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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1963)
Page (A EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD, Sunday, Jan. 13, 1963 Haile Selassie Not Quite So Absolute Modern Democracy Stirring in Ethiopia By WEBB McKINLEV :f - of tha Auoclated Preu ' ; . r ADDIS AS ABA, Ethiopia The (irtt, hint atiiflnga of modern democracy ar coming (o Ethiopia and are heartening this ancient oountry'i wall-wliberi, Here in the strange highland of the African horn it ia no longer quite true to call bia Imperial Majeaty Haile Selassie I one of the last of the absolute monarcha. , The constitutional government he created in name 32 years ago is emerging at last as an infant fact. Groping and uncertain as it still is, it could if it grows save Ethiopia from a long-predicted explosion, Recently the Ethiopian lower house of 251 members de bated for two days a change in the penal code. The govern ment, meaning presumably the Emperor, wanted an amend- tnent that would permit public flogging of rumormongers. Parliament voted it down. ; r ' Next day this surprising body rejected' a tax on building materials also badly wanted by the government. . ' Those who take these as heartening aigna admit they, are mere beginnings. They are also in their way dramatic events which probably annoy but one day may be welcomed by the 71-year-old monarch.- . . - Since he became regent as Ras Tafari in 1916 the ruler Perez Godoy 's Stated Aim has tried with tremendous will to pull his country out of its feudal rut. Potentially Ethiopia la one of Africa's blessed countries. Its ail la fertile, its tradition proud, its people quick and Ha climate fine. Kitting on a plateau 8,000 feet above the storied Red Sea coast, Addis Uvea in continual springtime. But the same highland isolation that has kept this country independent for legendary 3,000 yeara has also kept it back ward. , ' Except for a first-rate, American-managed air service, its communications are appalling. Despite progress in education since the war, its people are still 95 per cent illiterate. Landlords, peasants and prelates of the Ethiopian Coptic church have opposed reforms. Until 1957 there were no elec tions. . Loaded with old guerrilla fighters to whom the Emperor felt gratitude, the bureaucracy has been chaotic. , ' Faced with these handicaps, the Emperor in years pasf has run Ethiopia alone. He has worked day and night, looking . personally into almost every plan and contract, appointing thl most minor officials, receiving humble petitioners. Now he shows signs of wanting to share his work. ha publicly called on ministers to make their own decisjpns. Rfnj; are doing it. Cautiously, against conservative inertia, he is making other moves toward reform. Labor unions, banned until 1962, are now permitted. A new pension plan is shucking some excess from the bureaucracy. A new civil service plan has'beefl ilfffl: duced. Helped by about $2 million of American aid, Haile Selassie I University was founded in December 1961. , ' The educated class is growing. . Partly because of this, the line of the Lion of Judah faces constant dangers. . The independent-minded and relatively educated province By THOMAS J. STONE Of th Anoclatetf Pff ? of Eritrea, giving Ethiopia its only outlet to the sea, is stirring unhappily because of its incorporation last November into the empire. This happened when the Eritrean parliament met and unanimously voted to dissolve itself. There were reportedly 17 of 52 deputies on hand for the vote. Bigger trouble has loomed for years in Addis. Here one hears whispers "They are preparing for the second round." They could only refer to the revolt in December 1960 of the imperial body guard. This the Emperor squashed simply by returning from a trip to Brazil and exerting his enormous per sonal force. . The younger officers or intellectuals, who compare their country unhappily with more advanced African states, may now be playing a waiting game. With parliament stirring to life and the country moving slowly toward reform, many appear content to wait for the succession of Crown Prince Alerid Azmatch Asfaw Wosen. The qujet, 46-year-otd heir is a puzzle to outsiders. In the 1960 revolt he'was put ur pj (he rebels as a puppet, but later in sisted he accepted he role only with a gun in his back. He is vyldcly believe.