Foreign News: Soft Nose, Proud Leg

Though the fighting ceased in Ethiopia weeks ago, London and Rome continued last week to rehash ugly stories concerning the methods and materials employed in that African war. What stirred Britons to the highest pitch of indignation last spring against Benito Mussolini was the fact that

Italy had wantonly used poison gas on Ethiopian noncombatants. What had out raged Italians was a report that greedy British munitioneers had secretly supplied Haile Selassie’s troopers with dumdum bullets against all the rules of civilized warfare. Anxious British diplomats in Rome and Geneva frantically telephoned the Foreign Office in London that Italy was about to present this British dumdum bullet report to the League of Nations, photographs and all, and that His Majesty’s Government had better do some thing about it quickly. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden wasted no time. Up from the front bench of the House of Commons he lifted his tall form last week, proceeded to tell a story straight out of E. Phillips Oppenheim: “The protection of the British Government’s and British industries’ good name necessitates exposure of the attempt to fabricate evidence that British interests supplied Ethiopian warriors with outlawed ammunition. “All of this so-called evidence has been produced by a notorious purveyor of false information and forged documents who has called himself at various times by the names of Colonel Pedro Lopez. Bernstein, Lawrence, Singleton, Radwell and Mezler. “I won’t weary the House with adetailed resumé of the many contacts and meetings Lopez is known to have had with representatives of the Italian Embassy. It is only necessary for me to say that he is known to have had contacts with members of the Italian military attache’s staff within the past three weeks. . . . ”On Feb. 19th last this individual calling himself Colonel Pedro Lopez called on the managing director of Messrs. George Bate of Birmingham, intimating that he represented the Ethiopian Government . . . and stated that he wished to obtain samples of cartridges of British manufacture which should include dumdum ammunition. “On being told that ammunition in the latter category was not used in civilized warfare, Lopez replied that Ethiopia was swarming with leopards. . . . After some further conversation, the managing director agreed to supply certain ammunitions including seven rounds of 7.9 soft-nosed cartridges. These were packed in a box, and before it was sealed Lopez asked that something should be included in writing to prove that the cartridges were of British manufacture. . . . The parcel was next heard of when the letter was published in the Italian Press. “On March 31, under the alias of Colonel Gustav Mezler, Lopez called on the Ethiopian Minister in London and offered to supply to the Addis Ababa Government large quantities of arms and ammunition. . . . He induced the Minister to sign a paper containing a long list of required ammunition. “Among the many items listed, the Ethiopian minister omitted to notice one for three million soft-nosed cartridges. It is obvious that he failed to notice it, for he knew that no export license for these cartridges could be obtained. Neverthe-less the paper signed by the Ethiopian Minister was published later by the Roman newspaper Il Messaggero. “Whether Colonel Lopez hoodwinked the Italian Government or not—and the evidence strongly suggests that he did not —the Italian Government had no difficulty in hoodwinking its subjects with the gimcrack evidence supplied by the enterprise of an adventurer. “There is something awe-inspiring in such gullibility. That leg which is so proudly extended on the map of Europe has been definitely pulled.” Independently, the London Daily Herald announced that mysterious Colonel Lopez was really a onetime music hall magician who played under the name of Henry Lawrence, was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1872. Some years ago he toured South America as a munitions salesman for British firms. Italy was about to drop its dumdum bullet charges in return for the League of Nations’ willingness to forget about the Italian use of poison gas. But Anthony Eden’s speech with its reference to pulling the proud leg of Benito Mussolini got Italian dander up. Slapped down before the League was a memorandum from Italian Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Fulvio Suvich, containing 15 documented cases of Italian troops wounded by dum-dum bullets and a photograph forwarded by Italian Marshal Graziani. It was the label of a box of cartridges taken from Ethiopian prisoners. It read: “Ten ball cartridges for .303 magazine rifle, cordite. Soft nosed, solid bullets Kynochs, Ltd., Witton, Birmingham.”