"Arrest Everybody!"

To Benito Mussolini in Rome last week flashed a report from Addis Ababa. Italy's active Viceroy of Ethiopia, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, reported he had just made a swing around recently-conquered Southern Ethiopia with a guard of 50, received without incident the homage of thousands of lowland Ethiopians who traditionally hate the highlanders of whom Haile Selassie is No. 1.

Few days later in 8,000-ft. high Addis Ababa, the birth of a son to Italy's Crown Prince (TIME, Feb. 22) brought out the Viceroy and his glittering entourage, accompanied by Ethiopia's native Archbishop or Abuna who long ago turned from Haile Selassie to Vittorio Emanuele III. Just as gifts were being handed to the populace, up from the milling, shouting, scrambling mob flew a flock of hand grenades left over from the War. Ethiopia's Archbishop in his flowing robes shared in the worst of the blast, received ghastly wounds. General Aurelio Liotta, Chief of Italy's East African Air Force, went down with great lacerations in his leg. The Viceroy, although wounded, was able to stand, shouted orders to his troops to arrest the whole mob of 2,000--an old Ethiopian custom.*

In Rome, Il Duce instantly gave orders for Surgeon-Professor Cesar Antonucci to take off from Rome with his assistant, Dr. Giovanni Barbera. Day later they alighted at Addis Ababa, amputated the shattered leg of Air General Liotta. By this time Viceroy Graziani had mobilized 30,000 troops on a war basis, issued a communique: "The outrage represents an episode of common delinquency." According to Addis newsfolk the Ethiopian grenade-throwers set up a shout of "Ras Desta is coming!" but in fact this onetime ras (chief) of Haile Selassie was hundreds of miles away making good his escape into British Kenya.

*In Haile Selassie's day the practice, when somebody of importance had been killed or something of great value had been stolen, was to round up the entire neighboring population and keep them in an improvised concentration camp, if necessary for months, until they finally arrived among themselves at a decision of who was to blame and produced the miscreants to the Imperial Government.

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