Bărbulescu was entirely absent from political life as Romania rallied with the Entente, and remained silent for almost the remainder of World War I. In March 1918, with Bucharest under occupation and Iași as a provisional capital, history seemed to be confirming his worries. On March 1, as most of the pro-Entente staff had left the city, the Germanophiles elected him dean of the Faculty of Letters. In April, ahead of the Romanian surrender, and with the rump country headed by Alexandru Marghiloman, Bărbulescu and Constantin Meissner were editing the Conservative newspaper "Iașiul". Their assistant and art director was the draftsman Nicolae Tonitza, who complained that Bărbulescu was a disciplinarian, impossible to work with.