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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926)",
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    "title": "BUDGET, NATIONAL",
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    "verified_text": "the most important condi- tion to be attached to a budget is that it shall be a comprehensive statement of revenue and expenditure during the financial year, preferably in comparison with corresponding data for the pre- ceding year. if important items are omitted, it is obviously impossible to obtain a complete review and a clear grasp of the budenny—budget, national financial position as a whole. a glance at a summary table should reveal whether there is a genuinely balanced budget or a deficit to be provided for. the practice of special accounts is only too often an expedient to conceal a deficit. in the years 1919-24 france, switzerland and several other countries, charged various extraordinary items of expenditure to accounts outside the general budget, and protracted calculations were needed to arrive at a consolidated statement in either case. in the two countries mentioned the budgets for 1925-6 have con- tained tables showing total expenditure, and their govern- ments have not only expressly condemned the former methods but have undertaken to indicate in future budgets the total es- timate of expenditure for the financial year. i. general considerations the condition that the budget should include all items of revenue involves a plea for so-called gross budgeting, 7.e., that the special receipts collected by a service, such as court or hos- pital fees, and not merely the expenditure after reduction by reason of those receipts, should be accounted for. the converse system of net budgeting does not reveal the total expenditure on account of the several services. most countries have adopted in principle the system of gross budgeting, but there are frequent illogical exceptions. ‘the british method of stating both gross and net expenditure has the advantage of showing the total expenditure as well as the appropriations to be made from gen- eral revenue funds obtained principally from taxation. the budget figures reviewed in the budget speech by the chancellor of the exchequer and habitually quoted in great britain are the net figures with the exception of those of the post office, for which gross receipts and working expenses are shown. | public undertakings —special problems arise with regard to public undertakings of a quasi-commercial character (such as railways, naval dockyards, etc.) and to funds constituted for special purposes (e.g., for granting loans at a reduced rate of interest to farmers or to shipping companies, etc.). it is gen- erally thought desirable to separate the accounts of public undertakings from the general budget. the general budget becomes less clear if railway receipts and so on are permitted to swell the figures, and on the other hand these undertakings should be free to adopt a form of accounting on strictly com- mercial lines which are more complicated than the usual form of state accounting. it has sometimes been proposed that all public services should adopt the principles of commercial or cost-accounting. it would, of course, be ideal to know the exact cost of each administrative and combatant unit, but the system of commercial accounting when applied to all branches of the administration has proved to be complicated and expensive, and, moreover, to necessitate a great number of more or less arbitrary estimates (e.g., rental value of state owned barracks). after the war cost accounting was introduced in many branches of the british army, but in accordance with a decision taken in july 1925, the govt. announced that, subject to the approval of the public accounts committee, it was proposed to dis- continue the cost-accounting method in all save operative estab- lishments (7.e., laundries, electrical departments, bakeries, etc.). the practical method would seem to be that of applying cost- -accounting to all quasi-commercial undertakings and to other services which delegate wide discretionary powers to the official in charge or are administered by bodies not directly subject to permanent treasury control. if, however, certain accounts are kept separately from the ordinary budget accounts should there not be a link between the former and the latter? generally there is such a link. the net proceeds resulting from the opera- tions of the undertakings or the appropriations required to meet thcir deficits, as the case may be, are included in the gen- eral budget accounts (austria, czechoslovakia, denmark, sweden and the united states); but in certain countries (swit- zerland and the union of south africa) the state railways have independent budgets. to the latter system the objection may be raised that a deficit is less conspicuous in a special budget than when included budget, national in the general budget to be covered at the expense of the tax- payer. to indicate the impossibility of generalisirg in this field, it may be mentioned that public undertakings of the nether- jands are treated in three different ways:— (a2) the state railways are run by two companies, in which the state owns shares. (b) the post, telegraph and telephone services and some other undertakings are worked as independent concerns, net figures ol surplus or deficit being carried to the general budect. (c) the state mines are treated as ordinary government depart- ments, the gross receipts and working expenses being included in the general budget. the question of commercial accounting for public under- takings is often connected with a modern tendency to grant them the status of autonomous concerns, so that their mazare- ment ils more or less independent of the general political ad:min- istration. it is thought that such a system facilitates the intro- duction of strictly commercial methods of calculation and reduces undue political interference, but the fact should not be overlooked that it also reduces the possibilities of parliamentary and treasury control. no doubt the growth of state activitics of a socialistic charactcr creates new constitutional and budgetary problems, and in many countries these problems have been studied by sclect public committees, among the reports of which that of a swedish committee on railway management, pub- lished in 1924, is perhaps particularly noteworthy. when funds are constituted for special purposes, these funds are often kept quite independently of the general budget. a road fund, a land settlement fund, may be drawn upon as long as there is any unexpended balance available. it is only natural that the system of distinct funds should prevail in new countrics in process of rapid development, like australia and new zealand. but the practice leads to obscurity and thus involves dangers. the same objection may be raised, to a certain extent, to funds constituted for social insurances; in what way these funds ma be linked to the general budget is, however, at present a very knotty problem. classificution.