Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-09


unfortunate man who died the other
day in the person OF Ferdinand Ho'
henzollern Sigmaringen, King OF Ru'
mania. Although not borne to a
throne. he was made the heir appar.
ent of his uncle, King Carol l or
Rumania, who died early in the war;
some time in 1915, after a long, labor
ious and on the whole prosperous
reign. AS a matter of fact Carol was
King from 1856 to 1915, almost Tor
half a century. His wife, the gifted
Elizabeth, known better as Carmen
SYLVIA in the literary world, was a INT
companion to that truly great ruler,
who almost made Rumania.
His early love for another gifted
woman of Rumania, namely Helene
Vacaresco, smothered, for no better
reason than because she was a com.
moner, Ferdinand married an English
princess. who was later to become
world wide known, as the famous
Queen Marie of Rumania. Five chill.
dren, two boys and three girls, issued
from this marriage, Carol and Nicho-
las, Elizabeth, Marie and Ileana.
In Wars Turmoil.
Most of his early and middle life
Ferdinand passed in the relatively
Obscure role of a crown prince, and
when on the death of his uncle he
was called to the throne, he found
himself in the midst of the turmoil Of
the Great War. For year and a
half Rumania remained undecided
between neutrality and war. For
nearly SO years the Rumanian king
dom was in more than one respect an
economic province of the central en-
pires. The high-handed methods OF
imperial Russia, that after the Russo
Turkish War of 1873 took possession
of the richest Rumanian province OF
Bessara bia in exchange for the
marshes Of Dobrudja. contributed
considerably to this close friendship
between Germany and Austria on one
hand and Ruma MIA on the other.
Nevertheless Rumania Joined the
entente allies in the Great War, and
with the turn OF the tide she was
defeated and overrun by the German.
Austrian, Bulgarian and even Turkish
armies, but finally was repaid for her
sufferings by the acquisition of the
large domains of Pennsylvania and
Bukowina and other territories of
the erstwhile AustrO-Hungarian EN-
pire. Curiously enough, in the course
Of her victory Rumania lost her eco
nomic balance, saw her Oil wells
ruined and, to make matters worse.
she even lost her gold reserve OF
$500 900 900, which her government
early in 1917 had the unfortunate
inspiration to send to Moscow-of all
places--for safekeeping during the
time Of the German invasion. 1t is
true that when the Teutons overran
Rumania they found no gold, but, on
the other hand. that same money
came very handy for the bolsheviks
when they overthrow the imperial
regime in 1917.
Agrarian Problem Acute.
Among the great postwar problems
Of Rumania was the agrarian one,
which was due to the promises given
to the peasants during the war. by
the government, who promised the
splitting up of the large estates and
the distribution of more or less free
land to the peasantry. Naturally in
order to do this the Rumanian govern
ment had to find the money to pay
the land owners whose estates were
to be confiscated This operation en-.
tailed a tremendous outlay of money.
and the whole scheme was carried out
in a half-hearted way that left the
peasant more dissatisfied than ever.
Against this agrarian revolt the
Bratiano family succeeded in rallying
the old Rumanian land-owning aristoc-
racy and. thanks to his clever tactics,
his ruthless methods and his know.
ledge of the psychology Of the Ruman'
ian peasant, Jonel Bratiano, the lead
ing spirit Of the family. became the
absolute master Of the situation that
he still Is.
Crushed In Assembly.
The Agrarian party was ruthlessly
crushed in the National Assembly that
was called together after the war. in
order to amend the state constitution.