(j, at any rate, to favor a constitutional monarchy. Whatever happens even the restless young mpn of Addis admit thai Haile Sflassje 1 the Kjng of Kings, the conquering . Lion of Judah, by a, superb, persona) effort has pulled his coun try into the modern age. Tftprg cjjuld bardy be another like him. I 1. ,. M r . vf?tv. J- t t. I M V J Haile Selassie Political Stability Needed in Peru LIMA, Peru The elements ef revolutipn were there and the time was ripe. Strikes plagued the . nation. Civil guards and Castro-type guer rillas fought a virtual war in the heart of the ancient Inca ' empire. , i.- Ono danger was that. the ipark would ignite the pas-' sions and hatreds of nearly three million Indians, desper ately poor descendants of the Incas whose civilization flour ished centuries ago. - Restlessness among them grew. They attacked nig ha ciendas and threatened thoir White owners. ' At La Oroya, high in the Andes, strikes broke out at the U. S.-owned Cerro ' de Pasco Corp. mining complex. Clashes killed 1 mn 2nd in jured 18 others. Saboteurs' bombs caused an estimated $4 million damage. Peru's military govenment seemed oblivious to it all. - "The . Communists are to blame for all the trouble and nobody is doing anything about it." This was the cry in Lima. . Therj, as the country . seernep near the brink of real trouble, Gen. Ricardo Perez Godoy, president of the gov erning junta, struck. After midnight last weekend gov- v . ... . . . , V t J) Gen. Ricardo Perez Godoy ernment forces rounded up Communists, suspected Com munists and other extremists from cities along the coast to the hamlets in the snow capped ndes. By the junta's account, the Communists had planned the real thing. A sweeping revo-' lution, a lightning takeovpr a giant victory parade On it) the middle of May in LipM- The government announced the arrest of 400 persons. The Peruvian press placed (he number seized as high as i.oqo. "If this means the Commu nists in , Peru have been smashed we are all right," said a banker. "We've got a good economy. With, the left ists out of the way we should have no trouble." But Vl.B. businessmen still Wove Worried that the spark fqr revolution remains alive. t'We were planning to build I quarter rnjpn dollar plant here, but the country js too unsettled," one American said.. "After all the trouble broke out we decided to look else- , where." An executive of one of the two U.S. tire manufacturers considering substantial invest; ments here said: "We're wait ing until the situation is clar ified." Two suspected leaders of the plot Solomon Bolo Hidal go, a defrocked priest, and Gcnaro Camera Checo were still at large. They could keep . the revolutionary spark alive but right now the extremists apparently were without an organized leadership. Peru, a nation of nearly 6H million people, is generally better off than other Latin American countries. It has a diversified economy mining, fish meal, cotton and sugar. The economy is booming. Wages arc at a record high. Dollar reserves that is, mon ey that can be used to buy goods from abroad and act as well as a platform for Peru's own currency are satisfac tory. With political stability and U.S. help, Peru so its leaders say could become one of the more economically advanced nations on a continent fraught with potential upheaval. But the nation, extending some 1,150 miles along South America's Pacific Coast, has been troubled for centuries by raciaj tensipns. The Span ish settled Pfcru, crushed the advanced Ipca pivillzatiqn and, stripped the, Andes 0f lis gold. The pnce proutl Indian Wgs reduced to subservience. Many work the VRite mans sugar plantations now. The Indian is paid a wage and gets A fpod ration. Communism playa on the resentment in (d Indian breast. The white man has his ovn troubles in Peru. After a six-year democratic reign, President Manuel Prado was overthrown by Peres Godoy's military junta last July. It claimed the presidential elections far Pvadfl's successor were fraudu, letlt. '- Pere Podgy says free elop: tions will pe held within a year that his junta will have achieved 1)8 aims by then ihd WlH. step dflp- ", ''fney w(H find nm ex- Fpse tq slay, jn power" such is lh tope flf thing you hear, however. Perez Godoy has suspended civil