—it seems almost self-evident that revenue and expenditure should be classified according to logical princicles so as to permit of rational analysis and discussion of the prollems which arise. in practice all kinds of dificulties present them- selves. the fact that budgets are legal documents having a certain binding character introduces many mystifying com- plications. if, for instance, a distinction must be made between appropriations which are permanent and those which must be voted annually, between appropriations which may be exceeded by the govt. and those which may not, or between sources of revenue subject to differing constitutional procedure, such a distinction, if shown in the budget, may completely upsct a rational system of accounting for purely informative purposes. the govt. of the united states, therefore, separates the budcct from the acts of revenue and appropriations and publishes the estimates and the statutes in ditierent documents. in the british budget a very curious development has taken place, viz.: that details of estimates, presented for information only, have acquired by custom a binding force (sce r. g. ilawtrey, the exchequer and the control of expenditure, p. 59, 1921). in many countries (czechoslovakia, germany, rumania, etc.) the revenue side of the budget is grouped according to the various bran- ches of administration responsible for the collection of receipts so that tax-revenue, for instance, is shown in the ministry of finance, together with various administrative receipts; surpluses from govern- ment undertakings in the ministry of communications. in other countries (denmark, united kingdom, finland, italy, sweden, united states of america and the lritish dominions) revenue is classified according to its nature (tax and non-tax revenue, income tax, customs and excise dutics, etc.). the latter system shows more clearly and undoubtedly more quickly the facts of primary interest, and is more easily understood. the expenditure side, on the other hand, is almost necessarily grouped according to organisation units, although this method is often combined with a secondary classification according to objects of expenditure (e.g., an appropriation is given for a certain purpose in a lump sum which is not distributed among the various departments concerned). in most countries the character of the expenditure (whether ordinary, cxtraordinary, capital outlay or current cx- penscs) is permitted to influence the classification. if the classifica- 467 tion is not determined by one basic principle, the result is only too often obscurity and confusion. in the british budget the historical division of expenditure items into consolidated fund services and supply services is hardly lozical, but the defect is of small practical importance since almost the whole of the consolidated fund expenditure consists of the debt service, the road fund and the local taxation account. the supply services are grouped under administration units and the system is often praised for its clearness, lut in england sums may be issued under special acts for capital improvements (e.g., the ex- tension of the telephone system or the erection of public offices) ‘these issues form the nearest equivalent to a capital account or an extraordinary budget in the british financial system. in the swedish budzet a primary distinct'on is made between current expenditure and capital outlay (the latter term employed in a very restricted sense) so that it is clearly shown how much is expended for current requirements and how much investments which will yield a return in the future. in the united states budget current expenditure and constructions are shown as sub-headings of the primary divisions according to organisation units. in the british dominions great prominence is gencrally given to the distinction be- tween current and capital expenditure, extraordinary expenditure—on the european continent budgets are often divided into ordinary ard extraordinary, but these terms are unfortunately used in widely different serses. in germany the extraordinary budget originally included only capital expenditure, which term, however, was employed to comprise military and naval constructions also. since the war reparation payments have been accounted for as extraordinary =xpenditure; moreover, in the ordinary budget there is a special distinction between permanent and non-recurrert expenditure. in czechoslovakia the extraordinary budget comprises excep- tional expenditure, but not capital outlay, while in france and belgium the extraordinary budgets include both capital ex- penditure and other more or less non-recurrent expenditure. it is maintained that the whole conception is dangerous, as it may mislead the public into believing that extraordirary expenditure ray properly be covered by proceeds of loars irstead of by the yield of taxation. in the budgets of austria ard hurgary the league of nations has insisted upon obtairirg a clear statement of capital expenditure for strictly productive purposes, and has cisregarded the distinction between ordinary ard extraordinary expenditure. it is extremely dificult to strike a proper line of division between permanent and non-recurrert items. even a propriation to alleviate hardships caused ky earthquake may become a fairly regular item in the budget, as, for instance, is lire case in italy. | subsidiary fables —li a budget is drawn up on fairly simple lises it may be necessary, and is greatly to be advised, to provide fll explanation and recalculation in subsidiary takles, which, for instance, might show the amounts expended for certain pur- poses (say education) by different admiristrative branches (ordinary schools in the ministry of education, agricultural schools in the ministry of agriculture, techrical schools in the ministry of trade, ctc.). these tables might also attempt to evaluate, in the case of each department, what provision is made for it in other notes (e.g., postal services, statior ery, local rates). it is really a question rather of supplying irformation than of classifying expenditure in the budget. whatever method is adopted, it is of much importance that there should be con- tinuity of practice, successive changes greatly prejudicing com- parisons from one year to another and—even worse—causing the real position of the country’s finances to ke misurderstood. in some european countries scarcely a year passes without some change in the system. the cash and accruals system.—in some countries the yearly accounts comprise the amounts actually expended and the revenue actually collected in the course of a given year (er gland, sweden). in other countries, which have adopted the system of accruals, the accounts comprise the amounts which had been legally incurred, so that claims against and revenue acquired by the treasury are shown irrespective of the time of the actual payments or collection of revenue. the main advantage of the second method, which corresponds to private accounting prac- tice, is that it takes into account unpaid bills, which a reckless government may leave behind it, and it is thought to facilitate 468 detailed parliamentary control. on the other hand, accounts on an accrual basis do not show the amount to be collected and to be spent in a given period of time, which is an important considera- tion for the banking community. it is not surprising to find that england has adopted the cash system. this system can only work well, however, if the english rule is firmly established: that the normal course of business shall determine the date of payment without any manipulation. under the cash system the monthly statements of revenue and expenditure may more easily be compared with the yearly budgets. an important feature in the budget system of a country is the publication of closed accounts with the least possible delay after the financial year ends, as these accounts form, after all, the only sure basis for judging of the soundness of the budget estimates. the closed accounts often include a valuable review of the capital wealth of the state, total liabilities, etc. ii. post-war conditions in various countries great britain.