Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-07-12
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY

BY THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOY.
Through the efforts of Gen. Edwin
S. Greble, who graduated from West
Point in 1881, and who was one of
the principal lieutenants of Gen.
Leonard Wood at Havana in the early
days of the Republic of Cuba, the
first country club OF Rumania has
been brought into existence at Bucha-
rest in the face OF all kinds of polit-
ical opposition. The general was
aided by few prominent Rumanians,
such as NJ. Misu, formerly Rumanian
minister in London, ex-Premier Mar
kghiloman and some others. and was
| inaugurated a fortnight ago with
| much ceremony by King Ferdinand
and Queen Marie, and with religious
pomp, the clubhouse being solemnly
blessed by an ecclesiastical dignitary
, Of high degree.
Thereupon. after the national flag
and the club colors had been run up
to the mastheads to the strains of
the Rumanian national anthem, King
Ferdinand inaugurated the golf links
the first at Bucharest-by driving
the first golf ball. Then Queen Marie
started the first polo match on the
clubs polo field, while the crown
prince served the first tennis ball
on the clpo's tennis courts. Among
| those present were Queen Marie's
daughter. the young Queen of Serbia,
who is visiting Bucharest and who is
| in this way filing the void left there
| by the absence of King Ferdinand's
youngest daughter, Princess Ileana.
| who has gone off to Athens, where
she is to spend the remainder of the
summer with her eldest sister, Queen
Elizabeth Of Greece.
The latter's union to King George
seems destined to ramain childless,
and as the next heir to the Hellenic
| throne is the kings twenty-one-year
old brother, Prince Paul-the only
| member of the reigning house that
has been permitted by the present
Athens government to remain in
Greece--it is reported that a matri-
| monial alliance between him and
young Princess 1leana, now in her
sixteenth year, and we'll developed
for her age, is far from impossible.
At any rate, Queen Marie of Rumania.
| born in England as a member of its
| reigning family, and now celebrated
| as the most ambitious and successful
| matchmaker in Europe, is credited
| with the project.
Much of the opposition to the new
country club at Bucharest of which
King Ferdinand has accepted the
honorary presidency, has been due to
the political affiliations of Gen. Gre
ble's principal hackers in the. enter
prise and not to the undertaking it
| self. Thus, ex-Premier Marghiloman,
prior, during and subsequent to the
! great war, was credited with Ger
manophile sentiments, and this natu-
rally led to prejudice against the af-
| fair by those who were averse to the
ex-kaiser and to his cause. Gen. Gre
| BILE, however, has managed to rele-
gate politics to the background and
| to subordinate every other considera-
| ton to that of sport, which is per-
| feet godsend in Rumania, and espe-
cially at Bucharest. where the posses
sion of great wealth and the preva-
lence of much extravaganza and lux
ury is combined with idleness and
with enpui. From now on the gay
| and. frivolous Bucharesters will have
some new interest in life and some
| thing to occupy their minds.
Meanwhile, those who have the well
fare of Rumania at heart realize that
they owe a debt OF gratitude to Gen.
Greble. The artilleryman and en-
gineer officer who knew how to or
ganize the department Of charities of
the Republic of Cuba, and to win sue
cess as supervising secretary of the
interior at Havana at the time Of the
second intervention of the United
States there, has been shrewd and re-
sourceful enough to understand that
there are other ways of furthering
the, American interests abroad than
| by mere diplomacy, namely, by sport,
which. among most civilized nations,
masonry.
* - 4 X
A few days ago in these letters /
called attention to the project pro-
paQtAd. BIZ. Lad ResehexXs Ex.PEamisS