Deal No. 2

Hot from Addis Ababa Emperor Haile Selassie's newly-hired public relations counsel, chubby Josef Israels 2nd,* was in Paris last week with the text of a Deal for Peace drafted three months ago by His Majesty but "withheld in deference to the Great Powers."

This entered world news as proposed Deal No. 2. In it His Majesty asked to be ceded a corridor to the sea either at British Zeila or Italian Assab. This he would have been granted under Deal No. 1.

In return Haile Selassie offered to cede to Italy most of the southern province of Ogaden and in the north the captured Aduwa-Adigrat section of Tigre Province but not the Holy City of Aksum. All this was also provided in Deal No. 1.

Finally His Majesty announced himself willing to accept supervision of the entire Empire of Ethiopia under League of Nations' auspices. But Haile Selassie "would not grant Italy a preponderance of strength or influence."

Deal No. 1, not venturing to place the whole Empire under non-Ethiopian supervision, envisioned the granting to Italy of preponderant influence over somewhat less than the southern half of the country (TIME, Dec. 23). Deal No. 2 was drafted by the Emperor on the advice of his trusted Yankee friend, Mr. Everett Andrew Colson. It resembles Deal No. i in so many vital respects as to suggest that Premier Pierre Laval and Sir Samuel Hoare were not indulging in hypocrisy when they voiced confidence that Deal No. i was acceptable at least as a basis for negotiation to Italy, Ethiopia and the League. It proved not acceptable last week to British public opinion (see p. 12).

Public Relations Counsel Josef Israels 2nd, who will soon set up in Manhattan a high-powered bureau of Ethiopian information, predicts that the world's news services, which he estimates to have spent over $1,000,000 in Ethiopia, will soon withdraw most of their correspondents, since the nature of the Empire makes it impossible to achieve news coverage. Mr. Israels said that the Emperor at parting told him: "Remember always that our greatest weapon against Italy is world public opinion."

*Onetime Al Smith pressagent and son of the Brown Derby's adviser, the late Mrs. Belle Lindner Israels Moskowitz.

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