—in great britain the most important change in the budget system since the war is represented by the attempts to introduce so-called cost accounting, which were not entirely successful (see above). in the house of commons, mr. asquith on several occasions criticised the inclusion of proceeds of the sale of war stocks as current revenue in the budget; he urged that these proceeds should have been separated from the budget- accounts and devoted exclusively to debt redemption. during the period 1920-5, however, more than £700,000,000 of public debt have been so repaid. in sweden the proceeds of sale of stocks held by certain war commissions were handed over direct to the public debt com- missioners for debt redemption. united states —in the united states a very noteworthy reform of the budget system was introduced by means of the budget and accounting act of rozt. before that year there had been no attempt to consider the problem of government financing as a whole. the secretary of the treasury when submitting estimates to congress had acted as a mere compiling authority; he had no power to modify the proposals transmitted to him by the heads of the administrative departments. the president, although legally entitled to secure co-ordination of the estimates, had no service at his disposal through which he could effectively exercise his authority. there was no budgetary message, no balance sheet, no collection of summary, analytical or comparative tables. in congress there was also division of responsibility. revenue and expenditure were considered by different committees; provisions for expenditure were made by passing 13 general appropriation acts emanating from no less than g different committees. all this was radically changed in 1921. the president was charged with the preparation of the budget estimates to be transmitted to congress. the budget must include analytical statements and comparative tables, data relating to public debts, etc. if a deficit is foreseen, the president has to make recommendations for new taxes, loans or other action, and he may likewise make proposals as to the utilisation of a budget surplus. to assist the president in his task a bureau of the budget has been established in the treasury dept., under a director respon- sible to the president. no department may submit an estimate or a request for appropriations directly to congress, if not specifically requested to do so by a competent committee of congress. the procedure in congress was reformed by the appointment of a strong committee on appropriations in the house of representatives. the results obtained during the first four years’ working of the new system were highly satis- factory, and were most conspicuously evidenced by the con- siderable savings in expenditure, which have led to reduction in taxation. there are very few administrations for which budget- ary data are available in so clear and concise a form as that of the federal administration of the united states. france.—in france the numerous special expenditure ac- counts existing after the war were gradually discontinued dur- ing 1922-4 and in 1925 a comprehensive budget was prepared, buenos aires but the problems connected with the reconstruction of the devastated districts, the army of occupation and the reparation recoveries from germany still cause some confusion in the budget system. closed accounts have not been published for any post- war financial year, but monthly figures of actual revenue and expenditure are published by the ministry of finance. germany.—in germany the budget estimates were sub- mitted to the reichstag by the prescribed date in both 1925 and 1926, but the votes were delayed, the budget for the financial year march 30 1924—-april 1 1925 being finally voted on aug. g 1925. in several instances payments were made on the basis of authorisations not incorporated in the budget. monthly figures of revenue and expenditure, however, are published with great promptitude. [taly.—in italy where public accounting ranks almost as a special science, monthly returns of revenue and expenditure are published regularly and closed accounts were available for post-war years without delay. the accounting system was simplified to a certain extent, the central powers of the treasury having been strengthened and established on lines similar to those of the british treasury. miscelaneous.—by means of the reconstruction schemes it has drawn up and put into operation and the control it has exercised in austria (q.v.) and hungary (q.v.) the league of nations has had a definite influence on the budget systems of those coun- tries. the reforms which have been introduced in austria and hungary have been studied by different countries in europe, and their importance as an example to be followed already begins to become evident. the diversity of system obtaining in different countries makes it very difficult to establish international comparisons. the question of international financial statistics was discussed by the international statistical institute at the hague before the war. in connection with the brussels financial conference of 1920, a memorandum of financial data was prepared, and the secretariat of the league of nations has issued two further volumes on public finance. these memoranda are not intended primarily to give directly comparable data—but to furnish sufficient information concerning the budget systems to enable the reader to understand the figures presented. anattempt has been made to prepare summary tables of total expend- iture and revenue, to show the budget surpluses or deficits of the several countries and to give statements of foreign and domestic debts. theleague has also published in the armaments yearbooks statistics of defence expenditure in different countries, which furnish material indicating the development and tendency of defence expend- iture in each individual country. the dawes report contains a digression on the subject of com- paring tax burdens, but does not go very much farther than reviewing the difficulties. obviously no complete picture can be drawn without taking into consideration local budgets, which raises a new set of problems, as local, even more than state, finance is concerned with public undertakings of a quasi-commercial character (gasworks, public baths, etc.). the urgent financial problems awaiting solution in almost every country have stimulated inquiry in this field of research by government bureaux, private associations and in- dividual students of finance and economics. see also the sections on finance under the headings great britain, germany; united states, etc. bibliography.—dr. w. lotz, finanzwissenschaft, publ. in 5 parts (1916-7); w. f. willoughby, the problem of a national budget (new york-london, 1918); report of the international financial conference (brussels, 1920); r. g. hawtrey, “exchequer and the control of expenditure,” world of to-day, no. 22 (oxford, 1921); g. jeze, cours de science des finances et de legislation financtere frangatse; theorte generale du budget, 6th ed. (paris, 1922); eng. trans. of the 7th edition by r. stourm, the budget (washington i9i7). ie a buenos aires (see 4.752) continued to rank in 1925 as the jargest city in south america and the fourth largest in the americas, being exceeded in population only by new york, chicago and philadelphia. an official estimate of april 30 1925 placed the population at 1,850,718, an increase of 274,904 since the national census of tor4. the celebration of the country’s centenary in 1910 in buenos aires attracted many visitors, not only from argentina but also from abroad. in 1913 new diagonal avenues were begun, the plan being to change the rectangular pattern, previously followed, by cutting diagonal avenues through the city on the model of wash- ington and paris. work on the two chief thoroughfares, radiating buffalo—bukowina from the corners of the central plaza de mayo, though inter- rupted by the world war, was far advanced in 1925, and did much to relieve the traffic congestion in the centre of the city. the project involves also the widening of alternate streets from the river and the demolition of many of the older parts. the parkway lying between the city proper and the rio de la plata was greatly improved during the period 1910-25; much land was reclaimed from the river, and a post-office and custom house were erected on this parkway, adding greatly to its beauty. the city has been further beautified by the centenary gifts of various nations to argentina; these include the handsome clock tower erected by the british colony at a cost of £50,000 opposite the new railway station opened in 1916, the largest in south america; the statue of george washington erected in palermo park by the u.s. colony; and statues from the spanish, french, syrian and other foreign communities. the congress building was finished in 1912, the park in front of it, the plaza del con- greso, having been opened for the centenary celebrations in 1910. buenos aires, transacting approximately 80% of the entire foreign trade of the republic, is the busiest port in latin america. as the industrial and banking centre of the country, it has benefited by the protective tariff, through the aid of which a large number of factories have sprung up in and near the city. branches of u.s. and european factories also have been estab- lished there, manufacturing chiefly textiles, hosiery, and small iron and steel articles. a branch of the national city bank of new york was established in buenos aires in 1914, an example since followed by several other u.s. banks, including the first national bank of boston which, in 1924, opened there the largest office building in latin america. other improvements during the period 1910-25 were the erection of a number of modern hotels and apartment buildings and of a greatly improved immigration station, through which pass about 90% of the republic’s immigrants; the opening of some 80 new parks and plazas; the construction of a new subway; and the expansion of the university of buenos aires. (cb) buffalo (sce 4.754).