Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
CAROL s ENEMIES
ALL FRIENDS NOW
Many Claim Credit for Coup
Which Brought Rumanian
to Throne.
| BY Radio to The Star and the Chicago
Daily News. Copyright, 1890.

King Carol Is safely back, Bucharest
has a new parlor game, it Is reported
here-chooSing among the various per-
sonages who claim to have brought him
back.
Carol had plenty of enemies when he
was away, and now most OF them are
so much his friends that they take you
by the arm and tell you confidentially
how they assisted" his return.
The real story Of the Smoothest coup
in recent history discloses one directing
genius, one chief assistant, numerous
skillful and loyal subordinates, and
Carol himself-to say nothing OF a
handful of queens, a sprinkling OF
1t was the pleasure Of this corre-
spondent when In Bucharest to ask
Carol recently directly who was chiefly
responsible for his retufn-and Carol
put his hand on his chest and said, Il
I myself" In a sense this is true, but
under Carol were expert woAkmen, with
out whom he would have failed.
Before the actual machinery could
work much organization in Bucharest
had to be done-and Carol was not in
Bucharest So his friend Michael
Manoilescu took the job. For several
years Manoilescu had been Carols chief
courier and once he was arrested by the
Bratianos and charged with treason.
Verdict Of Acquittal.
BY typically Rumanian coincidence
the Judge who sat at Manoilescus
court-martial was a general staff ofiicer
named Col. Precup. This Col. Precup
announced the verdict acquitting Man.
oilescu. And who should happen to be
ManoileScuS chief assistant IN the coup
that brought Carol back but an officer
named Col. Precup? Things follow like
that-in Rumania.
Mancilescu attended to the diplomatic
end. That Is, he launched complicated
and dangerous negotiations with the
various persons without whose consent
Carol could not easily return. Queen
Marie had to be sounded out, Prince
Nichols had to give his consent, Pre-
mier Juliu Manu- was told.
When details in Bucharest were ready
Col. Precup got on the job and did a
Job so marvelously perfect in every de-
tail that no a single hitch occurred, not
a single leak slipped out-until Carol
swooped down from the skies to regain
a kingdom he had thrice renowned.
On May % Col. Precup arrived at
Cluj, a Rumanian town near the Hun
garian border and let Col. Dahinten,
commander Of the Transylvanian Air
Force, into the great secret. Then Col.
Dahinten arranged for Carols landing
at Cluj. Col. Precup continued to
Paris by a circuitous route, arriving
there May 81. He found Carol at his
chateau.
Previously Col Precup had arranged
a dupe wherewith to fool the chief Of
the Rumanian secret police. Col. Radoi,
whose Job 1t has been for the past four
years to shadow Carol and prevent his
return. Col Radoi Is looking for a new
lob now. During the whole week of
the coup Radoi was stationed some
where near the Jugoslav frontier. shad-
owing a decoy, Gen. Sutzu, whom
Precup had slyly planted there.
Dramatic Words Spoken.
Arriving in Carols chateau. Col.
Precup uttered as dramatic words as
ever were uttered by one man serving
another:
"Be under my orders for the next few
days" Precup told Carol. and I will
be under your orders for the rest Of my
life"
with the aid Of two subordinates, Col.
Tatareanu, Rumanian military attache
in Paris, and Col. Popp, his assistant,
the plot got under way. Work was diff
ficult because the Rumanian Minister
in Paris M. Diamandy, was bitter
anti-Carolist. M. Diamandy, too, is
looking for job today.
One of the first difficulties was a
passport. So Carol was given the pass
port Of Eugene Nicolas, Col. Popp's
chauffeur. 1t was as Eugene Nicolas
that Carol crossed the French frontier
into Germany. The chauffeur's photo
graph was cut of the passport and
Carols inserted.
Col. Popp went out to the airfield
near Paris and hired Farman plane
and its pilot, M. Lalluette. The pilot
never knew who his passenger was. The
price has been variously stated and ap-
pears t. have been $1,000.
In any case, q rendezvous was made
for Munich, on the early morning OF
June 7. Carol and Col. Popp, accom-
panied also by M. Dimitrescu, Carols
personal secretary, left for Munich by
Meantime Col. Precup with his or
ganizing genius-and luck-continued to
move with great dexterity. He left
Paris b. plane, alone, for Strassbourg
MAN Aviation Corps and with 1t some
medals. From Strassbourg he lodged
about, by train, by automobile and
again by plane, until he re-arrived al
Cluj. inside the Rumanian frontier.
Then Precup sent telegram to
Munich. 1t read:
Heard from MaryP Should Sophie
wait here? Send merchant"
He received a telegram promptly:
Mary At she ready to travel. She
is expecting you Britannia don't for
get Ill. Kiss for Sophie"
Authorities Are Deceived.
These kilograms, in German, COM
pletely deceived the Rumanian post
office authorities Carol was Mary;
Precup was Sophie; Britannia" was
Cluj; Merchant" was the plane, and
"Titkus," another officer. So with the
exchange Of kilograms the scene was
finally set. There had not been a slip
And Carol hoped off.
There is some doubt as to whether
Col. Popp accompanied him in the
plane, or If he few alone with Pilot
Lalluette. In any case, the first bad
break of the whole affair occurred
the plane had a forced landing But
luckily it landed safely, inside the Ru-
manian frontier. But in nervous ex-
citement Precup and Dahinten waited
at Cluj, as hour after hour passed, and
Carol did not arrive. He had left
Munich at am. and should have
been at Cluj at noon. Two o'clock came
O'Clock, and still no Carol So Dahin-
ten sent out a squadron of scout planes
final dramatic touchl
To play safe Precup had in fact gone
to the refinement Of having chartered
planes ready to render aid, and posted
both at Budapest and Prague. But
they were not used. One of Dahinten's
flyers, Capt: Cristescu. found Carols
plane, stranded on a mountain side.
Cristescu's machine was too small
to take-off from the dangerous terrain
safely with an extra passenger; there
fore, he shot like blaZes back for Cluj
Within an hour a bigger plane had re-
turned, picked Carol up, and carried
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