Motor Vehicles in War Zone

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22250, 26 October 1935, Page 11 (Supplement)

Motor Vehicles in War Zone

ABYSSINIA HAS ONE TO EVERY 15,000 PEOPLE

Shipping cars to Italian Somaliland is the newest scheme to recommend itself in South Africa. The possibility of providing a fresh outlet in Mussolini's East Africa is being seriously examined by several important concerns. Preliminary shipments actually have found their way up the East Coast, and tho buying activities are likely to increase substantially before long. Old passenger cars, mostly second-hand, have been acquired, and have been fitted with truck bodies. No big prices have, however, been paid, the usual figure being about £4O or £SO. Quito apart from this, however, a striking tribute was lately paid to tho importance of tho Johannesburg motor trade, which has shown that it can even do business 3000 miles off, on tho shores of the Red Sea. For the purpose of developing the agricultural resources of Italian Somaliland, a leading American firm of manufacturers lately was asked to supply a very important consignment of petrol-driven tractors. Mr. Frank L. Peterson, district representative of a big tractor company, with headquarters at Johannesburg, recently was asked to proceed to the Italian colony in order to supervise the delivery and installation of a fleet of some 70 of tha machines. " South Africans may be somewhat astonished," he said, "to learn that tho famous Eudi Shebeli Valley, or ' River of tho Leopards,' which lies 12 miles in land from the ancient port of Merka, alleged to date back 3000 years before the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, produces 'IOOO tons of bananas for ton months in the vear!" In order to cultivate the huge estates, most of which aro run on the large-scale plantation system, the new fleet of tractors was obtained. Every Friday giant shipments of bananas are loaded up for Europe. Hitherto, Italian East Africa, as it is now styled, only boasted of a modest number of motor vehicles, but the influx, not only of tho colonial army, but also the intensive programme of agricultural development which Mussolini has embarked, is rapidly adding to their number.

to remain the main purchaser of cars. The last census showed that there wore only 3650 Europeans, mostly Italian, in Eritrea, as against 618,126 of other races, while in Somaliland there were 1658 whites and 1,009,157 natives.

Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, according to the latest figures (which lump them together) had 868 _ cars, but with the coming of the military this total has been raised by several thousands. Of the total, 318 are trucks. Incidentally, Abyssinia has 697 motor vehicles of hor own, which means that she possesses about one car to every 15,000 of hor population. Detailed totals show that there were few American models in Somaliland and Eritrea. Of the 550 cars, 295 were Italian, 225 French and 30 British, while of the trucks and buses, 198 were Italian, 45 were French and 75 British. In Abyssinia, it may be mentioned, most of the cars on the road are running in the capital, Addis Ababa, which has 656 automobiles and 60 motor-cycles. Dire Daoua boasts of 34 vehicles and the ancient city of the " King of Kings," Harrar, maintains seven petroldriven vehicles. Last year. Abyssinia had 1600 miles of passable motor roads, one of which goes through magnificent mountain scenery to Harrar, where Sir Richard Burton, in Victorian times, trekked at the risk of having his throat cut. Perhaps, when times are more normal, South African motorists may start to tour in the romantic ranges of the " Lion of Judah."

Although preference is given to Italian makes by the authorities in Rome, they are by no means confining their orders exclusively to their own country. Important houses in South Africa confirm that their home firms —• non-Italian —are getting an appreciable amount of fresh orders from this quarter. Dr. L. Bordoni, Italian Trade Commissioner at Johannesburg, while not denying the possibilities of the Somaliland and Eritrea motor-car market, however, emphasised that his Government was not disposed to provide a dumping-ground for " old crocks." " If -people in South Africa want to send second-hand motors to these colonies," he explained, " they are at liberty to do so. But they will have to find their customers among the civilian portion of the populace." He stressed tho fact that Italy was sufficiently near to allow the importation of cars straight from the homej;, factories, which had plenty of orders. Road making in East Africa is intimately bound up with the problem of selling more automobiles, old or new, from the Union. _ Only recently has a really impressive programme of building been embarked upon, and the few hundred miles of real roads hitherto available are boing rapidly increased. Until large-scale colonisation, such as is planned by Mussolini, is in existence, tho local Government is Jjound