The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 21, 1926, Page 3

) | ROUMANIA IS PREPARING FOR WAR-ON A SOALD BEFITTING A FIRST CLASS POWDR--THH COUNTRY HAS AN ARMY LARGER THAN THAT: OF THH UNITED STATHS—HER WAR PRUPARATIONS ARB THE DAILY WORKER Page Three sponsible for legislation that essured con- trol of Roumania’s ofl resources for Rou- manian interests. So long as these condi- tions prevailed, tt was extremely difficult to ~interest foreign capital in the country. DIRECTED AGAINST THE , SOVIET UNION. s By THURBER LEWIS. UEEN MARIB has come to the "© United States*to save her hus- It ds known that Marie desired to come to the United States as early as 1924, but she gave wp the idea when she was appraised of the fact that her pleas for credit would fall on deaf ears so long as the restrictive mineral legislation remained in force. But now the Bratianus are out, Averescu is known to be sympathetic to foreign capt- “‘pand’s throne: That is the hard fact al, Wali Street will listen. It is not @ hiding beneath’ the ballyhoo and° trumpeting of the royal consort’s journey to the land of the almighty dollar, ; ‘ A harder fact is that her husband’s throne drips with blood. For nine years, under the rule of King Ferdin- and, the Roumanian workers and peasdnts have been submitted to a systematic and pitiless White Terror to be equaled only by the notorious “excesses that curse Bulgaria and Po- land. ‘A third fact is that Roumania is coincidence that Marie comes to the United States only a short time after the coup of Averescu. M ts Cold Shoulder, 'N 1924, Marle and Ferdinand were .noti- fled that a visit they had planned to both Rome and Madrid had best be cancelled. In both that year and the year following the Roumanian crowned heads made jour- neys to London and Paris, They overstay- ed their visits in both places in a last ef- fort to secure the loans they came to get. Instead they got a cold shoulder. They » preparing for war on a scale befitting made their plea on the basis of defending F a first-class power. Turned down in both London and Paris for further loans to continue-its-ambitious pro- gram of militarization, Roumania now turns to the United States for credit. It was Queen Marie who went to London and Paris in a vain effort “to float large loans and itis Queen Marie who comes to knock at Wall Street’s door. for the same purpose. But against whom is Roumania preparing? ‘Why must she maintain an army larger than that of the Unit- ed States? Roumania makes no se- cret of the fact that her war-like pre- parations are directed against Soviet Russia. In addition to this the mili- tary manner in which the country is governed makes a large force neces- sary for internal service against the ’ gepeasants and workers and the na- “tional minorities. All this requires = money and the queen ‘has come to get it. L ’ RDINAND'S throne is by no means se- - cure. %t is threatened, in two ways. First, the rulers and exploiters of Roumania the right place to Ms FEROWAND = Queen MARie.. are themselves divided. The Roumanian <rbankers and commetcial interests under the — “leadership of the powérful, Bratianu ‘broth- ers desire to keep Roumania a “closed shop” economically to be exploited princi- pally by Roumanian bankers, that is, the Bratianu brothers, They are the head of the “Liberal Party.” It is only within the last few months that General Averescu, by ‘ threatening open military revolt, succeeded in becoming premier. He is the leader of the nationalist party and represents the Boyars (large landowners) and the military eligue who are in favor of the introduction of foreign capital into the country on a large scale. Between the two the king and queen are in the position of being be- tween the devil and the deep sea. Both the Bratianus and Averescu aie prepared to sfcrifice the throne if that becomes necessary to the maintenance of their re- spective positions, crown inclines towards the views of Averescu, that is; he is in favor of for- eign capital coming into the country in un- Mimited quantities. But while Averescu has temporarily succeeded in, winning the gov- ernment, the Bratianu brothers are by no Means out of the running. There are three of them. In the last government, one was premier, one the minister of finance, and the third, the leader of the majority in the» parliament. ‘Their father was the first pre- mier of Roumania, He put Charles, Ferdi- nand’s predecessor, on the throne. Since his death, his: sons: have been the virtual sre of Roumania, struggle between these two camps in -the ruling class of) Roumania make the po- sition of the king and queen a little dif- cult, to say the least. The