Page:Nicolae Iorga - My American lectures.djvu/74

 of a free peasantry enjoying full political rights. Hoping to gain the villagers for his own party, the so-called liberals headed by the second John Brătianu presented to Parliament, at the moment when the world war was imminent, a draft law on expropriation. Roumania entered the universal turmoil before the necessary legislation could be voted by the Constituent Assemblies. The dangers of « bolshevisation » under the influence of the allied Russian troops were needed to inspire the idea of a new force to combat it. I shall always remember the day when I pressed the President of the Council to accomplish the reform. Objecting that the conservative colleagues of the Coalition Ministry were opposing him, he refused and I was then constrained to write personally to the King. On the following day the President of the Council told me that, after more mature consideration, he had reconsidered, but that the proposal had to be made by the President of the Chamber of Deputies — a former Socialist! The measure was passed and the attitude of the landlords was beyond praise: they accepted State bonds of a rapidly diminishing value (today 40%) as compensation for the expropriation of their lands.

After the war, the new Cabinet of General Averescu voted for the distribution of 80% of the land to nearly all peasants as a reward for their gallant conduct in the war. Former landowners were not allowed to retain more than 500 hectares, nor could the new estates be sold. Due allowance was made for those peasants living in barren regions, peasants in the mountains being granted holdings in the Danubian steppe. Many of the peasants so endowed were not even farmers by calling.

In Roumania today, as in other countries, the peasant is master of the major portion of the land. But his mind is not yet sufficiently prepared for so great a role in the