The Disappointing. - War Abyssinian Stop Press. Edited by . Ladislas Farago. (Hobeit
Halo. Ns. 6d.) THE editor of an important English newspaper remarked in the letter recalling his special correspondent from Abyssinia,
"from the very first this has proved a very disappointing war to us." The journalists who at very great expenSe flocked there last year from all parts of the civilised world saw very little fighting and got very little trustworthy news ; most of them, however, had amusing personal experiences, and it was a good idea to induce a number of them. to contribute to a volume of their reminiscences. Whatever the anticipations with which they embarked upon the job none of them, I think, with the exception of a single adolescent Canadian, retained any illusions about their own ignominious share ; it must be with unmixed pain that such modest and sincere men as Mr. Balfour and Mr. Emeny—I name only the two with whom I have personal acquaintance ; doubtless the other contributors felt the same—read the publisher's suggestion that " the real hero in this war " was, " The Unknown Reporter."
The editor has taken his task lightly. No attempt has been made to achieve any kind of unity. He has chosen five reporters besides himself and let them tell -their experiences in their own way. They have interpreted the invitation very differently. Any reader who hopes to find a general perspec- tive of the war in this book will be disappointed. Mr. Balfour and Mr. Emeny, in more than one instance, cover identical ground, and since they are truthful men the differences in their versions do not justify this duplication. No attempt, even, has been made to standardise the spelling. General Fuller writes of Entishu, Mr. Durand of Entiscio ; General Fuller of Ras Seyoum, Mr. Durand of Seyum ; Mr. Balfour of fej, Mr. Farago of- telsh. The illustrations are scattered promis- cuously through the pages without any relevance to the text. The map omits to mark a great many of the places mentioned. In fact it is a 'shoddy bit of Work froin the Point' of view of editor and publisher.
The contributions are all readable. They vary in value exactly as the writer has been willing to confine himself to his own observations. -In this Mr. Emeny and 'Mr. Durand fulfil their task laudably, giving the-reader exactly what he has the right to expect. The editor sets a reprehensible example, beginning his essay with ]a narrative of' personal adventure, but trailing off into a series of general observations about matters -of which, by his own showing, he has no first-hand knowledge. Indeed-his own adventures are difficult to follow. He does not give the date of his elepartnre, nor does his map mark either of the villages in which he resided. He proudly calls himself " the only journalist with the Abyssinian Army in the North" ; he seems to have penetrated. only four days' march from the Soudanese frontier, and it is not clear that he had any acquaintance with the Abyssinian Army beyond con- tact with a small local garrison and the glimpse of some men on their way to the front. He describes life in a village : " I sat among them " (the inhabitants) " listening but saying noth- ing, for it would have been dangerous for me to tell them of the attack on Adowa." He might have added that it-would have been quite impossible since he did not speak their lan- guage.
Mr. Balfour makes no claims to heroism. He calls his contribution " Fiasco in Addis Ababa." It is extremely fanny. So is Mr. Durand's " The Crazy War." The French correspondent, M. Edmund Demaitre, sets an entirely different note with a series of highly co7oured but rather exciting anee-, dotes of Somali native troops. General Fuller again takes on another task ; an analysis of the strategic and tacticat, mistakes of the opposing generals. I have not enough technical knowledge to judge him. He reads well. Mr. Emeny gives a straightforward and conscientious account of his experiences at Dessie. In one riartieuktr I can correct his memory. The . Negus. ' visit to the American hospital was on the day immedi- ately after his arrival, some days before the bombardment.' The story of the amputated hand was all over the earap thati evening. Thus no photographer had the smallest excuse fori labelling his film " Emperor watching an operation On al victim of the Dessie air-raids."
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