Evening star., 1941-10-08
last OF Series.)
BY GEORGE WELLER,

Foreisn Correspondent OF The Star and
Chicago Daily News
SAIO, Province of Gala Sidamo,
Western Ethiopia.-Gen. Pietro
Cameras surrender to Maj. Gen.
August Gilliaert, following the Duke
of Aosta's yielding to Gen. Archi-
bald P. Wavell of the British Mid
die East Command, leaves the Allied
arms in Ethiopia today with mas
terry of the situation as far ss Benito
Mussolini is concerned.
Final liquidation of the Fascist
empire will come when the Italians
holding out around Gondar decide
to give themselves up to the British
troops which have been surround
ing and starving them since July.
Vastly outnumbered by the Ital-
ians, even after surrender, the Bel
gians have been hard put to handle
$4,000 prisoners in the whole Prov
ince of Gala Sidamo, including at
Saio alone generals, 370 lesser
officers, 2,575 Italians and $500 ma
tive soldiers who surrendered to the
Cong0leSe force which, with 1000
porters aggregated hardly 5000 men.
The first Congolese officers who en-
tered Saio alone to complete the
negotiations told your correspondent
today:
I'VE literally waded in Italians.
We were embarrassed to find how
many enemies had fallen into our
hands. The Italians were cha
grinned to find that we numbered
only three battalions instead OF
having three divisions with South
African reinforcements. as their in
telligence service had led them 10
believe"
No LoOting Occurs.
The proudest achievement Of the
Belgian general staff is that the
public market in Saio has beer
functioning normally since three
days after the fall and that no loot
ing whatever has occurred. Al
nearby Mogi, when Eritreans num-
bering 900 found that all but 81
of the $50 Belgians originally be-
sieging them had been withdrawn
they wished TO start fighting bu,
were dissuaded by their italian
officers.
Belgian deaths were 462 men
both white and black, four -f1fths ol
these through disease The Italian.
probably lost about three times a.
many but the figures are totally
lacking.
The younger and more belligerent
Italian officers taken prisoner BY
! the Belgians seem to blame theil
| defeat on the inertia and fear o.
the older generals. Although sym
pathetic with II Duce's imperialis
ambitions. they intensely dislik,
the Fascist party coterie aroune
Mussolini, considering them par.
venus. Onicers of all ranks seen
/ 10 reserve their chief loyalty fol
the members of the Italian roya
house.
The characteristic feeling about
| Adolf Hitler was indicated in one
officers remark:
The day Germany attacked
/ Greece marked the deepest dis.
honor ever to have fallen upor
Italian arms"
Safe Conduct Asked.
In surrendering, Gen. Pietro Gaz-
zera asked safe conduct for tn,
Eritreans across Ethiopia to British
prison camps. This request, granted
by Gen. Gilliaert. was a necessar,
precaution because the Ethiopian
patriots" who fought at Bure ant
Gore under British officers consid
cred the disarmed Italians fai
game. The $50 Italians who sur
rendered at Bure came into tn
Belgian lines almost completely
naked, their garments having beel
purloined by the Ethiopians. Th
Italian governor at Gore requested
that the Belgians provide an escor
of at least two of the feared Mann
Niams-a native word meaning can
nibal, which the Italians applied t,
the Congolese-for each truckful o
prisoners in order to prevent mo
1estation. An Italian priest whit
contrary to Belgian advice, insiste