The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1936 IS ADDIS ABABA A SYMBOL?

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20442, 12 June 1936, Page 8

The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1936 IS ADDIS ABABA A SYMBOL?

Mr Neville Chamberlain’s declaration that the contnuance of sanctions will only lead to further misfortunes, and anyone still cherishing the illusion that Abyssinia’s independence could be preserved by the application of sanctions, is “guilty of the midsummer madness,” seems to suggest that Britain has come to the conclusion that because the League of Nations attempted to impose restrictions that were beyond the will of Geneva to enforce, there the issue should rest. Of more than passing interest, moreover, is the Italian version of what is happening in Addis Ababa. The cable messages from Rome report that fifty Abyssinian chiefs have submitted to Italian rule, but the value of these submissions is somewhat discounted because of the sinister threat, issued by the new Viceroy of Abyssinia, hinting at the grim fate awaiting all who dare oppose the will of the Roman conquerors. The confession coming from the British Chancellor of the Exchequer will startle the world and will strike a staggering blow into the hearts of enlightened people in all countries, particularly the peoples of smaller nations who are now living in hourly fear that they may share the fate of unhappy Abyssinia. Already, many of the best informed observers of the march of world events within the past few months, are beginning to ask themselves: Is Addis Ababa a symbol, and is Haile Selassie's palace the pyre of the last native state in Africa? Mr Neville Chamberlain’s confession would seem to suggest that the rule of force has again triumphed in the world, and no power remains to redress the wrong* suffered by Abyssinia or prevent a recurrence of that crime. The other day The Christian Science monitor put these questions to t he world:

Will Europe be scorched by the flames that swept Ethiopia’s capital? Has the collective peace system been shattered into anarchy by the mechanised march of the modern Caesars? The

answers must await events. But surely no thoughtful person but must feel a tremendous portent in the sack of Addis Ababa.

And events will depend to large extent on how the thinking of the world responds to this blazing warning.

It has been said that the victory of Italian arms in Abyssinia puts the new Roman State in the company of “satisfied countries I” But the day may come when Italy may wake to the cost of conquest. In Italy there have been prolonged outbursts of jubilation, but elsewhere in the world there has been forced upon observant people the realisation that the ruthless force that sacked Abyssinia and laid wide territories in ruin by the use of flaming rain and poison gas. may sack civilisation unless checked. It may be true that sanctions have proved impotent, but the measures taken against Italian aggression were merely half-hearted sanctions watered down by national selfishness and trade rivalry. It is not' surprising then, that Mr Neville Chamberlain’s confession has attracted wide attention in England. It is clear, however, that collective action has not been proved impotent, because it has never been tried; nor has peace been defeated, but only the disunited efforts to enforce peace without risks have been applied. Manifestly, the only basis upon which peace can be secured is reason ami justice, and despite the despondency of the League Powers, it can be said with confidence that if a new vision is conceived, which will submerge hateful and violent impulses, and remove selfishness and suspicion, peace may yet rise phoenix-like from the ashes of Addis Ababa