RENAISSANCE OF RUMANIA

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 79, 28 December 1920, Page 5

RENAISSANCE OF RUMANIA

THE COUNTRY'S PROSPECTS

GREAT NATURAL RESOURCES

M. Titulesco, Rumanian Minister o£ Fiuance, while in Loudon, was interviewed by a. representative of the "Financial Times" as to the economic position of Rumania and tho Government's intentions us to future finance. The war, as is well known, severely upset all calculations as to ways and means, and tho first question asked was in rexard to 11. Titulesco's policy for the future.

Asked as to whether tho Government was making an effort to prevent the squandering of public moneys, and to create new sources of revenue so as to 'balanco tho Budget tho Finance Minister replied

"We are actually doing everything we can towards bringing, about a return to normal financial conditions in Rumania. I do not deny that tho financial hill in front of us is a steep one to climb, but wo are not allowing a contemplation of future difficulties to hinder our work. At the present time Rumania is actually in possession of a Budget. You Englishmen will no doubt say there is nothing wonderful in having a Budget, for during the very darkest period of the war your country was never deprived of this instrument, which creates, order and method in a nation's finances. You must not, however, apply your English standard if you desire to bo just towards nations severely tried in tho late war, such as Rumania and tho otiier nations of the Near East.

Do not forget that war in its worst and most devastating form was carried right into the heart of Rumania, and tnat lor two years tho enemy occupied two-thirds of our national territory. Now Rumania has almost doubled its superncial area, / "A small State of 8,000,000 neonle has suddenly developed into a lar"o 0110 of some 18,000,000 inhabitants, with enormous ae ,v requirements. Let us suppose that a great State like England, with ong-standuig traditions Rnd possessing a. solid.iinancial and political, framotvork, had been through such a tremendous upheaval as little Rumania. Slight it not be very possible that the public accounts would not present that evenness and reffitanty which they actually do -horo in England?

We estimate that we shall be able to derive nearly ,620,000,000 from direct taxation, .£80,000,000 from indirect taxation, and another from the revenu6s of various State monopolies. Yot this Budget was established prior to any scheme of fiscal reform. I am about to present such a scheme when the Rumanian Parliament meets. Wo desiro to re-establish normal conditions of affairs ns quickly as possible, and to meet all our requirements, but meanwhile in gather in revenue by every means in our power pending the finding of n sound linancial basis formed out of entirely new conceptions of taxation.

"Wo have in view a very important reduction of expenditure, but ipenmvhilo we are unfortunately in ihe position of having to keep up abnormal military expenditure owing to the disturbed conditions in Eastern Europe. We most eavnestly wish to curtail this military expenditure as soon Ss circumstances will permit.

"Wo Intend to-follow the example ot other nations by establishing a cedulary nnd glebal income-tax, but our most strenuous efforts will be directed towards an increase of production.

'In this respect wo rely a great deal on Che newly-acquired territories or Transylvania. Tate tho "production of wheat, for instance. Tho total production of the old kingdom was 6i millions' of tons; that of Bessarabia was about 2} millions of ions; the Bukovina district produced a quarter million turn and Transylvania four million tons. The average annual wheat production of Greater Rumania will thus work out at 14 million- tons.- 1 The present value of this production'is nominally .£560,000,000. "Then there is our oil production. In old Rumania' this totalled about 800,000 tons. We shall now nrodnce 2,000,000 tons of oil per annum, thus taking third place among the oil-producing countries ot the world. With the accession of Transylvania we have at our disposal immense forests, many collieries, liquid fuel resources, and even undeveloped gold mines, and wo take over an industrial organiction which, gave most satisfactory results under the old Hapsburg regime." Asked as to agrarian reform, SI • 'i'itulesco said this had scttle'd—at least for some time to come—tho grave social question in Rumania. Many people asserted the splitting up of the land would diminish production, but tills was not so, for a large number of the new owners had already for many years boen cultivating, as leasehold farmers, the land which they now owned in freehold. If you are able to take such a rosy view of the future of Rumania, M. Ti'ulosco was asked, how do you explain tho heavy depreciation of the Rumanian exchanges? w Let me reply quito frankly," lie said, "that we are all living in a disorganised Europe—economically speaking. Wo are told that tho exchango is a thermometer, the consequnco of a mathematical operation, exports, imports, etc. Yes, I knowall this, but in my opinion people who are satisfied with such explanations are satisfied with out-of-date and dangerous views of political economy. An unfavourable exchango not only ruins tlie depreciated currency country, because it increases the cost of its imports, but it also ruins the country which is apparently profiting by the depreciated exchange of the other country, because it hinders its own exports and limits its foreign markets. Look, for instance, at your own English boot trade. Why. your exports have almost ceased! If the great nations of Western Europe would 60 reorganise international credit as f o enable intrinsically wealthy countries like Rumania immediately to procure the instruments of labour required, but without stripping itself by financial operations of an usurious charactcr, tho country making such advances would not only be enabled to sell its own accumulated stocks, but would assure for itself tho import of foodstuffs or goods which it requires. "Probably an all-round international credit organisation would, to begin with, be a very complicated matter, but what is there to prevent a beginning being made by an economic understanding on the subject of international, credit between two nations? Make an arrangement, for instance, between England and Rumania whereby England obtains possession of next year's Rumanian wheat, in return for which England would immediately procure for us the objects of which we are in pressing need. With the guaranteo of our wheal, in hand why nhould not some ollieial organisation hero ngrco to cover British subjects for the goods which wo immediately require? "From an economic standpoint tho United States of Europe aro already in existence. I am not daunted by tho incredulous smiles with which this statement will be met, but I do fear, nnd I fear very much, coming events for those among you who refuso to believe that tho late war has changed tho world. Something now has been bom, and this something new will gradually make its influence felt. I say that they who supposo thcro can be any liapptuess when tho laws of solidarity are set at naught will live to deeply repent; their intellectual blindness.- 0