Fascist regime
decreed to combat League of Nations
war penalties.
They did not. as in former New
Year eve celebrations. cast junk into
the streets, or break crockery on the
pavements to herald the new year.
Most of their Junk had gone into the
regimes war chest; the rest they
saved.
But Fascists looked hopefully to the
new year to bring them decisive mill
tary triumphs in East Africa and ar
end to the Leagues sanctions siege al
home.
Britain's traditional welcome to the
new year-the issuance of King
Georges honors list.also reflected the
East African conflict.
Sir Sydney Barton, Minister at Ad-
dis Ababa. became Knight Grand
Cross Of the Order of the British En-
pire. Two of the Kings sons. the
Duke of York and the Duke of Kent
also appeared in the long honors list.