The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1921-10-27
BY JOHN OLIVER IA GORGE.

With unsettled Russia just over her
border, and the border itself in dis
pute, Rumania is conducting n watch
on. the Dniester, the boundary which
she claims, as vigilant as any that was
ever set on the Rhine. Rumania has
organized her government in Bess-
arabia, but the Russians have never
consented to the severance of this for
mer Russian province, and each move
ment of soviet troops toward the
Dniester has set Europe afiutter for
fear a new war will break out in her
southeastern corner.
However, 1t is not Bessarabla nor
the other war-gained territories that
have doubled Rumania's size, that are
in the mind of the average person
when Rumania is mentioned. He
thinks rather Of the pre-war nucleus,
the little kingdom that since the Turk
was pushed south. has stood EMBODIED
by the lower Danube, the River Pruth
and the Transylvanian Alps.
In the whirlpool of racial rivalries
of southeastern Europe-where Ro-
man and Goth, Hun and Slav, Magyar
and Mongol, with all of their descend
ant peoples, have run over one anoth-
fate left the Rumanians in the major
ity in a territory of more than 10000
square miles. It scattered more than
100000 Of them over these lands
more than 100000 in old Rumania
and some 100000 elsewhere
The old Rumania was country Of
$1,000 square miles, with a population
of less than 100000. 1t was thus
slightly larger than Pennsylvania, al
though 1t had half q million fewer
people than the Keystone state. The
new Rumania has an area Of $4,000
square miles and a population Of
100000.
The country Is governed by king,
who Is a constitutional monarch, and
a parliament made up of senate and
a chamber of deputies. The pre-war
constitution was rather reactionary,
with the masses practically disfran-
chised. The new constitution, how
ever, is more liberal, permitting voting
by all citizens over 81 years Of age,
paying taxes.
Small Farms and Big Estates.
Industrially Rumania Is almost en-
tirely given over to agricul ure, and,
area for area, it produces more cereals
than any other great grain-producing
nation in the world. Before the World
war its farm lands were about equally
divided between the small farmer and
rich landowner. There were about a
million farms with an average size OF
eight acres, and then there were over
1000 estates with an average size OF
900 acres. Since the conclusion Of
the World war steps have been taken
to break up many Of these large es-
tates and to create body Of peasant
propriet0rs.
The result OF the occurrence of both
huge estates and tiny farms Is that
one finds the strangest contrasts In
farming methods. Here Is big estate
where every sort Of farm machinery
that the United States has to offer Is
to be found-the binder, the mower,
the steam gang pillow, the riding cult
vator, the manure spreader and even
the steam header and thresher. And
then hard by are hundred small
farmers who still harvest their grain
with the sickle, thresh II with the fail,
or tread II out with oxen and winnow
II with the homemade. fork. They
NOW their grass with the scythe, rake
IL with the hand rake and haul 1t In
with ox-carts. But even with the very
primitive methods that characterize
half of the farming of the country,
they manage to coax a rather bounti-
full crop out of the soil.
The great bulk Of Rumania's popula-
ton belongs to the peasant class, Tor
there are comparatively few cities and
most of them are small. Many Of the
peasant families have lived for genera