—the population in 1920 was 506,775, an increase of 83,060 or 19:6% for the decade. the state estimate in 1925 was 538,016. the population of the mctropoli- tan district in 1920 was 602,847, and the area of the city is 42-89 sq. miles. administration.—since jan. 1 1916 the city has been under commission government. the citizens choose by direct non- partisan nomination and election a mayor and four councilmen. these constitute the sole municipal legislature and are also the chief executive heads. the mayor, ex officio, heads the depart- ments of fire, police, and health, which comprise the depart- ment of public safety. the four other departments are finance and accounts, public works, parks and public buildings, and public affairs, each in charge of a councilman. the principal subordinate officials are nominated by the mayor and appointed by the council. the mayor hasa vote in the council, but no veto power. ordinances and appropriations, outside ordinary city ex- penses, may be referred to vote of the people on petition of 5% of qualified citizens. the city completed in 1915 a new pumping station and tunnel 6,500 ft. long, by which water is brought from lake eric. the capacity of the plant is 130,000,000 gal. each 24 hours. a filtration plant at a cost of $4,000,000 was completed in 1926. the schools are under a board of education appointed by the mayor and council, but subject mainly to state laws. liniversity developments —the university of buffalo ac- quired a new site of 106 ac. in the northern part of the city to which 44 ac. were added in 1919 and in 1920 an endowment fund of $3,200,000 was raised by popular subscription. other tm- portant gifts have been received and rapid expansion has begun. samucl p. capen became chancellor in 1922. a unique gift provides for the conferring by the university annually of a civic medal to the citizen of buffalo who ts adjudged to have done the most distinguished service to the community and the world. the first medal was given in 1924 to bishop charles h. brent, delegate of the united states to the international opium con- ference. canisius college (jesuit) raised, by popular subscrip- 469 tion, an endowment fund of $1,000,000 in 1920, and was again greatly enlarged in 1924-5. d’youville college for women (roman catholic) was opened in 1908. the new city hospital in buffalo and the j. n. adam memor- ial hospital for tuberculous patients at perrysburg, n. y., are maintained by the city. important new buildings are the statler hotel, liberty bank, and the walbridge, genesee, marine trust, athletic club, general electric, and new york tclephone buildings. commercial importance——located at the foot of lake erie, buflalo’s waterborne commerce makes her the second greatest inland port in the united states and one of the ten greatest in the world. there are 37-4 m. of water frontage. the new york state barge canal gives water transport to the seaboard for barges up to 2,000 tons capacity. eleven main railway lines also make the city an exceptional centre of land transport. the greatest growth in recent years has been in manufactures, partic- ularly flour, iron and steel, and rubber products. its proximity to niagara falls enables the city to depend largely on electric power obtained therefrom. war record.—buffalo furnished over 10,000 volunteers and selected service men to the u.s. army in the world war. the greater number of these served in the 77th and 78th divisions and had an active part in the argonne and other battles. in addition, the 74th infantry, n.g.s.n.y., became the 108th infantry in the u.s. service; the third field artillery, n.g.s. n.y., became the 1o6th field artillery; troop i., n.g.s.n.y., became the roznd trench mortar battery, and base hospital no. 23 was recruited in buffalo. the ro8th regiment, forming a part of the 27th div., participated in the breaking of the hindenburg line, sept. 29—oct. 1 1918 (see victory, advance to). the ro6th field artillery and the roznd trench mortar battery were in the battle of the mcuse-argonne. nearly 4,000 buffalo men served in the navy and about 1,000 in the u.s. marine corps. cme. m. w.) buffalo: see bison. bukovina, a province of rumania, formerly included in the austrian empire. its area is 4,030 sq. m.; population, 819,230. according to the official census of the austrian authorities made in 1910, taking the language spoken as the criterion of nationality, the total population of bukovina numbered 794,930 inhabitants consisting of 273,250 rumanians, 305,000 rutheni- ans, 168,850 germans (of whom 102,920 were of the jewish faith), the rest bcing composed of poles, hungarians and czechs. rumanian statistics for 1923 give the population of bukovina as 819,230, divided as follows:—rumanians 365,000, ruthenians 251,000, jews 128,000, germans 47,000, poles 16,000, the rest being composed of hungarians, czechs and slovaks. the preponderance of ruthenians over the other nationalities explains the policy of “ ruthenisation ” adopted by the austrian govt., against which the rumanian element rose to defend their nationality in 1848. in 19to universal suffrage with secret polling was introduced into bukovina, and by this means the ruthe- nians were assured of a large number of representatives both in the bukovinian diet and in the parliament in vienna, where the rumanians with their five deputies formed the smallest national group in the chamber. political history —upon the collapse of the austro-hungarian empire in oct. 1918, the last governor, count etzdorf, before leaving bukovina, placed the administration of the province in the hands of the ruthenians. for the space of four days the ut- most anarchy reigned. then, to put an end to the danger of revo- lution and bolshevism that threatened the province, the repre- sentatives of the rumanian population held a mccting on oct. 27 at cernauli, and proclaimed a constitutional assembly, which voted the union of bukovina within her historical bound- aries with the kingdom of rumania. in consequence, the as- sembly applied to the rumanian govt. at jassy for the help of rumanian troops, which made their entry into cernauti on nov. 11 1918. administratiot.—for administrative purposes bukovina is divided into five districts, each district being placed under a 470 prefect appointed by the central administration at bucharest. the official language of the administration, of the law-courts and of instruction is rumanian. schools for minorities, with teachers paid by the rumanian state, are established in those centres in which the majority of the population is non-rumanian. in these schools the language of the respective minority is used, the only obligation being that rumanian should also be taught. production—the abundance of raw materials and especially the extraordinary wealth of the province in forests (which cover 470,000 hectares of the total area of 1,040,290 hectares), and water-power place bukovina in an exceptionally favourable position from the point of view of industrial development. in addition to the already existing brewing and milling industries, a number of new industries have been established since 1918. there are five factories for the manufacture of furniture, par- quet flooring and modern joinery. the large production of po- tatoes has given a strong impetus to the distilling industry, and owing to the neighbourhood of bessarabia a leather and a wool industry have sprung up. since 1921 eleven knitting- and weav- ing-mills have been created, while the bacon and ham industry is in a very flourishing state. communications.