(See front cover.)
With the cross of Jesus on his breast, Taffari Makonnen, already King of Kings, Conquering Lion of Judah and the Elect of God, proceeded last week to his Second Coronation, this time as Power of Trinity the First, Emperor of Ethiopia.
The complexion and features of Haile Selassie, or Power of Trinity, resemble those of a Spanish Jew. But throughout the world last week Negro newsorgans hailed him as their own, recalled the honors conferred by His Majesty on "The Black Eagle of Harlem," Colonel Hubert Julian, "The Negro Lindbergh" (see cut).* Matter of fact the people of Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, are of every color from coal black through tawny brown to olive, include many non-Afric races. Centuries ago scornful Arabs nicknamed them Abyssinians ("mixed peoples"). Today members of the Royal House are strongly Semitized, claim descent from Hebrew King Solomon's Queen of Sheba, profess the religion of Coptic Christianity, acknowledge as their pope the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria.
Ben Hur & Admiral Byrd. Twelve nations sent envoys to the Coronation. First to arrive was Special Ambassador Herman Murray Jacoby. Born 38 years ago in Germany, two years ago he sold out his Manhattan bond house, announced that he had retired "to cultivate my hobbies," proceeded to explore Brazil's Amazon, turned up in Abyssinia last week as President Hoover's representative.
Landing at Jibuti on the Gulf of Aden, Ambassador & Mrs. Jacoby and their suite entered a private train for the 780-mi. journey to New Flower, the tin-roofed capital of the King of Kings. New Flower, or Addis Ababa, is hidden among mighty mountains at an altitude of more than 6,000 ft. To this barbaric stronghold the Jacobys carried officially an autographed photograph of President Hoover, described as "handsomely framed." Unofficial, privately-paid-for U. S. Coronation gifts include :
One electric refrigerator.
One red typewriter emblazoned with the Ethiopian Royal Arms.
One radio set with phonograph attachment.
One hundred records of "distinctly American music."
Five hundred rose bushes, including several dozen President Hoovers.
A new kind of amaryllis developed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
A bound set of National Geographic Society publications.
A bound report of the Chicago Field Museum's expedition to Abyssinia.
Three moving picture films: Ben Hur, The King of Kings, With Byrd at the South Pole.
Off Plate of Gold. When the U. S. special puffed into New Flower, a coal-black band with an olive-skinned conductor blared "The Star Spangled Banner." Amid a 17-gun salute Abyssinia's Crown Prince greeted the beaming U. S. Ambassador and his stern escort, Brig.-General William W. Harts, U. S. A. Smartly escorted by native cavalry the U. S. party clattered off to their hotel, dined there that night on the King of Kings' own gold plate, loaned for the occasion as an especial mark of Royal favor.
Bright and early Ambassador Jacoby greeted the Conquering Lion of Judah in English, listened to a reply which the Elect of God pronounced in Amharic, most official of Abyssinia's many languages.