Ominous Rist

Far more potent than most statesmen is alert, tactiturn M. le Professeur Charles Rist, fiscal expert of the Bank of France. When he and his corps of secretaries descend in these days upon a minor European capital local Treasury officials are in a panic, hope for a loan, fear disclosures. In Bucharest last week M. le Professeur Charles Rist made an announcement which rocked the Kingdom of Rumania.

Investigation has disclosed, intimated M. le Professeur, who never speaks for publication, that the Royal Government has pursued for the past ten years a budgetary policy of letting expenditures exceed receipts. Public works have been unproductive to the point of threatening the stability of Rumania's depreciated currency. Professor Rist advised wholesale weeding out of superfluous Government employes, salary cuts of 50% and further drastic retrenchments. For the Bank of France to extend any more loans to Rumania (longtime "Little Ally" of France), he concluded, is in these circumstances totally unthinkable.

Promptly the Rumanian Cabinet dropped like a sledge-hammered ox. After a three-hour council at the Royal Palace, King Carol's aged and eccentric onetime tutor. Premier Nicholas Jorga, emerged in a daze. When the Premier's official limousine swept up to the Palace door Professor Jorga mumbled, ''I am no longer Premier. I am not entitled to use that car."

While newshawks stood back amazed, the former Premier set off alone on foot, walked the whole way home.

Significance & Screams, Though M. le Professeur Charles Rist did the actual work of execution last week, the French Government has long been in a mood to force the Rumanian Government back to the path of sound finance and moral decency.

In Bucharest red-haired Magda Lupescu, mistress of King Carol, has been openly appearing at social gatherings of late, openly flaunting the fact that she has ousted Queen Helen. Fortunately Rumania has an able diplomat and statesman, M. Nicholas Titulescu, high in the graces of the Great Powers. He, Rumanian Minister to Great Britain, was in Switzerland last week as President of the Assembly of the League of Nations and Chief Rumanian Delegate to the Geneva Conference.

Picking up a telephone King Carol got M. Titulescu at Montreux, commanded him to return to Bucharest. A year ago the King and his old tutor intrigued among Rumanian politicians with the result that M. Titulescu was obliged to announce: "I find it impossible to form a Cabinet."

On reaching Bucharest, M. Titulescu hurried to lunch with King Carol. Suddenly there were screams as of a man in mortal terror. Rushing to the window His Majesty & Guest saw a three-story scaffolding set up against the Royal Palace collapse, saw a workman mad with terror plunge to death.

Next day, after dickering among Bucharest politicians, M. Titulescu was again obliged to announce: "I find it impossible to form a Cabinet." Promptly King Carol dissolved the Rumanian Parliament, ordered new elections, entrusted the Government ad interim to former Premier (1919) Alexander Vaida-Voevod.

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