—being placed on the international railway line which links central europe with bucharest and constantsa, cernauti is the principal transit centre between rumania and poland, czechoslovakia, austria and germany, and the export centre for the chief products of bukovina (timber, horned cattle, pigs, spirit, eggs, etc.). moreover, owing to the re-opening of the old ways of communication between northern and southeastern europe, which before the annexation of bukovina to austria in 1774, passed through cernauti to the black sea, the province has—in spite of repeated invasions and devastations during the war—been able to recover economically with remarkable rapidity. (g. bo.) , om ekuri/o b grantee eu eal : fy +1 hi lip eshterao <{® sv iaii” hi no jsrail bulawayo—bulgaria bulawayo (sce 4.771).—this town of southern rhodesia had a population (1921) of 6,831 compared with 3,840 in 1904. it retains its position as the chief commercial and railway centre of southern rhodesia. the public and business buildings are, for the most part, handsome and substantial. the museum, opened in rg1o, has a large collection of objects taken from zimbabwe and other ancient sites. there are good public primary and high schools. the rhodes estate, five miles from the town, is now a government experimental farm (115,000 acres). bulawayo is the best place from which to visit the matopo hills. here, at a spot some 30 m. from bulawayo, the body of sir starr jameson, brought from england, was, in 1920, buried near the grave of cecil rhodes. bulgaria or blgariya (see 4.772), a country of south- eastern kurope. the area is 39,814 sq. m.and the estimated pop- ulation (1920) 4,846,971. for the changes in boundaries see neuilly, treaty of, and below. i. political history the condition of macedonia and thrace, which had always been a source of anxiety for bulgaria, became even worse under the young turks. serb propaganda here had greatly increased since the return of the karageorgevie dynasty in 1903 and the definite triumph of the radical party. rival bands of serbs, greeks, bulgars, wallachs, albanians and turks carried on their respective propaganda in macedonia by force of arms, and the life of the peasants became unbearable. menace of war with turkey, and, latterly, with greece and serbia, entailed a mili- tary expenditure on bulgaria, which in 1909 was proportionately higher than that of any european state. bulgaria had, moreover, to support thousands of destitute refugees who had escaped from turkish territory in fear of a general massacre. the balkan alliance—in march 1911 the malinov cabinet fell, and gueshov, head of the nationalist party, became presi- | se all mts. tf ita kam jel aie as \" ns oe ee <uda kor 4 a = * e “(ll i ail english miles | oo j0 30. 40 50 e kilometres “? f) ae = oe o 10 20 30 40 50 ; “hl railways —— di stricl bouraalies 210-0200 bulgaria dent of the council. balkan statesmen at last began to realise that only joint action could put an end to macedonian troubles. in roro-1, negotiations were opened at athens between bul- garia and greece. the first steps took the form of private conversations between j. d. bourchier, principal correspondent in the balkans of the 7imes, london, and veniselos. even- tually, veniselos entrusted bourchier with the transmission to king ferdinand of a definite proposal, which was known only to king george, veniselos and bourchier. on may 29 1912 a secret treaty of defensive alliance between bulgaria and greece was signed in salonika. negotiations with serbia proved difficult. the bulgars de- sired autonomy for macedonia; the serbs held out for a division of macedonia into an uncontested bulgarian and an uncontested serbian zone, with a third zone, on which the russian tsar was to arbitrate. by the treaty finally signed in soha by gueshov and the serb premier milanovie on march 13 and supplemented by the secret military conventions of varna, may 12 and july 12, serbia recognised “‘ the right of bulgaria to the territory east of the rhodope mountains and the river struma;” while bul- garia recognised “ a similar right of serbia to the territory north and west of the sar mountains;” if autonomy for the rest of macedonia proved impossible, an agreed line from goles moun- tain to okhrida was to be accepted, subject to the tsar’s ap- proval. hartwig, the russian minister at belgrade, had kept his government informed throughout. early action was necessary in view of the approaching end of the italo-turkish war and the unrest in macedonia. the great powers endeavoured to pre- vent war by the tardy offer of a guarantee for the autonomy of macedonia. the balkan allies mobilised on sept. 30. on oct. 8, montenegro, with which country no formal agreement had been made, declared war on turkey. on oct. 13 the balkan allies sent an ultimatum to the porte; on oct. 17 turkey de- clared war on serbia and bulgaria; on oct. 18 greece declared war on turkey. : first balkan war, 1912-3.—the war with turkey was pop- ular, for the bulgars, though they are usually deemed self-centred and materialistic, had felt the sorrows of their kinsfolk in mace- donia as their own, and were prepared for any sacrifice to set them free. the success of the campaign, though it showed once more the admirable qualities of the bulgarian soldier, was less complete and brilliant than at first appeared. although, after five weeks’ fighting, the position seemed everywhere favourable to the allies, the bulgarian troops had suffered greatly from deficiencies in both medical and supply services, and casualties had been very heavy. on dec. 3 an armistice was signed between turkey, bulgaria and serbia. a conference met in london to decide terms of peace, but the delegates were uncompromising, and negotiations broke down over the possession of adrianople. on feb. 3 1913 hostilities reopened. again the allies were every- where successful, and after the surrender of adrianople to the bulgars and serbs (march 26), the turks sought the mediation of the powers, and a second armistice was concluded between bulgaria and turkey on april16. on may 301913 the delcgates to the second london conference were induced to sign a treaty, the terms of which had been drafted by the powers. turkey surrendered to the allies all her possessions in europe up to a line drawn from enos on the aegean to midia on the black sea. albania was granted independence. (sce balkan wars.) rupture of the balkan alliance—apart from the national antagonism and mutual distrust which made an alliance between the balkan states almost a miracle, difficulties arose as to the interpretation of the treaty. the serbs claimed that, after the unforeseen success of the campaigns and the modification by the powers of the arrangements on the adriatic coast, a revision of the treaty was necessary, while the bulgars held out for the letter of the territorial agreement. the secret annexes (march 13 1912) stated that “all territorial gains acquired by combined action . . . shall constitute the common property (cendomin- ium) of the two allies ” until final settlement. the serbs and greeks, asa result of their victories, held much territory in mace- donia that had originally been assigned to bulgaria, and they a7i scemed to be preparing for a permanent occupation. early in 1913 bulgaria began to suspect that her allies were combining against her, and the military party, with king ferdinand at their head, prepared for action. bulgarian troops were trans- ferred from thrace to the macedonian frontier during june; the serbs made corresponding preparations on their side. on june 1 gueshov and pasitch met in the hope of averting war; on the same day a treaty between serbia and greece was signed at salonika. gueshov, finding no support from king yerdinand in his efforts for peace, resigned; he was succeeded by danev. russia urged restraint, but austria-hungary appeared to encourage active measures. on june 29 the bulgarian iv. army, acting on orders signed by gen. savov, made a treacher- ous attack on their serbian and greek allies. it must, however, be remembered that the attack was not unexpected, and that it probably only just forestalled a declaration of war by serbia and greece. gueshov states in his memoirs that the reports of the ministerial council contain no minute ordering the attack. a judicial inquiry into the case was opened in sofia, but never con- cluded. savov asserted that ferdinand as commander-in-chief gave the order to attack. the second balkan war brought calamity on both bulgaria and macedonia. by the treaty of bucharest (aug. 10 1913) rumania acquired the rich lands of the southern dobruja, which had belonged to bulgaria since 1878; serbia and greece divided macedonia between them; bulgaria was accorded the moun- tainous region of the pirin and dospat down to the aegean, with the two indifferent ports of dedeagatch and port lagos. radoslavov government, 1913-4.