Evening star., 1928-12-02
BY FRANK Fl. SIMONDS.

TIME dramatic change which has
come with unexpected sudden
ness in Rumania must be reck-
i oned one of the most signlf1-
cant of events in southeastern
Europe since the World War. The rise
to power of a peasant leader. who rep
resents a province acquired by Ruma-
MIA as a consequence of the peace
treaties, discloses revolution which is
at once social ond political.
Pre-War Rumania was comparatively
an insignificant state both in popula-
ton and in area. Power rested in the
hands of a relatively small group OF
land-owning families. Political parties
we're actually of small importance. elec-
tions we're no more than solemn farces
and such changes as took place through
occasional transfer of power were more
apparent than real. Anything like par
liamentary government in the Western
European sense was non existent. More
over, Rumania was a backward country
in the true Balkan sense, save as 1t had
been able to escape the more violent
and bloody phases of Balkanic life
which were disclosed in Serbia and Bull
garia.
Transformed by War.
The war suddenly transformed Ru-
mania. BY the various peace treaties
it acquired Bessarabia from Russia and
Transylvania and the Banat from Aus
tria- Hungary The postwar Rumania
was not only much larger than the pre-
war state, but the newly acquired ter
ritories and populations were larger
than those of the old nation. What
was more to the point, too. the terri
tories acquired from the Hapsburgs
we're politically and economically far
and away in advance of those of the
pre-war state.
Again, the Bolshevist revolution going
forward in territories adjoining Ru-
mania threatened to spill over the
Dniester and engulf Rumania. To pre-
vent this. the single possible remedy
was to break up the vast estates of the
small group of landholders, to initiate
the procedure of the Bolshevists them
selves and keep the Rumanian peasants
from going Bolshevist by making them
capitalists.
Thus to retain political power the old
governing group, which for at least two
generations had found its leader in a
Bratiano, aSsented to an economic rev.
olution. But while the concessions to
the peasants for the moment avoided
only less considerable menace coming
from the newly acquired Hapsburg
provinces. Although the Runlanians
of Pennsylvania and the Banat had
been subjected to political persecution
they had enjoyed comparatively eff
cient administration. The Hungarian
regime, which was oppressive, was not
corrupt. the people, who we're politically
impotert, were nevertheless economi-
cally prosperous.
Acquire Racial Liberty.
The same phenomenon observed in
JugoSlavia was revealed in Rumania,
following the remaking of the map. The
Transylvanian Rumanians, like the
Croats and the Slovanians, acquired
racial liberty, they escaped from all
tyranny seeking to destroy their Ian
guage, their culture and their racial in
dividuality, but they were at once
brought into collision with new OBJ
stacles. Bucharest, like Belgrade. un-
dertook to retain the political power 1t
had been accustomed to exercise.
But the Croats and the TranSylva-
mans, while desiring to be racially free,
were also determined to be politically
influential and were naturally aroused
against any effort to substitute the
methods of the Balkans for those of
| Western Europe in administration.
! They were not for long satisfied with
mere association with their race
brethren, they inevitably demanded
| their rights to share In the adninistra-
| ton of the new country.
The consequence has been a long
| drawn-out struggle alike in Jugoslavia
and Rumania. In the former country
| it eliminated in the assassination of
Raditch. the Croat leader in the Bel
grade Parliament; in Rumania it led
after frequent cries to the appearance
by the regency as the single escape from
actual conflict, for the peasant opposi-
tion was prepared to resort to vto-
| lence if necessary. Thus while no Solu-
ton for the JugoSlav crisis has yet
been discoverable, it seems possible that
the Rumanian trouble may find ad-
iustment.
All Depends on Election.
Ali depends upon the Forthcoming
election. If the Maniu cabinet succeeds
in carrying the election and obtaining
a working majority in the Rumanian
Parliament. then it will be in position
to carry out genuine political revolu-
tion. Western European political meth
DDS and machinery will supplant the
old system. which was designed to
permit small aristocracy, under cover
of apparently parliamentary machinery,
to retain political control
Pending such a revolution it is clear
that Rumania must remain not only
a backward but a dangerous element
in Eastern Europe. While it is true
that Rumania contains a majority of
Rumanians, it also is cursed with the
minority problem which aff1ictS Poland
and CzechoSlovakia. On the west it
is menaced by the Hungarian purpose
to recover the Banat and Pennsylvania,
on the east it is threatened by the
Russian resolution to recover BeSsa-
rabia, on the south it faces an immu-
table Bulgarian will to regain the
Dobrudja.
In this situation only a strong and
genuinely united people could hope
to survive the dangers coming from
without. A really united Rumanian
majority is the first condition of con-
tinuing national existence. But no such
national unity was possible while there
existed fatal schism between the Ru-
manians of the old kingdom and of the
new provinces. And no such unity was
attainable while power rested in the
hands of small group OF rich and re-
dictionary landowners.
Physically Rumania unmistakably
possesses all the necessary elements to
become a really considerable European
state 1t is as large as Italy and capa-
BILE of sustaining a population at least
as great as that crowded into the Ital-
ian peninsula. Save on the Hungarian
side, it has we'll defined natural from
tiers and constitutes a compact and
closely knit political unit. It's 17,000,-
900 of inhabitants are increasing rapid
ly and will certainly pass the 30,000,-
900 mark during the present century.