Bărbulescu remained there until June, during which interval he also ran as a Conservative in the legislative elections. He took a seat in Senate (Iași County Second College), and used his speaking time to attack the Ententist policies of past governments. He also caused an enduring controversy by depicting the Battle of Transylvania as an undignified way to wage war. According to his Ententist colleague Nicolae Iorga, he "simply made himself look like a fool." In October 1918, although the Entente had resumed its offensive, Germanophile Alexandru Philippide unrealistically proposed that Bărbulescu be made a full member of the Academy. The same month, as he toured Bessarabia, he was reportedly "beaten to a pulp" by the Transylvanian refugees he found there.