—the radoslavov cabinet, which took office on july 5 1913, declared for a policy of close friendship with austria-hungary. several of the new ministers, including radoslavov himself, had been prosecuted for corrupt practices during their previous tenure of office, and the king found them conveniently subservient. the december elections of 1913 gave the opposition a majority of 14 in the sobranje. an appeal for a loan to meet obligations and for constructive work met with an unfavourable response in france, england and russia successively. the german disconto gesellschaft even- tually (june 1914) provided a loan of 500,000,000 fr., the syndi- cate obtaining control of the state coal-mines, of the projected railway to port lagos and of that port. these terms were strong- ly criticised, for it was clear that bulgaria was thereby handing over some of her chief economic assets to germany. period of neutrality, aug. 1914—-oct. 15 r915.—at the out- break of the world war, the great majority of the bulgars wished to preserve neutrality; but the pro-german sympathies of the king, the german loan, the establishment of friendly relations with turkey, resentment against russia for her non- intervention in aug. 1913, together with the deep humiliation created by the treaty of bucharest, had already drawn bulgaria into the orbit of the central powers. negotiations for a treaty had been in progress throughout 1914 and were approaching completion in aug. (see eurore). macedonia, the dominant factor of bulgarian policy throughout her existence, was divided between serbia and greece, and it was unlikely that the allies of serbia would deprive her of her fruits of victory, in order to obtain the co-operation of bulgaria. the king, who feared the victory of the entente might mean the loss of his throne, be- lieved, moreover, that germany was invincible. during the summer of 1915, the entente made a series of guarded proposals to bulgaria, but the propaganda and promises of the central powers were for obvious reasons more skilful and effective. neither greece nor serbia would cede any portion of territory as the price of bulgaria’s support. on sept. 6 a mili- tary convention and treaty between bulgaria and the central powers was signed at pless (pszczyna) and on the same day turkey made the concessions demanded by bulgaria. on sept. 10 radoslavov stated publicly that bulgaria “‘ was coming in on the side of the victors ’’; two days later the opposition issued a widely-signed protest against the step. on sept. 15 the entente promised part of macedonia unconditionally, if bulgaria would declare war on turkey. on sept. 17 at 11 p.m., the king received 472 the opposition leaders in audience. malinov, tsanov and stam- bolisky, the agrarian leader, demanded the convocation of the sobranje, and protested vehemently against the king’s policy. stambolisky was, in consequence, condemned to imprisonment for life for lese-majeste. on sept. 22 the terms of the turco- bulgarian agreement were published, and mobilisation was decreed. on oct. 12 bulgaria declared war on serbia; on oct. 1s great britain declared war on bulgaria, while france and italy declared war on her on oct. 16 and oct. 17 respectively. the world war, 1915-8.—mobilisation was carried out un- willingly, but when once war had begun, the opposition became silent, for all realised that the fate of their country was at stake. the great bulgarian successes in serbia made the war more popular. on aug. 27 1916 rumania declared war on austria- hungary, and, in spite of opposition efforts for neutrality, on sept. 1 bulgaria declared war on rumania. resentment against rumania ran high, but when the troops had retaken the dobruja, they considered their work was done. the harvest was poor, and people were indignant because much produce was sent to germany. german officials took control of the railways, but did not otherwise interfere with internal administration. in 1917 the opposition urged in the sobranje that bulgaria, having gained her objective, macedonia and the dobruja, should retire from the war. secret negotiations in this direction were carried on in switzerland. in oct. the kaiser visited sofia. in jan. 1918 germany cease to pay the subsidy of 50,000,000 fr., which she had paid yearly since bulgaria entered the war, and after march she sent no more munitions or equipment. short- age of food, the soldiers’ dislike of trench warfare and, above all, the hopes raised by president wilson’s fourteen points, combined to create a yet stronger desire for a separate peace. on may 7, by the treaty of bucharest, rumania ceded the dobruja to the central powers, bulgaria regaining what she had lost in 1913, with immediate occupation of the southern half. on june 18 the radoslavov cabinet fell and malinov took office. when the bulgarian line was broken and the country was invaded (sept. 19-27), malinov asked for an armistice (sept. 25) which was signed unconditionally on sept. 29. stambolisky was released on sept. 25 and was sent by the king to the front, in the hope that he would calm the troops, who were on the verge of mutiny. stambolisky was, however, carried away by the situation; he proclaimed a republic and advanced with the troops on sofia. the loyal troops, assisted by the germans, after some fighting, succceded in restoring order. on oct. 3 king ferdinand abdicated and left bulgaria; he nominated his son boris as his successor. radoslavov also fled the country. on nov. 20 malinov resigned and a coalition cabinet was formed by todorov. , the treaty of neuilly—by the treaty of neuilly, which was signed on nov. 27 1919 by stambolisky on behalf of his country, bulgaria lost the southern dobruja to rumania; on the west, she ceded caribrod and strumica to yugoslavia; while on the south she gave up to greece the territory in macedonia, which she had won in the balkan wars, including all access to the aegean. her southern frontier reaches the black sea at sveti stefan. apart from the financial conditions of the treaty, the cession of territory, the population of which was essen- tially bulgarian—not least, perhaps, the cession of caribrod; an act which, it was alleged, brought sofia within range of ser- bian guns—was very bitter for the bulgars. they suffered a further blow, when at the conference of san remo (april 1920), at which bulgaria was not represented, all western thrace, with the exception of a small cession west of adrianople to tur- key, was assigned to greece (see neuilly, treaty of). the agrarian government, 1920-3.