Norwich bulletin., 1916-12-21
THE. WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society
Rumania and the Fortunes of War


 How Rumania has fared in times tween her neighbors is strikingly shown in a statement prepared for the National Geographic Society by Ralph A. Graves the distinguished writer and traveller.
 For a thousand years the country was the shuttlecock in the game of political battledore and shuttlecock staged by the rival sovereigns of Eu- rope-Russia, Poland, Hungary, Aus tria, Turkey. Once Peter the Great established a protectorate over the Great with plan to annex them to Russia. Austria, afraid that such a course meant Russian territorial ex- pansion in direction that threatened her, objected so vehemently that Catherine reconsidered, and Moldavia and Wallachia were placed, in 1774, under the suzerainty of Turkey. In 1861 the two principalities decided to unite under the name of Rumania, in accordance with an agreement reach ed by the Powers following the Grim can War. Their autonomy guaranteed the Rumanians selected an army of ficer, Col Alexander Cuza, as their prince, who thereupon came into power under the title of Alexander John I, Prince of Rumania.
 Tn 1866, the ruling element in Bucharest decided that they wanted a change, so they politely invaded the princes bedroom one night, gave him a certificate of abdication to sign, and announced that there was a car riage waiting which would convey him Ito the station where he was to take the night express for Paris. He obeyed, and disappeared forever from public gaze.
 Thereafter, a provisional govern ment elected the Count of Flanders. brother to the late King Leopold of Belgium. But Austria and the other Powers protested so vigorously that the act was reconsidered and Prince Charles called, as previously stated. When Carol assumed the throne 1t became one of his principal aims to free his country from the suzerainty of Turkey. When the conflict between Russia and Turkey was impending in 1875, he first attempted to have the Powers guarantee the neutrality of Rumania during the war; but they were too busy with their own affairs, and his efforts failed.
 Then Rumania decided to enter an agreement with Russia. This agreement, which is Illuminating, in the. light of present day history, grant ed free passage of Russian troops over Rumanian soil, Russia undertaking to respect the political rights and to de- fend the integrity of Rumania.
 "One of the first acts of Rumania after hosti1fties began was to declare her independence of Turkey. As the war, proceeded, Russia found herself in sore need of help. Repeated ap- peals finally brought Rumanian par ticipation, and Prince Carol was given the supreme command of the allied forces before Plevna, where he gained a great but costly victory. When the war ended and Turkey and Russia en- tered into the Treaty of San Stefano, it did recognize Rumanian independ- ence, although Rumania was not ad- mitted to the peace conference But it also provided that Rumania should get the swampy country between the Danube, where it flows north, and the Black Sea On the other hand Rus sia was to have Bessarabia, territory which Rumania claimed and a part of which she had occupied.
 'Rumania stood firm against the idea of giving up the beautiful Bess- arabia in exchange for the unattrac- tive Dobrudja-. Russia, thereupon, threatened to disarm the Rumanian army, to which Prince Carol respond ed that Russia might destroy his army, but that it could not be dis armed.
 "The congress of Berlin, which ov- erturned the Russo Turkish treaty of San Stefano did not interfere with Russia's determination to force Ru- mania to accept Dobrudja in exchange for Bessarabia, and Rumania came out with less than she had when she went in. All she could do was to console herself with Lord Beaconsfield's re- mark to her that Tn politics the best services are often rewarded with in