er liberty of administration to the Rumanian
churches in Austria.

The second proposal specified that Rumania should put five army corps
and two cavalry divisions at the disposal of the Austro-Hungarian
General Staff to operate against the Russians. In return Rumania
should receive all of Bukowina up to the Pruth River, territory
along the north bank of the Danube up to the Iron Gate, complete
autonomy for the Rumanians in Transylvania and all of Bessarabia that
the Rumanian troops should assist in conquering from the Russians.

Just a week after this note was received in the Rumanian capital,
Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg, whose wife was a sister of the Queen of
Rumania, arrived in Bucharest and tried to induce King Ferdinand to
come to terms with Austria, or at least to allow the transportation
of war munitions through the country to the Turks, who were then
running short of ammunition. The king refused this concession. How
important it would have been, had it been granted, may be judged
from the many efforts the Germans had made to smuggle material down
to Turkey. In one case the baggage of a German courier traveling
to Constantinople had been X-rayed and rifle ammunition had been
found. Again, cases of beer had been opened and found to contain
artillery shells.

Rumania, however, could not yet make up her mind which was going
to be the winner. She accepted neither of the Austrian proposals,
and protracted making any definite answer as long as possible.

There was another reason why Rumania wished to continue her neutrality
until the following winter, at least. The harvesting of her great
wheat crops would begin soon, and this wheat could, as had been
done the previous year, be sold to the Germans and Austrians at big
prices, the blockade of the British fleet having already produced
a pressing shortage in foodstuffs. And then, her conscience being
uneasy regarding her robbery of territory from Bulgaria, she must
also be quite certain how Bulgaria was going to turn.

Having failed at Bucharest, the German agent, Prince
Hohenlohe-Langenburg, moved on to Sofia. At that moment King Ferdinand
of Bulgaria was endeavoring to get Turkey to sign a treaty, for
which negotiations had been going on secretly for some months,
by which Bulgaria was to obtain all the Turkish land on the west
side of the Maritza River, and so free the Bulgarian railroad to
Dedeagatch from Turkish interference. On July 23 this treaty was
finally