—a reaction set in against all who had been responsible for bringing bulgaria into the war, and stambolisky became the hero of the moment. the agrarian party had been weakened, morally as well as numerically, by the secession of draghiev and his followers, and it was only after the elections of march 28 1920 that the agrarians secured a definite majority. stambolisky became premicr of an agrarian cabinet. he announced that he was against any policy of bulgaria adventure and that he intended to fulfil, as far as possible, all treaty obligations and to live in peace with his balkan neigh- bours. relations with yugoslavia and greece remained, how- ever, in a state of tension. the bulgarian population under alien rule complained of injustice and ill-treatment; thousands escaped into bulgaria as destitute refugees, while armed bands were formed to protect those who remained in macedonia and to carry out reprisals. the bulgarian govt., in reply to protests, asserted that they could not prevent the passages of bands across the frontier, because they could not recruit even the limited force allowed by treaty, owing to the peasants’ dislike of long- service conditions. bulgaria was admitted to the league of nations on dec. 16 1920, and at each subsequent meeting of the council her representatives brought forward the grievances of the bulgarian minorities in thrace and macedonia, where bul- garian churches and schools had been suppressed and every effort made to stamp out the bulgarian tongue and sense of nationality. stambolisky did not attack the king’s position, but he at once declared war on the bourgeoisie, asserting that the exploitation of the peasant by the town politician was at last to be avenged. he himself denied that he was a communist, but in his campaign against the bourgeoisie his methods and ideals closely resembled those of the russian bolsheviks, with whom he later opened up direct communication. he also allied himself secretly with the communists in his own country, varying this attitude with vio- lent denunciation and persecution. one of his schemes was for the organisation of the peasants of the world in a “‘ green intcr- national.’”’ his programme comprised measures for the exclusion of all lawyers from the sobranje and civil posts; for the expro- priation of crown and church lands and of properties over a certain size’ in favour of landless men (see land tenure; stambolisky); for the confiscation of houses at a merely nomi- nal price; for changes in orthography; for a year’s obligatory service for the state by all members of the community and for the prosecution on various charges of almost all ex-ministers and their supporters. not all these measures were passed and others were repealed or modificd, but the agrarian law has not been re- scinded and obligatory labour in another form still continues. in 1921 the opposition parties, with the exception of the com- munists, formed a bloc against the agrarians. in aug. 1922 some leading members of the bloc were violently assaulted by sup- porters of the government. a plebiscite declared in favour of prosccuting ¢ex-ministers for high treason, and in sept. 1922 danev, malinov, todorov, majarov, liabchev and others were thrown into prison. at the lausanne conference (dec. 1922 to feb. 1923) the bulgarian delegates pressed for the fulfilment of clause 48 of the treaty of neuilly. the allies offered an enclave 8 m. west of dedeagach, railway access to which would be controlled by an international commission. this offer was declined, because a port, the construction of which would be costly, “‘ detached from bulgaria and only accessible across greek territory by a foreign railway,” would be of no value to bulgaria. at the second conference of lausanne (treaty signed july 24 1923), bulgaria declined an offer from greece of a 99 years’ lease of a coastal area on the aegean. owing to the cession of karagach (qara agach) to turkey, bulgarians would have had to cross two frontiers to reach their port. up to dec. 1925 the promise of an acgean port (clause 48) had not been fulfilled. bulgaria complied with treaty conditions as regards destruc- {ion of arms, evacuation of territory, reparations of coal and live stock, upkeep of foreign commissions, etc., but she was unable to pay any instalment of her reparation debt. her trade was at a standstill; prices were high. after long negotiations, the sum total due from bulgaria was reduced from £90,000,000 to £22,000,000, payable over 60 years. at the elections in april 1923 the agrarians secured 212 out of 245 scats in the sobranje, but these elections were undoubtedly controlled. stambolisky had been much abroad, and there had t thirty hectares for peasant proprietors, 10 for married, 4 for single urban proprietors who do not themselves cultivate the soil. bulgaria been dissension in his cabinet. the vindictive prosecutions, ruinous fines and other arbitrary measures imposed by govt. had antagonised moderate opinion in the country, and there was indignation at certain malversations of public money, while nationalist and macedonian widely believed that stambolisky had sold their interests in the agreement of nish with yugo- slavia (march 1923). during the night of june 8-9, the govt. was overthrown by a coup d@’etut organised by a group of intel- lectuals and bourgeoisie, supported by army officers. most of the agrarian ministers were taken quietly to prison; stambolisky, who was in his native village of slavovitsa, was deserted by his followers and was killed—it is said while attempting to escape. his “ orange guards,” which had struck terror in sofia, were disbanded. the country as a whole remained calm. unscrupu- lous as he was, stambolisky had shown on occasions the courage, shrewdness and tenacity of his race; his character was not fitted to stand the test of power, and his reputation suffered yet more by revelations which followed his violent death. the tsankov government, 1923.—m. tsankov, formerly pro- fessor of political economy at sofia university, became president of the council, and col. kalfov foreign minister. few of the cabinet had had any previous connection with politics. the position of the govt. was strengthened by the subsequent fusion of all political parties, except liberals and communists, into a single group, the “‘ democratic entente.” ‘there was, however much unrest in the country, fostered by adherents of stambolisky and communists who were in close touch with the bolsheviks. the russian red cross, which had, it was asserted, organised murders and planned a revolution, was expelled from the coun- try. in sept. the discovery of a plot led to the arrest of some 1,000 communists; several local disturbances, in which some 5,000 persons, it is said, were killed, were repressed by the troops with great severity. these outbreaks were followed by drastic measures against any persons suspected of communism, many of whom remained in prison for months without being brought to trial. relations with greece became increasingly difficult in 1923. as a punishment for an attempted rising in the maritsa valley, the greeks interned some 10,000 bulgars in the aegean is. and in unhealthy places in thessaly for over a year. more than 2,000 of the prisoners perished. in july 1924 feeling was further em- bittered by events near tarlis in greek macedonia. according to the report of the mixed commission of inquiry appointed by the council of the league of nations, some bomb-throwing— apparently without intent to kill—at tarlis on july 26 was attributed by the greeks to bulgarian comitadjis. on july 27 the greeks arrested some 7o bulgars, 27 of whom were sent off tied together, escorted by a civil guard under one doxakis. the guard opened fire on the prisoners, killing half of them, an act which the commission described as an unjustifiable massacre. the commission commented on the terror caused among the buls garian peasants who were then trying to emigrate en musse. on sept. 29 1924, after prolonged negotiations, a protocol was signed at geneva, under the auspices of the league of nations, by greece and bulgaria, which seemed to guarantee at last the execution of the provisions for the protection of minorities con- tained in the treaties and the covenant. this protocol was, how- ever, soon afterwards repudiated by greece at the instance of the yugoslav government. the acute divisions within the ranks of the associations work- ing on behalf of the macedonians led in 1924 to many deeds of violence. the powerful internal organisation, whose leader was todor aleksandrov, a man of marked