America. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1905-current, 1920-04-19

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The story Of Rumania during the
transitional period that has folio
wed the collapse Of the Central EN-.
pires and Russia is Of intense inte.
rest. The Importance and signifi.
cance Of the events in Rumania
transcend all other events in south.
, eastern Europe. In them we find
lessons and signs helpful in clari-
flying the European situation as a
whole and in interpreting world.
wide political and economic tenden.
cies.
We have three groups of minor
nations in central and eastern Eu.
rope, those whose extension Of from
tiers or emancipation is at the ex-
pense of the Central empires those
whose extension Of frontiers or G.
Emancipation is at the expense Of
Russia; and the Balkan States,
ompleting their emancipation from
Turkey and establishing new from
tiers at the expense of one another.
Czecho-Slovakia belongs to the
first category; Poland and Lithua-
mia to the first and second catego-
ries; Finland and the Baltic Sta.
tes to the second category the u
kraine to the second category, alt
hough her claim to eastern Galicia
denied by the Supreme Council
would put her in the first category
as well; Jugo-Slavia to the first
and third catcgories; Greece and
Bulgaria and Albania to the third
category; Rumania has the unique
distinction Of being in all three
groups. The factors and conditions
in the creation of Greater Ruma-
mia are different from those that
attend the resurrection or enlarge
ment of the other minor states.
Our small allies (and Austria, Hun
gary, and Bulgaria) face the gene
raj problems Of the groups to wich
they belong. Rumania faces all the
problems of all the groups.
Like Greece and Serbia, Ruma-
MIA is confronted with a complete
and radical remolding of the old
political organism and a transfer
nation of her social and economic
life by the incorporation of sun
redeemed" elements too large and
too different culturally to assimi-
Late; her agrarian and electoral
problems are similar to those Of
Hungary; like Poland, she must
face BOlshcvism or make concessi-
ons to the irrcndentism of Russian
subject races or find herself later
forced to choose between Russia
and Germany; she has frontier as
pirations in common with Bulga-
ria and Italy against Serbia: and,
as her only outlet is through the
Dardancllcs, she cannot remain in
different to the disposition of Con-
stantinoplc.
In common with all the races Of
southeastern Europe, the indepen-
dencc of the Rumanians and their
political unity was destroyed by
the Turks centuries before the a.
wakening of what VIC call "natio-
raj consciousness" When they tried
to take advantage Of the decay of
the Ottoman Empire to reconstitu-
tc state in the modern sense Of
that word, that is, by bringind to-
gether into one political organism
the regions where the majority Of
the people spoke the same language
and felt the ties of blood and COM
mon interests, they faced implaca-
bic enemies in the empires of Au-
stria and Russia. The policy of the
Habsburgs and Romanoffs was to
extend their own frontiers at the
expense Of the Ottoman Empire.
The resurrection Of the Christian
races subject to Turkey into politi-
cal units was opposed by both en-
pires because each believed that
the other would control the new
ststes. Great Britain and France,