division is in- tensified by the extreme economic insta- bility of the country. The country_néeds ” credit and lots of it.! Marie is in tho, Unit- ed States looking for it. , Woke Then there is the possibility of a revolt of the populace, A predominately agricul- tural country ruled by an extremely top- heavy bureaucratic system and existing, economically, only with great difficulty is always ripe for an internal explosion. Like Hungary and similarly hard-pressed nations ruled by a military system constantly in need of funds, Roumania now offers itself for sale to the highest imperialist bidder as . the only hope, | Roumania Has Oil, : | ‘i OUMANIA has oll. ‘The Bratianu broth ers, coveting the profits of Roumania’ mineral resources for ives, were ng fi ‘ the stolen province of Bessarabia against the “Soviet dictators.” But it was just at that time that the-best interests of both French and British capital were being serv- ed by resuming trade and diplomatic rela- tions with the Soviet Union. That, togeth- er with the fact that they did not like the Bratianu mineral legislation, caused the money-changers of the Thames and the Seine to allow the charms of the devastat- ing Marie to go unheeded. O now comes Marie to the United States, She is being press-agented to a fare-ye- well. Personally, the queen is in a class with Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Mrs. Jean Nash and “Peaches” Browning. She revels, like them, in publicity. And, like them, she is getting it: But»aside from her rather over- rated personal’ chdérms (the lady is in her fifties and is @.gnandmother) and her will- ingness to turn an honest penny by allow- ing newspaper" syndicates to write and re- lease stories to which she attaches her sign manual, she is of the blood-royal. In this respect she has rather en edge on Peggy and is making the best of it. But the fanfare and pomp accompanying the blue-blooded madame’s trip to this coun- try must not be allowed to conceal the real object of her coming. If it were social d- version she were after, there is plenty of it » e~eson the other side.of-the water. She'is here in search of American dollars to bolster up the threatened dynasty of Hohenzollern- Sigmarengen of ‘which she is the female member. ‘ > &. “The Russian rod was frightful, but it was as \nothing compared with the lash which is now swung over Bessarabia.” — The ex-Prime Minister, Waida-Woyevod, on the 10th of November, 1924, in the ~ Roumanian ,Parllament. . ‘T is by mo theans an overestimation to Say, as we have said, that Ferdinand’s throne drips with blood. Ferdinand is a Hohenzollern’ and the blood that runs in - his veins is of a kind to make him entirely fitted to countenance the bestial excesses that have taken place under his eyes and under the aegis of his coat of arms. And his consort Marie, of the British Hon’s blood, a grand-daughter of the Imperial Vic- toria, duchess royal of SaxeCoburg-Gotha, can scarcely be expected to show qualms at the mere mass murder of thousands of peasants. And mass murder it was. The very ground of the blood-soaked province of Bes- sarabia cries out against the merciless Rou- manian Boyars and the equally guilty dyn- asty before whose throne they bow. The division between the Bratianus and Averescu does not interfere with the ter- ror, They ate both experienced in sup- pression and are, united in the attack upon \ the workers and peasants. Hére are the tacts. Prior to the World War, Roumania was a@ country of some 9,000,000 inhabitants composed of the two former ‘Danubian princedoms of Walachia and Moldavia, Bes- sarabla was part of the Russian Empire. When the revolution swept the land of the czars.in 1917, Roumania taking advantage of the confusion resulting from the revo- lution, moyed her troops into Bessarabia. By sheer force of arms, the invaders dis- banded the Soviets that had been formed by the peasants and took control of the “Bessarabian national assembly. With the aid of. @clique of renegade peasant leaders and the bayonets of soldiers, the nat assembly was persuaded to “vote” to “affl- Mate” with Roumania. . Later, certain western powers confirmed the annexation of the territory and also Boyars and THE QUEEN OF TERRORLAND | Marie, Royal Consort of Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sig- maringen, is Representative of One of the Cruelest Dynasties in Europe.