Word: ferdinand
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...hopeful that you will allow me to correct an impression which you unwittingly left by the reference in your issue of Nov. 13 to King Ferdinand of Rumania as a "weakling." During the time I was American Minister in Bucharest (1925-28) I came to know the King personally and I had many opportunities to see the nature of his work...
...would not detract from the deserving credit which is due Queen Marie and John and Vintila Bratianu but King Ferdinand was in fact King. He ruled as well as reigned. He was less dramatic than the Queen. He was less in the public eye than the Bratianus. But he was by accepted tests a farseeing and enlightened monarch...
...subjects called him "Ferdinand the Loyal." He was a Hohenzollern from Germany. But he made the decision (it was not forced upon him) to enter the first World War against his own kinsmen in defense of his adopted country. This was not weakness. His statesmanship gave to Rumania universal suffrage and agrarian reform. As a result of the latter measure the peasants-85 per cent of Rumania's population-today own the greater part of the arable land which formerly belonged to the privileged few. These reforms were not weakness...
...economic development that resulted from the foundations laid under King Ferdinand's reign have received further impetus under the energetic guidance of King Carol II. In spite of political and economic unsettlement in Europe, for many years past Rumania has enjoyed a balanced budget and a favorable trade balance. Industrial unrest has been reduced to a minimum. Indeed, the working people have little cause for complaint. Under the social legislation enacted more than 15 years ago, collective bargaining and paid vacations are guaranteed to industrial workers. Moreover, the remarkable industrial development of the country has practically eliminated unemployment...
...agrarian reform enacted under the reign of King Ferdinand was supplemented under King Carol II by another measure calculated to consolidate the economic independence of the new landowners. Through the conversion of agricultural debts, the peasants' indebtedness was reduced by more than half, which saved thousands of small holdings from foreclosure and many rural families from ruin...