THE BUILDER OF A STATE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2279, 13 October 1914, Page 6

THE BUILDER OF A STATE

LATE KING OF, 1 RUMANIA. 'STORY OF HIS CAREER . Rumania, with her efficient army, may yet be a factor in the war in South-eastern Europe, and the death of King Charles lends ' a ' special interest to the following sketch of his remarkable work in creating the Rumania of to-day:— When, nearly half a contury ago now, Prince Charles Hohenzollem, in defiance alike of threats, warnings, and entreaties, threw in his lot with tho Rumanians, they were in the very slough of despond. They were the vassals of the Turkish Sultan, for whoso dominions even then other Powers were scrambling; for years Austria and Russia had. been playing with them as cats play with mice; while Greeks had combined, with Turks in pillaging them, and Poles with Magyars in seeking to corrupt them. Those of their own household were among their worst enemies, for their Boyarcis were not of the stuff of which rulers are' made, and yet wero unwilling to be subjects. Sovereign after sovereign had been overturned with as little scruple as : if they, had been ninepins, and the result was, of course, chaos in every Department of tho State. The public exchequer was empty, for not only was tho country in dire poverty, but corruption was rife there, and credit it had practically none; The only Rumanians who had moneywere tho Boyards, and for every penny they spent in Bukarest they spent ten/ at least in Paris. Tlje peasants hardly knew what it was to have enough to eat, even when -the harvest was 'goad, and died.off like; flies when the crops failed, sb : ruthlessly were they exploited. For come what would, the tribute must bo sent to Constantinople, and the burden of providing it was imposed on , them. What was worst of all, the great mass of the nation, the whole nation, indeed, with the exception of some three or four statesmen and their little group of followers, had lost faith and hope. Their country had served so long as a bone of contention to'their neighbourshad been buffeted about and gnawed at, as it were—that they had ceased to believe in themselves or to count on the coming of better days. It is when one thinks of the Rumanians of half a century ago and compares them with tho Rumanians of to-day, that one best realises what a. great work' King Carols as the Rumanians • call their ruler, wrought among them. There is not a more patriotic • race in Europe than theirs to-day, not a race moro tenacious of its rights, more self-respecting. Even the pe_asants, they who then were just emerging from serfdom, and had still all tho vices and weaknesses of serfs, can take their place now side by side with tho peasants of tho most cultureu nation on terms of perfect equality. What' gives , special interest to this change that has been brought about in Rumania —this national revival, this social and economic reformation—is the-fact that it was in a great raeasuro brought about by the strength of will,' energy, and patience of one man; brought about, too, in circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, and in face of the most ruth-' less opposition. To-day even 'those among the late King's subjects who were least in synijjathy with him personally would frankly admit that they owed to him as sovereign much gratitude. Masses and classes united'. in singing his praises and extolling his rare gifts as a ruler. It was not always thus, however. There was a time when he who is now hailed as his country's saviour was dubbed a tyrant, was held up to public execration as a traitor, and had every form of insult hurled at him. When in March, 1566, aftor Prince Conza had been dethroned,. & plebiscite was taken in Rumania to decide who should be invited to reign there, practically the whole nation voted for Princo Charles Hohonzollern. For, as with their own princes, it was a clear case of "Tokel," allparties were bent on having a member of one of the great Royal or Imporial houses as ruler, and he was the only member whom they saw any chance of securing. Besides, Hoheuzollern though ho be, he belongs to. the democratic branch of the family, the Catholic/and he has French blood in h's veins, as one of his grandmothers was a Murat,. while the other was Stephanie Beauhaniais, Napoleon the First's adopted daughter. • And these facts, of course, predisposed tho Rumanians, who were then as always, both democratic and Francophil, to regard him with favour.

After his accession the Prince was working as no prince . perhaps ever worked before, cutting down expenses and bringing about reforms at home, striving hard the while to secure for his country powerful friends and protectors abroad. And at every turn he. was beset with difficulties. He knew that for Rumania a strong army was a matter of life and death: but a strong army costs money, and no had none. He was'firmly convinced that the German military system was better than tho French: yet when lie set to work to reorganise his forces on German lines there was an outcry at once. Not only did his own people accuse him of sacrificing their army to his partiality for his fatherland, "but the French Emperor showed marked annoyance. This was a' torr'ble blow, for if he were to do what he was bent on doing, ho must, as he was well aware, have the friendship of France as well as of Germany. All his plans for. tho future depended, too,-on his being able to live in peace .with his neighbours—with Austria, with Turkey, and, above' all, with Russia. Yet, in spite of his warnings and entreaties, his peoplo would persist in lavishing sympathy on tho Austrian Emperor's.Rumanian subjects; in helping the Bulgarians to fight against the Sultan, and, when he himself paid the Tsar a visit, they paraded tho streets declaring that ho had betrayed them. This at a time, too, when the very existence of Rumania depended on his convincing the Powers that his subjects were law-abiding and peace-loving. If in those days King Carol seemed to be all things to all men. and developed a perfect genius for playing off Power against Power, who can wonder? Had it been otherwise Rumania might still be. a Turkish province. So overwhelmed with work and with worries was ho that, although he must marry, he had no time'in which 'to choose a wife for himself, but must ■ leave the task of. choosing one to the Crown Prince Frederic. Ho could not have left it in better hands, as the result shows, for, although it was a case of wedding in haste—lie was betrothed, to Princess Elisabeth of Wied (Carmen Sylva) the day he first saw her—there has been no repenting at leisure. On the-contrary,, tho. marriage has proved an extremely happy ono. After King Carol" had a united peoplo at his back, a people who trusted him and were devoted to him, his.work as a ruler was comparatively easy. Ho had for years had a free hand 'in all that concerns the . army, with the result that Rumania has now 300,000 'of tho finest soldiers in Europe to work her will. . In foreign affairs, too, he had a free hand, sq free a hand, indeed, that whon he deemed it expedient to break away from the old Rumanian Francophil tradition and enter into friendlv relations with tho Triple Alliance, he had nothing more serious than cavilling to encounter." Sinpo the outbreak of tho present war a marked divergence has arisen between the sympathies of tho monarch and the people, who' have in popular demonstration demanded that 'Rumania should join tho armies of the Eutente in tho field.