Evening star., 1938-12-27
Italy Is Reported
Preparing Attack
Against Djibouti
Natives Being Ineited
BY Big Propaganda
Campaign
By PERTINAX.


PARIS, Dec. ~ N.A.NA).-Dis.
turbing news has been received from
Djibouti. It can be summarized q:
follows:
From day to day the Italiar
authorities are doing their best tc
persuade the natives that thu
French will be swept out Of French
Somaliland and thrown out into the
sea before long. Loudspeakers are
set in motion three times q day ir
Adds Ababa and various othel
places, for instance, In railway sta.
tions Of the French company, anc
they continuously tell the same tale
in deafening tones.
A redistribution Of native troop:
within Ethiopia Is reported. Fol
instance, Askari troops are sent te
the western part of the country te
replace the Amharic and Gala
troops there, who will be quartered
in the east because they are sup.
posed more likely to give good &C
count of themselves in an advance
toward French territory and to gel
on friendly terms with the popula-
ton to be met on the way.
Heavy Roads Being Built.
From Assab, the Italian harbor In
Eritrea, to the French frontier
asphalt roads are being built of such
width and solidity as to suggest
that they have not been planned
for commercial traffic, but for mill
tary transport.
And from 400 to 500 Italian troops
are still encamped in French terri
tory 80 kilometers from the frontier
and 80 from Djibouti. They have
been there since January q, 1898
They are distributed among six fixec
posts, each of them under an Italiar
officer with an Askari escort. Ir
addition, four sections Of native
troops are free for reconnoiterinl
work and they continuously roam
about the country in search Of wells
So far the French authorize.
have vainly demonstrated with tht
Italian military command and civi
officials. But the latter are turning
a deaf ear to them.
A few weeks ago a so-called Fascis
demonstration took place in tn.
capital against the French railway
with the completely of the police
and board with Adds Ababa" in
scribed upon it in big letters wa!
removed. 1t has not yet been pu
back.
Are all these facts to be seen a!
maneuver of intimidation, in
tended to support the violent pres
campaign methodically conducted
in Italy against France, or are W,
really confronted with moral ant
material warlike preparations? Th'
most competent observers hesitat,
to return a clear answer and are no
ready to rule out the most unfavor.
able forecasts.
Land Protection Difficult.
On land, Djibouti can hardly b.
safely protected. The French gar.
rison is numerically weak, while nj
fewer than 81 900 white troops, 13O,.
600 laborers and 10000 native sol.
diers are available to the Italiar
rulers in Adds Ababa. Italian forces
it is true, in order to reach French
Somaliland, would have to cross 3O(
kilometers Of desert land where they
would have to overcome the attack.
Of hostile tribes. But no absolute re.
lance can be placed upon that geo.
graphical obstacle.
1t Is by the use Of sea power that
Djibouti can be defended. There
are two barriers at the disposal OF
the French and British in the Strait
of Bah Ell Mandeb and the maritime
expanSe southwark The first bar
rier consists of the islands Of Perrin
and Dumerah and Of Sheikh Said or
the Arabian Coast. Perrin has beer
strongly fortified by the British, but
the French, under the agreement OF
1885 with Italy, were ready to hand
over Dumerah, where no defensive
works Of any kind have been erected
and the Emir Of Yemen has been al.
lowed for years to send military con.
tingents to Sheikh Said.
The second barrier, south of the
first, can easily be constituted by
the French and British naval au.
thorities, in command Of Djibout
and Alden, respectively. Co-ordina.
ton Of the French and British naval
forces in that area had been tenta.
lively arranged in December, 1895
at the time when Italy threatened
to wage war If oil were added in
Geneva to the list of prohibited i'm.
ports. 1t would seem that those staf1
agreements Of three years ago ought
10 be revived without undue delay.
Chamberlain Trip Watched.
For the present, the French cabi.
nets attention is mainly directed
to the contemplated visit of British
Prime Minister Chamberlain ane
Foreign Secretary Halifax to Rome
Notwithstanding a denial issued II
London Of information I gave ir
these dispatches 10 days ago, tn.
British Prime Minister really had II
IN mind to soothe Mussolini through
promising him territorial ADVANTAGES
in British and French Somaliland
and there is some reason to appre.
hend, at any rate, lest the Munich
method should to this day be re.
garded in Downing Street as the
most expedient way to settle an
lncipient conflict.
French public opinion this time
probably would not let Premier Dal-
adler and Foreign Minister Bonnet
travel from Munich to Munich via
Djibouti.
Mr.. Chamberlain and Viscount
Halifax will be invited to break in
Paris on January 9 their journey
to Rome. Let us hope that resist
ance instead of compromise will be
the motto Of this Franco-Britist
conference.
(copyright. 1898. BY the North American
Newspaper Alliance. Incl