Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-01
KEEPING R0UMAN|A
OUT Of GREAT WAR
Government Resists Popular
. Clam0r in Order to Main
tain Neutrality.
ARMY is NOT PREPARED
TO TAKE THE FIELD NOW
Munitions on Hand Are Said to Be
Sufficient Only for Four
Months Campaign.
Of Tho Associa ed Pre-,

Correspondence of Tho Associa I'd Pres
! BUCHAREST, RoumanIa, February
1a.-Roumania has four political par
ties. the liberal. now in power and
headed by Prime Minister Rratianu;
the conservative. lately in power, and
led by Petre Carp, former prime min
Ister: the conservative democratic,
headed by Alexander Marghiloman and
the national party, which is at present
la negligible factor, but whose rather
eroad policies are in the main still ad-
tVocated by Constantine Mile. publisher
anu political director Of Roumania' S
most prominent Independent nevspa-
pers, blmineatZ:t and Adcvcrul
! VI these parties only one, the con-
serFatlNe democratic, is avowe,lIy pro-
RUSSIAN and anti-German. Its leader
Aahe Jonescu. is accused by his pclit-
zeal opponents as being more Russian
than the czar and more English than
Mr.. Churchill
! it cannot be said. however. that the
liberal party is to any great degree
ro-German. During the life of King
Charles l, Hohenzollern prince. such
IS said to have been the case But since
the death of that monarch no definite
ofhclal expression on the attitude of
Isoumanla toward the belligerent ma
tons has come from this party 1t is
ciaimed, moreover, that the party is
none too strong, and that it has al
ready been obliged to look for the con-
serratives for support. It is known,
and Mr.. Marghilplnan SO stated to the
Associated Press correspondent that
Mr.. Bratianu and he worked in accord
on the war question.
ITO Let" on Palace.
One night early in the war students
posted upon the doors of the royal pal
ace in Bucharest notice with the leg
end: ITO Let. King Charles looked
upon this act as an expression of rank
ingratitude. To be thus served with
inotice to quit is said to have broken his
theart, and the affair is now said to be
slowly killing Queen Elizabeth, better
known i'll the United States as Carmen
sylvia. who spends most of her time at
the grave of her husband.
Mr.. Marghiloman is iron listed, how
ever, and this quality, il is asserted
has so far assisted Prime Minister
bratlanu in curbing Il public sentimen,
overw helmingly In favor of war agains,
| Austria Hungary and Germany
| At best the political parties of Rou-
mania are small affairs numerically
| the four groups having total mem
bership Of about 1000. The remainder
of the population of about 1000 600 has
! -
the political parties has d set policy
and all are governed by oligarchical
inner circles. From this, SO local OBJ
| servers say, has grown a condition
which is largely responsible for the
! present predicament of the government
| While Premier Bratianu has done
| everything to preserve the neutrality
of the country. the population has
been clamoring for war. urged on. il
is claimed, by a press heavily subsi-
died by Russia.
May Weather Storm
| There seems to be no doubt that il
the present government prevails Rou-
mania will weather the storm withou,
| going to war. But even Mr.. Marghilo-
man admitted there was no assurance
that the government would remain
firm. In other quarters the fear was
expressed that ultimately an outbreak
of chauyinism in the streets might
| place the government i'll the position OF
either having to go to war or fire upon
| the mob. In that case the government
| would go to war, it was asserted What
the weight of King Ferdinands opin-
ion would be in that case is not known
; Though he has become thoroughly Rou-
,nanian, the Bucharest public does rot
j forget that he is a Hohenzollern. On
the other hand, the present queen is an
, Englshw oman. and for that reason
King Ferdinand might be invited to
move, as was his uncle, the late kine
| Charles.
| A factor which is ma king the position
| of the government anything but easier
| is the strong influence in favor of war
Of Mr.. Mile, publisher of the Dimi-
| neatza and Adeverul.
| There is strong probability that
! Roumauia has SO far kept out OF the
! war by a lack of materials needed for
| such an enterprise. Mr.. Marghilomall
| Informed the Associated Press CORE
| spondent that the country was not yet
! prepared for war " hen the first out