—Thousands of Murder- ed Peasants and Imprisoned Workers are Mute Testimonials to the Pitiless Despotism of the Roumanian Capitalists. SINALA @ 9 «a ve n) rrorsie ¥ BUCHAREST® “| Map shows the comparative sizes of the old and new Roumania, The additions of Transylvania, Banat and Bessarabla have almost doubled the size of the original king- dom. of peasants in Bessarabia were murdered. Roumanian Jingoes call It “Greater Roumania” in the name of which thousands Penna SURNRnNennnnoev EN COn. i 6 hy 9 2 Re Oy SSSR cS ee ee eS the addition of Transylvania, formerly part of Hungary, which brought the population of Roumania to 17,000,000, But Russia has never recognized the right of Rouménia to Bessarabia. And neither has the mags of the Bessarabian peasantry. ; (H Bessarabian peasants and the work- ers of the central city of Kishiney have had a@ long tradition of struggle against ab- solutism. In 1903, and again in 1905, Kishi- An Episode of the Bessarabian Terror (From a Roumanian peasant paper) nev was the scene of valiant struggles of the workers against their czarist oppres- sors. Both revolts were drowned in blood. {n 1917, during the Roumanian occupation the Boyars outstripped their czarist pre- decessors. Jon Bratianu, at that time Prime Minister, was the Gallifet, It was un- der his direction that the massacre in Bes- sarabia was conducted. It was under his regime in 1916 in Galicia that many work- erg lost their lives for protesting against the insanity of the war. And upon his head rests the guilt for the shooting down of 120 workers in Theater Square in Bucharest Max Goldstein, Roumanian Martyr. BARBUSSE ACCUSES ROUMANIA Henri Barbusse, famous French author who made a journey thru the Balkans in company with a number of other prominent persons, has the following to say about the white terror in the Balkans -with particular reference to the persecutions in Rowmania, Queen Marie's country: The governments of all these countries, Including of course Hungary and even Jugoslavia, are not at a loss for a pretext for their persecutions and measures of suppression, tortures, acta of murder, etc.; everywhere it Is the alleged Bolshevik danger; everywhere It Is the alleged emissaries of Soviet Ri who render these methods necessary. We were able to observe these methods of the government in the con- crete example afforded by the: Tatar-Bunar trial. ind the Under-Secretary of State, Tatarescu, attempted to explain at The Foreign Minister, length their thesis of the “Bolshevist influence from abroad” by means of the example of Bessarabia. Ag they persisted in this story we demanded documentary proofs from them. They promised to furnish the same, but — In spite of our repeated reminders they have not been forthcoming. We have become convinced,that in the case of the pe: int revolt of Tatar-Bunar there was, of course, no foreign influence, no “Bolshevism” ae the government asserts, but that it was simply and solely an outburst of desperation on the part of the péasants in Bessarabia, who are suffering the most extreme misery and oppression. As regards the mishandlings, torturings and acts of murder in Roumania and also in Bulgaria, we have collected authentic material, photographs, ete., which we shall publish and,which will speak for themselves, b during a strike demonstration in 1918. It was only last year in Kishinev that the farcical trial of the five hundred peasants , of Tatar-Bunar was held. All of them were sentenced to savagely long terms of impris- onment aggregating thousands of years. ‘These five hundred peasants were arrest- ed after an insurrection in the territory surrounding the village of Tatar-Bunar in September, 1924. The peasants were driv- en to desperation, Their land was stolen, they had no tools, taxes were unbearable, their harvest was bad, they were forced to suffer the worst kind of indignities and abuses at the hands of the gendarmes, The country was over-run with spies--members of the Sugurenza, the Roumanian secret police. There was nothing else left to do but revolt. ‘ | The Slaughter of Tatar-Bunar. | rITHIN three days whole villages were laid: to waste. The Dniester River was a seething coffin. No less than three thou- sand peasants were massacred by Rouman- jan troops who bombarded the villages. Then, afterward, the trial. It was a comedy. The defendants were foredoomed to their fate. As their defendant there stepped forth one of the greatest men in Roumania, Costa-Foru, a venerable old attorney. He led the defense. But to no avail. He was not allowed to introduce evidence. He was abused by the prosecution and the defense alike. In the end, the peasants were march- ed off to prison. Barbusse Testifies. ‘E have the word of Henri Barbusse, not- ed French author who, in company with Vernochet, chairman of the International Teachers’ Union and Mademoiselle Lamy, a@ women attorney, visited the trial room during the Kishiney trial: “We were in Kishinev and were present at@the