Whether or not Germany has served an economic ultimatum on Rumania really amounts to very little in view of the situation in which the latter country finds itself since the German absorption of Czechoslovakia, As the fall of Austria paved the way for the subjugation of Czechoslovakia, so this latter process inevitably brings two more Danubian states, Hungary and Rumania, within the range of German]? domination, and the only thing which is not yet quite clear s the means the Reic will t adopt to enforce its will upon those two countries. At the present moment Herr Wohltat, head of the German economic mission in Rumania, is endeavouring to effect precisely those ends which have been de tailed in the "ultimatum" which it is alleged has been given. That both Germany and Rumania deny, but that such a demand may eventually be made in the event of present negotiations failing to end satisfactorily t Herr Hitler is a probability which cannot be disregarded. In the preparation for the struggle with democracy, which despite all denials is very obviously what Herr Hitler has in his mind, it is necessary that he) should secure sources of supply which would otherwise be denied him by naval blocked in the event of war. Thus the oil, gra lumber, cattle and foodstuffs to which it alleged the "ultimatum" referred, which are richly produced in Rumania must be made available to Germany if she is ever to embark upon war, which judging by present developments would seem to be inevitable The problem of Germany has dominated Rumanian politics for the past three years, and, directly or indirectly, has been the cause of all the dramatic events which have been little understood by the outside Despite the fact that German-Rumanian relations have been worse than those of the former country with Yugoslavia and Hungary, Germans in Rumania have been treated more liberally than in the other two states They have dozens of papers wh Yugoslavia they have only one or t in Hungary none. The demand of their Fuehrer, Herr Fritz Fabritiu political liberty was imm: gr Similar demands by the leader of Hungar Germans were placed on the shelf.
It is true that King Carol has been dealing somewhat drastically with the Iron Guard, the Rumanian version of the Nazi movement, with the imprisonment of its leaders, the suppression of the movement ud ultimately the shooting of, Zeleo Codreanu and thirteen of henchmen.
That in itself might not appear in Germar eyes sufficient reason actively to interfere in the domestic affairs of the Rumanian kingdom, but the fact is that Rumania is th only European country possessing oil in sufficient quantities to supply the needs of the mechanized legions of so important a Power as Germany in war time, has quantities of other supplies necessary to any country at war, but particularly so in the case of Germany where even in peace food is none too plentiful. The reduction of Czechoslovakia to the position of a mere corridor for the passage of German troops eastwards means a threat equally to Poland and Rumania and possibly even to Russia itself. To get at Russia either Poland or Rumania would have to be chosen as the next victim and if Germany decides that the easier prey is Rumania then the time may not be far away when that "ultimatum," which it is denied has yet been presented, will be forthcoming. It is not without the bounds of possibility that Germany will seck to reduce Rumania to a position of economic servitude, preventing it from developing itself as an industrial power, and confining its activities to the provision of raw material for Germa: needs. That would indeed amount to depriving the country of its economic inde pendence, though in return Berlin might decide to guarantee its political and territorial integrity. Such a step would protect Rumania against the territorial claims which Hungary and Bulgaria have upon her, and which those countries expect will sooner or later be decided in their favour. Guarantees being what they appear to be nowadays it would not seem that there would be anything in the nature of a bargain likely to be at all satisfactory to Rumani With two nations having territorial claims on Rumania, and a third desiring her complete economic subjugation the position of that nation is far from enviable. Nevertheless King Carol, proving himself no mean diplomat, has by his astuteness managed to secure agreement between the German minority under him and the recently formed Front of National Renaissance and has been able to nullify one of the pest weapons of "cold pressure" capable of being used against him. He has good cause to resist Germany, but his position is difficult because though on the face of things he has succeeded in suppressing the Iron Guard, it is well known that there are sympathizers with that movement honeycombing the ministries and even the Army. Therein lies the weakness of his position. He may be able to keep the land just as quiet and orderly as Austria was, and Czechoslovakia was until outside influences started stirring things up, but the seeds of dramatic development are there. Thus the report of the serving of an ultimatum may be premature yet at the same time amount to the only example of intelligent anticipat tion possible in the light of existing circumstances. Yet it seems to be the only development convenient to Herr Hitler, for the Ukraine scheme with which he is credited is a much larger question, and calculated to arouse the opposition of both Poland and Russia, while the successful reduction of Rumania to an economic vassalage would help progress towards Angora and the attainment of the greater portion of the urge towards the East. It is well within the bounds of possibility that through Herr Wohltat, Der Fuehrer will seek to achieve his objectives by peaceful negotiation, but the fact cannot be overlooked that as a result of recent developments in Czechoslovakia he is able to exert a military pressure which was not formerly possible. Consequently if within the next few weeks it transpires that the original story was accurate there need be no cause for surprise. It fits in so well with all that has happened in the past, and is likely to happen in the future.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.