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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



schools, with a decided preference for 

 France. 



Thus it happens that the higher classes, 

 without distinction as to politics, the de- 

 scendants of the Boyars — the landed 

 aristocracy — as well as the rich citizens, 

 use, in general, the French language in 

 their daily intercourse, reserving the 

 Roumanian tongue for those cases where 

 it is prescribed by law — in the parliament 

 and the law courts. As this restriction 

 does not affect the women, those of 

 higher rank take but little interest in the 

 native melodious Roumanian and would 

 not deign to write the least important 

 note in that language. 



FRENCH VS. GERMAN 



Against this Gallicizing of language, 

 as well as of habits and customs, a re- 

 action has developed, and attention is 

 being directed to the rich literature in 

 prose and verse, based on the Roumanian 

 folk-lore. The proximity to Austria, and 

 Vienna, her alluring capital, and the in- 

 fluence exerted, however unintentionally 

 by the Hohenzollern ruler and his ac- 

 complished Queen, bring the German 

 language to the Roumanians as a second 

 competitor. 



Because of these distracting agencies, 

 Professor Xinopel, of the University of 

 Jassy, never concludes a lecture, no mat- 

 ter what may be the theme, without im- 

 pressing upon his students their obliga- 

 tion to use and develop the language of 

 their fatherland. Evidently this propa- 

 ganda is meeting with some success, as 

 may be inferred from the forcible inter- 

 ruption by Roumanian students of a play 

 given in French by a ladies' charitable 

 organization in Bucharest. 



This outburst, resulting in a riot that 

 kept the city in a state of siege for four 

 days, was not because of any animosity 

 toward the French people or their lan- 

 guage ; it was simply a mark of their 

 greater love for Roumania and her 

 tongue. It will be remembered that at 

 one time during the Franco-German War 

 the people of Bucharest expressed them- 

 selves so violently against Germany that 

 Prince Charles felt impelled to declare 

 his intention to abdicate — a resolution he 

 fortunately did not execute. 



HER ENTIRE PUBEIC DEBT IN GERMAN 

 HANDS 



But, on the other hand, France has 

 frequently shown an indifference to Rou- 

 manian wishes. Thus, in the Congress 

 of 1878, it was one of the French dele- 

 gates who, against the protests of the 

 Roumanians, secured the adoption of a 

 measure granting equal rights to the 

 Jews — a proposition, however humane, 

 that was exceedingly unpopular with all 

 Gentile classes. Seven years later it was 

 a Frenchman who proposed that the 

 policing of the Danube be intrusted to 

 Austria, and years after Roumania had 

 been declared an independent State 

 France refused to conclude with her a 

 commercial treaty, on the ground that 

 she was still under the suzerainty of 

 Turkey. 



The economic relations of Roumania 

 present a number of anomalies. /Vlmost 

 her entire public debt is in German 

 hands, and from that country she im- 

 ports annually goods to the value of 35 

 million dollars, while her exports to Ger- 

 many are only one-seventh that sum. 

 From Germany come war material and 

 a small amount of machinery, and this is 

 only partially paid for with food prod- 

 ucts. 



To France she sends five million dol- 

 lars' exports and makes, in return, pur- 

 chases amounting to twice that sum. 

 Belgium equals France in her imports 

 from Roumania, but she sends in return 

 exports having the colossal value of fifty 

 million dollars. It is true that a very 

 large part of the goods coming from 

 Belgium did not have their origin there, 

 but had simply passed through that busy 

 country with the place of manufacture 

 unnoted. 



With the balance of trade against her 

 in such a large measure, it is evident that 

 Roumania must develop her home indus- 

 tries to avoid financial difficulties. Even 

 if raw materials should be lacking, it 

 would be quite possible to buy them with 

 her present exports, and probably, in ad- 

 dition to meeting her own necessities, to 

 enter foreign markets now unknown. 



Another economic weakness arises 

 from the fact that the rural population, 

 which works so arduously during the 



