BULGARIA. 



93 



The imports from the United States were 

 204,051 lei, and exports to the United States 

 546,245 lei in value. The land tax in Bulgaria 

 is 10 per cent, of the produce, as in Turkey, paid 

 often in kind. Of the total area of 9,750,500 hec- 

 tares, 48 per cent, is pasture, 25 1 per cent, farm 

 and garden land, and 17i per cent, forest. Wheat 

 is the chief crop, and much of it is exported. 

 Wine, tobacco, and silk are important products. 

 Of attar of roses, 4,327 kilograms were made in 

 1900. In the Government coal-mines near Pernik, 

 125,000 tons are raised annually. 



There were entered during 1899 at Bulgarian 

 ports 10,501 vessels, of 2,539,748 tons, and cleared 

 10,393 vessels, of 2,523,831 tons. 



Bailroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 length of railroads in operation in 1900 was 970 

 miles, of which 785 miles belonged to the Gov- 

 ernment. 



The post-office in 1898 carried 10,317,000 let- 

 ters, 2,661,000 postal cards, 10,779,000 newspapers, 

 books, and circulars, and 304,000 money letters 

 and postal orders of the total amount of 29,900,000 

 francs in the internal service, and in the external 

 service 3,579,000 letters, 606,000 postal cards, 

 4,642,000 newspapers, books, and circulars, and 82,- 

 000 money letters and orders amounting to 8,939,- 

 000 francs. The postal and telegraph receipts were 

 2,921,831 francs; expenses, 3,127,723 francs. The 

 Government telegraphs had a length of 3,270 miles, 

 with 6,740 miles of wire. The number of internal 

 paid messages was 1,053,494 in 1898; of foreign 

 messages, 230,173; of service messages, 58,740; 

 total, 1,342,407; receipts, 1,032,400 francs. There 

 were 5 telephone circuits with 303 miles of wire 

 in the towns and 5 interurban circuits with 925 

 miles of wire. 



Political Affairs. Depending entirely on ag- 

 riculture and the exportation of cereals, when 

 crops fail the people of Bulgaria are poor. After 

 three successive short crops the situation became 

 precarious in the autumn of 1900. The Govern- 

 ment was embarrassed as well as the people, and 

 issued 16,000,000 lei of notes payable in silver. 

 Notes payable in gold previously issued could not 

 be redeemed because there was no gold, but they 

 were declared to be valid at the national bank for 

 debts payable in gold or for foreign exchange. The 

 national bank, however, refused to accept them 

 except at a discount. The Government then 

 agreed to pay them in silver with the premium 

 added. For part of the salaries of officials war- 

 rants were given. The Government planned new 

 taxes in the guise of monopolies of tobacco, salt, 

 and petroleum. Direct taxation was already 

 very heavy. The old tithes, requiring the culti- 

 vators to give up to the Government a tenth of the 

 harvest every year, were abolished by the Stoiloff 

 ministry, which created in their stead a land tax. 

 In 1900 the tithes were again put into force, while 

 the land tax continued to be collected also. The 

 tax-gatherers met with forcible resistance when 

 they demanded the tithes. The tithes, which are 

 paid in kind, amounted to 25,000,000 lei for 1900. 

 The land tax, payable in cash, yielded only half of 

 the 18,000,000 lei estimated because the peasants 

 had no money. The Cabinet succumbed, in Decem- 

 ber, 1900, to the internal and external difficulties 

 that beset it, but Prince Ferdinand requested the 

 principal ministers to remain in their posts and 

 carry on the business of the country as a Cabi- 

 net of Affairs, only he insisted that Gen. Petroff, 

 who was without party affiliations, should be in- 

 cluded as Minister of the Interior. There are 

 half a dozen factions in Bulgaria grouped about 

 as many leaders, and whichever one is in power 

 at the moment of a general election is able to 



secure an overwhelming majority, because the 

 local officials put the tickets of the Government 

 candidates into the hands of the docile peasants, 

 and those who are not docile the gendarmes drive 

 away from the polls. The party chiefs were so 

 numerous and all of them so ambitious that it 

 became impossible to form any coalition ministry 

 that would hold together. Prince Ferdinand re- 

 solved to ascertain, if possible, the genuine polit- 

 ical sentiments and preferences, and determined 

 therefore to have the approaching election con- 

 ducted without the interference of politicians and 

 under the protection of the military. This tem- 

 porary government negotiated for a loan of 80,- 

 000,000 lei with French and Dutch bankers to en- 

 able it to continue the public works that were 

 in progress and to pay off an advance of 25,000,- 

 000 lei obtained in Germany at the beginning of 

 1900 and liquidate floating debt and arrears of 

 the Turkish tribute. For the new debt the to- 

 bacco monopoly, estimated to yield 15,000,000 lei 

 a year, was pledged. Before the arrangement was 

 completed M. IvantchofPs Cabinet resigned, and 

 Gen. Petroff, on Jan. 25, 1901, formed a pro- 

 visional Cabinet to conduct public business until 

 after the elections. The crisis arose over a ques- 

 tion of appointments. Gen. Petroff found it neces- 

 sary to remove several officials who were active 

 partisans of M. Radoslavoff. The party leaders 

 who remained in the Cabinet coveted the posts 

 for their own followers, and when Gen. Petroff 

 would not allow them to dispose of the vacant 

 offices, M. Tontcheff, leader of the South Bul- 

 garian Liberals, resigned, and M. Ivantchoff fol- 

 lowed his example. The remaining members of 

 the Cabinet were not faction leaders or politicians 

 of importance. They were retained in their places, 

 and with Gen. Petroff and Col. Paprikoff in con- 

 trol the election was expected to be free from 

 coercion for the first time and the gendarmerie to 

 be employed only for the purpose of preventing 

 any recourse to violence on the part of the con- 

 tending factions. Consequently over 800 candi- 

 dates presented themselves, and the electioneering 

 was more lively than had ever been seen in Bul- 

 garia before. The hope that any one party would 

 emerge with anything approaching a majority 

 was disappointed. The three strongest ones to- 



f ether would form only a slight majority. The 

 tamboloffists, Zankoffists, Stoiloffists, and Kara- 

 veloffists were the most numerous, while Rado- 

 slavoff made a pitiful showing. There was a group 

 which adhered to the existing ministry; the Peas- 

 ants' party and the Socialists were represented, 

 and the Turks sent their own representatives. 

 All the party leaders were pledged to abolish the 

 tithes. The elections were carried out with im- 

 partiality as far as Gen. Petroff could direct, but 

 in some districts soldiers interfered for the pur- 

 pose of aiding Zankoffist candidates. The Petroff 

 Cabinet resigned on Feb. 26, and on March 4 

 a Cabinet of Kara veloffists and Zankoffists was 

 formed, to which the Stoiloffists offered their sup- 

 port. It was composed as follows: Prime Minis- 

 ter and Minister of Finance, Petko Karaveloff; 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Daneff; Minister 

 of the Interior, Michael Sarafoff; Minister of Jus- 

 tice, Alexander Radeff; Minister of Agriculture 

 and Commerce, Alexander Rudskanoff; Minister 

 of Education, Ivan Stavlik6ff; Minister of Public 

 Works, Ivan Belinoff; Minister of War, Gen. 

 Paprikoff. In the new Cabinet Gen. Petroff re- 

 tained the portfolio of the Interior and took that 

 of Foreign Affairs ad interim, Col. Paprikoff re- 

 mained Minister of War and took the portfolio of 

 Public Works in addition, M. Dantchoff became 

 Minister of Justice and Minister ad interim of 