trial,” writes Barbusse. “We were not allowed to speak with the accused altho we had been assured we would be allowed to do #0. We were not allowed to visit their prisons, altho this also had been prom- ised us. On the day on which we attended the trial there was preserved the outward appearance of publicity regarding the pro- ceedings, altho on all other occasions the public was excluded. When, however, Cos- ta-Foru, a prominent lawyer and one of the defenders of the accused peasants, wished to speak of the torturings which they suf- fered, the president endeavored to prevent him, indicating to him at the same time that foreigners were present.” Piles of protocols in the hands of Coste- Foru and Henri Barbusse testify to the piti- kess persecutions of the Siguranza. Arrests by the agents of this institution of terror is synonimous with torture. The jails of Roumania, Bessarabia and Transylvania are crowded with “enemies of the state”: trade union leaders, editors of national minority and working class papers, members of the proscribed Communist Party, peasants and workers who made the mistake of express- ing opinions, | Arrest Trade Unionists, | AST year the entire executive commit- tee of the Unitarian Federation of Labor was placed under arrest in Bucharest. Thus even trade unions are made illegal in Roumania, While there is terrific exploit- ation in the oil flelds, the salt mines and the factories of Bucharest, Constanza and other large centers, the workers have been unable to organize adequate resistance be- cause the terror is invoked agaimst them. On the occasion of the arrest of the Trade Union Executive, however, a general strike was called and supported by large numbers of workers. This shows that the Rouman- fan working class has the fighting spirit and the courage—but the odds against them @re a huge spy system and an over-manned gendarmerie. Such, in brief, and only too inadequately, is the white terror as conducted in the land of Queen Marie. Thousands of mas- sacred peasants, hundreds of workers who died in prison, thousands more in the dastiles of the Boyars stain the robes of “her majestiy” with their blood. Many are the martyrs of Roumania. Only this year added two new and prominent fighters for freedom to the list. Pavel Tkachenko was murdered in the terrible Doftana prison and Boris Stefanov, a former member of par- liament, also in prison, is faced with the same fate at any moment. Last year the workers of Roumania mourned the passing of Max Goldstein, a Communist, who despite his extreme weakness from months of tor- ture in the Bucharest jail, went on a hun- ger strike from the effects of which he/did not survive. Queen Marie knows only too . well of these murders. Even the high walls Protest Against the Roumanian Terror! HE arrival of Queen Marie of Roumania in this country, must be the signal for a concerted movement of protest against the frightful Persecutions of workers and asants that exist in the murder regime ich she represents, The workers and peasants of Roumanta, in thelr braye struggle for Mberty from oppression, have had hundreds of their best Workers and fighters snatched from their ranks “by the Roumanian “Siguranza’’ and pat to a terrible death or to torturing: im- prisonment, The ‘bestial crimes. of,:the ~ Roumanian nied jagetirate madeottethe 8 Of all, that, lack and / ing class struggles’ for better conditions are mercilessly suppressed. Freedom of press, speech, assembly and organization have become a tragic joke for the workers and peasants of Roumania. The recent murder of Pavel Tkatchenko, a splendid working class leader, is only one of the numerous crimes committed by the Roumanian oligarchy, Oe. MARIN is an envoy in this eoun- try of this regime. She represents @ government whose claws are dripping, with working class blood. She represents a gov- ernment whose prisons are crammedypith workers and peasants, She represents @ government which has brought ruin and desolution to the oppressed nationalities who fought for their independent existence. The capitalist press conceals these notorious facts, Each newspaper, in typical “democratic” style, seeks to outdo the other in servility to this representative of a blood- thirsty nobility, Altho this fs supposed to be @ private visit, all the machinery of the government fs put at ‘the disposal of the queen, workers of America look with horror and protest upon the representative of the Roumanian terror, Queen Marie. Jnter- national Labor Defense, in the name ofthe tena of thoushads of workers affilisted to An Appeal to American Workers by International Labor Deferise . it in the United States, urges all workers to meet