Protests

Notwithstanding the growls, yells and snarls of foreign Governments, the Rumanian Senate placidly passed a bill giving exclusive control of foreign oil properties in Rumania* to Rumanians. Thereupon the Governments of the U. S., Britain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands made another vigorous protest against the law, which amounts to confiscation of foreign property. The Rumanian Government later denied this in a note to the U. S., stating that confiscation and interference with the legitimate rights of American capital were not contemplated in the bill. The U. S. was not satisfied, however, and the Legation at Bukarest politely informed the Rumanian Government in a third note that the proposed law was prejudicial to American capital employed in Rumanian oil enterprises.

* Oil springs are situated at Bacau, Bazeu, Dambovita and Prahova. The output of oil has risen from 250,000 metric tons in 1900 to 1,508,829 metric tons in 1923.