liberties that permit political campaigning. There is no indication the suspen sion will be lifted soon. Aussies Fidgety Over Their Destiny; Leaning More to U.S. Than Britain By WjLL GRIMSLEY (AR Wlreohoto) on Ethiopia, the African nation ruled by Haile Se lassie, one of the last ab solute monarchs. The rul er has tried tremendously to pull his country out of Hs 'ancient rut since he becanie regent in 1916. He has made moves to ward reform and faint stirrings pf modern de mocracy are coming the nation. to Trial Resumes " TUNIS (UPD The treason trial of 26 persons accused in a plot to assassinate pro-Western President Habib Bourgui ba resumed Saturday before ' a, ixilitary tribunal. The trial was postponed shortly after it opened last ' Monday because of new ar rests in connection with the abortive plot. '""'PyCoiomBiA : (AP WIrephnto) MINE Map locates La Oroya (underline) where heavy damage was done during strikes at the U.S. owned Cerro de Pasco mining complex in Peru. Government Extending Control in India Stern Approach Worries Some Indians . NEW DELHI, India "Take my savings and buy bullets to shoot down the Chinese," said the young widow of an Indian soldier killed in the invasion of India. The savings that Mrs. Ladwati Devi contributed to the Na tional Defense Fund totaled about 90 rupees, or $10. A blind man named Aehiah who lives near the Bay of Ben gal gave his savings ISO rupees. A schoolboy, too poor to contribute, skipped classes one day to break stones, and gave his one rupee (21 cents) earnings to the defense fund. These individual contributions are reported by Indian gov ernment publicity officers but there is other evidence the masses of India have been aroused enough by the Chinese at tack to make sacrifices for their country. Several foreigners who have lived with India people in different parts of tho coun try add their own stories of contributions by rickshaw pullers and coconut gatherers. The government is seeking to keep people aroused and willing to continue working for defenso during the truce on the Himalayan border. If the common man is aroused, the government is none too happy with the response of some rich Indians who have made only token contributions. Most noted is the Nizam of Hyder abad, who has a reputation both of being fabulously wealthy and of being a miser. He said he was too poor, what with all his pensioners and hangers on, to contribute as much as the government expected of him. - Contributions to the defense fund now amount to nearly 800 million rupees ($63 million) plus more than a ton of gold worth $U2 million. Gold worth nearly $4 billion at world prices, and double that at Indian prices, is estimated to he in private Indian hands The government is disappointed with its efforts to lure mere of this. By HENRY S. RRADSIIER (It lh. Anoclattd Pr.ii There is no disappointment in other responses. Blood don-, nrs have to be turned away; so do volunteers for the Army. Lists of both are being compiled for the future. Army training camps are full, but as more divisions art added to the Indian Army, more youths will be called in. Some cynics have suggested the rush to join the Army real izes an opportunity to eat better than many Indians do. But De fense Ministry officials say most volunteers come from rela tively prosperous areas and few from more impoverished parts of the country. Home guards also are being organized. The civil defense program started In fear the Chinese might bomb Indian cities. Trenches were dug and air raid sirens wailed in repetition of World War II practices of the British, who then ruled India. Lately, however, Prime Minister Nehru has said he thinks it silly to tmitato practices 20 years old. Such a word from Nehru usually brings quick results. Nehru advocates conscription, when eventually it becomes financially possible, because lie thinks it good for young men's character. This stern approach runs through official policy in a way that worries some Indians The government has used emergency powers to extend Its already strong control over the nation. Government employes missing work can be imprisoned for a year. Three men who circulated criticism of Nehru's conduct of the war were jailed without specific charges. Newspapers are under pressure to omit anything sensitive officials think might damage morale. Underlying this is a tendency inherited from British days for government officials to act as if they know best and for the people to acquiesce to their authority. The tendency is crowing stronger during the continuing emergency caused by the Chineif threat. - SYDNEY: Australia , zle hfcr as if afraid trie taps will run follow the bPrses with i passjpn and Hvfc pr the beachps like i spct pf sun-worshipcM. But they'rp pflwjh'g fidgety ahqijt their destiny. "t"a, sicpt hearing abou.f what great sportsmen we Australians are," said a wp!