the queen, wherever she goes, with demonstrations of protest. E demand an immediate, general, un- conditional amnesty for the political prisoners in Roumania’s dungeons! E demand the immediate cessation of the regime of terror and ferocious per- secution of our brothers in Roumania! worsens of America! Unite in great demonstagtions of protest! Let this en- voy of capitalist terrorism feel the voice of American labor! ‘ i International Labor Defense, dames P, Cannon, Secretary. MARIF COMES TO THE UNIT. STATES FOR THE PURPOSE 0 RAISING A LOAN FROM WALL STREDIT TO SAVE HBR HUSBAND’S THRONE -TOTTERING THE BRINK OF ECONOMIO CHAOS. ON of her stately and luxurious palace eo not keep out the cries of the dying. | U. S, Lackeys Bow to Queen. Boag this crimson-stained monarch con to the United States to receive a ¥ come, well planned and prepared, such would scarcely be accorded to her in } own land. Mayors, governors, admir: millionaires and presidents make their b to “her highness” and kiss her hand The plutocrats, the jingoes, the politicis of this “land of the free” prostrate the selves before and pay homage to a monar whose throne is propped up by the bayon of a milttary despotism. And yet, there a certain community of interest betwe the two after all—that must be conceded But the workers who learn the trv about Roumania are not taken in by the m licity and limelight that blazes the quees regal procession across the continent, ( the very day she landed in New York, great demonstration of workers greeted h with banners inscribed with the horrit facts about her country and speakers tc the painful story of the Roumanian whi terror. mm, OUMANIA maintains a standing arn of larger than that of the United Stat« Last year, the Bratianu government co cluded an agreement with Armstrong, Br ish aircraft manufacturer, for the buildi: of factories in Roumania to construct m itary planes. Also in 1925 a conferen to discuss war materials attended by t) war minister and leading generals of ft army decided upon the construction of new base at Brasso to be devoted chiet to the construction of tanks and chemtca for warfare. A hew hydroplane and su marine base is bejpg built at Mangalia, « the Black Sea. Two warships were boug! from Italy. We pointed out that Bessarabia is stolen province. Russia has never reco nized Roumania’s right to it. Roumanta hi made a military alliance with Polar against the Soviet Union. It is a ver ordinary occurrence for Roumanian state Picture of Peasant ~Houses in Tatar Bunar After Bombardment, men to speak of the Soviet Union as th common enemy. The reason that Marie an Ferdinand were turned down on their ay plication for loans in Paris and London i 1924 and 1925 was because the latter cour tries feared that Roumania would 6 catapulted into a war with Russia at a tim when the western powers were resumin, relations with Russia. The remainder of Baron Wrangel’s coun ter-revolutionary army is still in Roumant waiting for a chance to march into th Ukraine. HE expense of all these military prepara tions is enormous. Roumania is a poo country. Eighty per cent of the populatior is peasant. The Roumanian lei stands now at about 200 to the dollar. Her peasantr) is impoverished. Even the resources from her oil wells have fallen far short of mak ing up the deficit caused by an entirely too large military machine. Roumanta hat got to have money ifthe present regime te to survive. So the Roumanian oligarchy sends fits charmer into new fields, Perhaps Marie’s plea for funds to “stave off the Bolshevik menace” will fal) on more sympathetic ears in Wall Street. Perhaps the temptation of virgin oil fields will be too much for our dollar imperialists. Per haps the chance of putting another Dawes plan into operation in Roumania will prove very enticing. She Will Get Blood Money, ARIE would not have béen sent, all the elaborate preparationé would not have been undertaken, if there were not at least a show. Then there is the precedent of a $75,000,000 investment that Standard Of] al ready has in Roumania. and there is the @uarantee of Averescu that forelgn capital will have a free hand under his regime. In all likelihood Roumania will be added to the already long list of nations who pag tribute to American imperialism, And if ever there was blood money, thi will be. It will mean giving money for the maintenance of one of the most tyrannical regimes in the world. But the United States has already given money to Poland, té Hun gary, to Mussolini's fascist dictatorship, Why not to Roumania? Such {s the story of the visit of the Queen of Terror Land to the Land of the Dollar, It is a story that every worker should learm vel. »