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especially, that M. Marghiloman was forced by his own party to resign his position as leader on account of his
Austrophil sentiments--an event unparalleled in Rumanian politics.
These were the two main currents of opinion which met in conflict at the Crown Council--a committee ad hoc
consisting of the Cabinet and the leaders of the Opposition--summoned by the king early in August 1914,
when Rumania's neutrality was decided upon. The great influence which the Crown can always wield under
the Rumanian political system was rendered the more potent in the present case by the fact that the Premier,
M. Bratianu, is above all a practical man, and the Liberal Cabinet over which he presides one of the most
colourless the country ever had: a Cabinet weak to the point of being incapable of realizing its own weakness
and the imperative necessity at this fateful moment of placing the helm in the hands of a national ministry. M.
Bratianu considered that Rumania was too exposed, and had suffered too much in the past for the sake of
other countries, to enter now upon such an adventure without ample guarantees. There would always be time
for her to come in. This policy of opportunism he was able to justify by powerful argument. The supply of war
material for the Rumanian army had been completely in the hands of German and Austrian arsenals, and
especially in those of Krupp. For obvious reasons Rumania could no longer rely upon that source; indeed,
Germany was actually detaining contracts for war and sanitary material placed with her before the outbreak of
the war. There was the further consideration that, owing to the nature of Rumania's foreign policy in the past,
no due attention had been given to the defence of the Carpathians, nor to those branches of the service dealing
with mountain warfare. On the other hand, a continuous line of fortifications running from Galatz to Focshani
formed, together with the lower reaches of the Danube, a strong barrier against attack from the north.
The Balkans - A History Of Bulgaria--Serbia--Greece--Rumania--Turkey 116
Rumania's geographical position is such that a successful offensive from Hungary could soon penetrate to the
capital, and by cutting the country in two could completely paralyse its organization. Such arguments acquired
a magnified importance in the light of the failure of the negotiations with Bulgaria, and found many a willing
ear in a country governed by a heavily involved landed class, and depending almost exclusively in its banking
organization upon German and Austrian capital.
From the point of view of practical politics only the issue of the conflict will determine the wisdom or
otherwise of Rumania's attitude. But, though it is perhaps out of place to enlarge upon it here, it is impossible
not to speak of the moral aspect of the course adopted. By giving heed to the unspoken appeal from
Transylvania the Rumanian national spirit would have been quickened, and the people braced to a wholesome
sacrifice. Many were the wistful glances cast towards the Carpathians by the subject Rumanians, as they were
being led away to fight for their oppressors; but, wilfully unmindful, the leaders of the Rumanian state buried
their noses in their ledgers, oblivious of the fact that in these times of internationalism a will in common, with
aspirations in common, is the very life-blood of nationality. That sentiment ought not to enter into politics is
an argument untenable in a country which has yet to see its national aspirations fulfilled, and which makes of
these aspirations definite claims. No Rumanian statesman can contend that possession of Transylvania is
necessary to the existence of the Rumanian state. What they can maintain is that deliverance from Magyar
oppression is vital to the existence of the Transylvanians. The right to advance such a claim grows out of their
very duty of watching over the safety of the subject Rumanians. 'When there are squabbles in the household of
my brother-in-law,' said the late Ioan Bratianu when speaking on the Transylvanian question, 'it is no affair of
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