(: groomed matron. "I'm fed up with winning the Davis Cup, beating the British in crjpket and setting world records in swimming. . "When are we going to do something really constructive like putting a man in orbit or sending a gadget to the Moon? Why can't we make great advances in science, art and litera ture like the Russians and Americans?" Someone else interjected: "Remember, we're just a young country, less than 200 years old. We've made remark able progress in that time. We're a nation of only 10 million people. What more can one expect?" An Australian business executive tinkled the ice in his scotch and soda and said: "Yes, and when another war breaks out we'll expect the Yanks to come down and bail us out again. Let's face it. We're more closely aligned with America than with Britain. I wonder when we will be annexed as the 51st state." "Heaven help us," came a sharp dissenting voice. "Who needs or wants all that drive? I think we're much happier as we are or rather, were. I'll admit our way of life is being changed by American influences and, frankly, I resent it." i . Thus, the virile, sports-loving people on the remote island continent debate their pos sible role in the jet age. They seem to get a big thrill when they nr thi, Anodated Press Australians Stjll gui- feel President Kennedy has adopted a nard pose policy, as in ipe receni i,uoan msu. they get uneasy when Premier Khrushchev talks abqut nls rocKeis. r nere s nor me sngnt-N est question hpw they' would line up if the cold war became a hot one. Alfhouglt seemingly removed from the hot spots qf wnrlf) tensions, Australians look over their Shnu!drs as if excepting an Asian wave io,nguJf them- Thpy haven't forgotten the, threat Pf be Japanese in the last war. Today tiey a, re ffipre concerned about Indonesians. ' "There are 40 million of them and 10 mil-' lion of us," a man said. "The only buffer be tween us are the Malayans, who are lovers, not fighters. It's the fear of the United States which is keeping the Indonesians off our necks." Although Australians hang pictures of Queen Elizabeth n in almost every foyer, toast their monarch at formal dinners and give her fierce loyalty, they cannot escape the American influence. The movies are from Hollywood, the television programs from New . York and most of the night club acts fresh from the floodlights of American bistros. Sky scrapers are stabbing into the skies over Syd ney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and even far-off Perth, on the West Coast. The conti nent hums with American industry. You can get a hot hamburger and cola on Castlercigh Street in Sydney or a rich choco late malted on Collins Street in Melbourne. Australians now drink as much coffee as lea and the coffee no longer tastes like iodine. "They tell us Australia is like America . was back at the turn of the century," Aus tralians say with mixed pride and apology. ' OPEN TODAY (Sunday) NOON TIL 6 P.M. BROADLOOfll CARPETS i NYLONS-WOOLS-TWEEDS-TEXTURES-SOLIDS 100 NYLON PILE TWEED Double back carpet in brown and beige; tweed or brown, charcoal, and white tweed, i USUALLY $6.95 sq. yd. DRIVE OUT and SAVE PRICE 100 WOOL PILE DOUBLE BACK CARPET Beige tweed, permanently moth proofed. . USUALLY 7.95 sq. yd. DRIVE OUT and SAVE PRICE 100 CONTINUOUS FILAMENT NYLON PILE Space dyed multl tone will blend with ony color tcheme. , . USUALLY 8.95 tq. yd. DRIVE OUT and SAVE PRICE '50V CARPET-DuPONT NYLON PILE Heavy weight with double back, brown and beige tweed or rose beige in random textured pile. USUALLY 11.95 sq. yd. DRIVE OUT and SAVE PRICE FREE ESTIMATES ON WALL-TO-WALL or ROOM SIZE CARPETS Free Delivery No Down Payment 24 Months to Pay 399 S,. Yd 4,99 Sq. Yd 5" 0 Sq. Yd 7" U Sq. Yd 910 IVY ST. JUNCTION CITY PHONE WY 8-8214