ability and influence, looked on autonomy as the only solution for macedonian trou- bles; his opponents worked for some scheme of federation. on aug. 31 1924 todor aleksandrov was treacherously murdered. this murder was followed by a series of mutual reprisals. it must be remembered that a large fraction of the present popula- tion of bulgaria is of macedonian origin, and that the macedo- nians exercise a definite influence on bulgarian politics. the macedonians in bulgaria are well organised, both for philan- thropic and political purposes, and they are in close touch with 473 their compatriots abroad, especially with the considerable colony in the united states. many of them are men of marked ability, and there has generally been at least one macedonian minister in the bulgarian cabinet. the majority of the exiles cannot reconcile themselves to the partition of macedonia, and until conditions become more equitable for the bulgarian minorities in macedonia, there must necessarily be a sense of injustice and resentment in bulgaria which must strengthen the hands of the extremists. ‘the agraro-communist agitation continued throughout 1924. bands of brigands in the pay of political con- spirators made life unsafe; there were attempts to wreck trains, and some 200 persons, chiefly government officials, were assas- sinated; among them was prof. n. milev, who had recently been appointed minister at washington. on april 14 1925 an attempt was made at orkhanie on the life of king boris. ‘the king who, in spite of the seclusion of his life, had won the respect and affection of his people, escaped unhurt. on april 16 a bomb exploded in the cathedral of sveta nedelia in sofia during the funeral of gen. gheorghiev who had been murdered the previous day. one hundred and twenty- three people, including many notabilities, were killed and 323 injured. the govt. acted promptly; martial law was proclaimed and a large number of persons, many of whom were subsequently proved innocent, were arrested. five persons, including the sacristan of the cathedral, who were found guilty of planning and executing the outrage, were publicly hanged. house to house visitations throughout the country led to the imprisonment of some 5,000 persons. these measures were carried out with the methods of severity customary in the balkans, but the situa- tion appeared grave enough to justify strong measures. the govt. obtained permission from the conference of ambassadors for a temporary increase of the armed forces by 10,o00 men in the hope of maintaining order. the outrage was not, however, followed by any general rising; in the view of the govt. the crime was not the work of local agitators but of agrarians who had fled the country, aided by funds supplied through vienna from russia. the trials of the accused continued during the year; many were acquitted, others were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment, banishment, fines, loss of civil nghts and, in some cases, to death. changes in education the bulgars have always set a high value on education, and statistics show a steady increase in the number of those who can read und write; in 1920 about half the population were counted as literates. the period of compulsory education was raised by the agrarian govt. from 4 to 7 years in the lower and higher primary schools. above these schools are the gymnasiums or lycees, classical, semi-classical and modern, with a five-year course. there are two universities, both in sofia. many bulgars complete their education abroad. the type of education provided in the past has led to the over- stocking of the clerical professions and to the neglect of technical occupations. the agrarian govt. aimed at giving a more prac- tical bent to instruction and at equalising opportunities for all classes. it is generally recognised that—-when funds permit— the establishment of schools for vocational training would tend to diminish the number of unemployed and discontented per- sons, who have been unfitted by their education for life as it is in bulgaria. the refugee problem—the ground was favorable for bol- shevik propaganda. after the remarkable material progress of the first decades of bulgarian independence had come a period of catastrophe and humiliation. the people had been repeatedly deceived by their rulers, they had been disappointed of their national hopes and disillusioned generally. since 1918, there had been an influx of some 260,000 refugees, chiefly from mace- donia and thrace, some of whom had migrated to escape perse- cution, while others had been dispossessed of their homes to make room for greeks coming from asia minor. when this influx took place, the refugees from the balkan wars had hardly yet been absorbed. the presence of these unfortunate people, the great majority of them destitute and home-sick and all needing houses, land and work, constituted a most painful prob- 474 lem, and a heavy financial burden for the state. salaries gen- erally had been drastically reduced; thousands of discharged officers, n.c.o.s and officials had to live on insufficient pensions. a spirit of discontent and insubordination became apparent, especially in the younger generation. in bulgaria, however, where 90% of the population are agriculturalists, most of these being small holders, the people would have little to gain by a general upheaval. on oct. 19 occurred a fresh frontier incident with greece, in the course of which greek troops occupied 70 square miles of bulgarian territory near petritch. the league of nations settled the matter, on appeal from bulgaria (for details, sce league of nations, work of the first six years). on jan. 2 1926 the tsankov govt. resigned, and a cabinet was formed by liabchev, one of the leaders of the democratic party, as presi- dent of the council. gen. volkov, the chief organiser of the coup detat of 1923, remained as war minister. the tsankov govt., though it had steered bulgaria through a difficult per- iod, was necessarily identified with measures of repression, and it had long been felt that a more democratic government would be better able to carry on the work of reconciliation and paci- fication which the country needed. ‘the first work of the new cabinet was the promulgation of an amnesty on a broad basis for political offenders; the preparation of which had been the last task of their predecessors. the amnesty was promulgated feb. 4 1926 and affected 6,325 persons. bibliography.—le p. guerin songeon, histotre de la bulgarte (1913); a diplomatist, nationalism and war in the near east (1915); i. guesov, the balkan league (1915); j. d. bourchier, ‘the final settlement in the balkans” (quarterly review, 1917); j. d. bourchier, ‘the four treaties of bucarest”’ (quarterly review, 1918) r.w. seton- watson, rise of nationality in the balkans (1917); n. buxton and c. l. leese, balkan problems and european peace (1919); l. la- mouche, la question macedonienne et la paix; le traite de paix avec la bulgarie (1919); g. c. logio, bulgaria, problems and politics (1919); m. bogieevic, causes of the war, with special reference to serbia and russia (1920); l. buxton, black sheep of the baikans (1920); diplo- maticheskt dokumenti po nameshchatana bulgaria v evrepei s raya votna, vol. i, 1913-5 (1920); a.v. nekludov, diplomatic reminiscences, ioii-17 (1920); treaty of peace between the allied and associated powers and bulgaria and protocol (london, 1920); bulgaria, ‘‘ na- tions of today ”’ series (1921); publications plumon, la bulgarie, ja vie technique et industrielle (1921); p. gentizon, le drame bulgare (1924); h. wendel, der kampf der stidslaven um freiheit und ein- he't (1925); v. radoslavov, bulgarien und die weltkrise (1923); hon. h. d. napier, the experiences of a military attache in the balkans, 1914-5 (1924); g. weigand, ethnographie von makedonien: geschichilich-nationaler, sprachlich-statistischer teil 198) ' e.f.b. g. ii. economic and financial history from 1879, the year of bulgaria’s liberation, up to 1911, the economic and financial development of that country proceeded steadily. undisturbed by wars or internal troubles, with the exception of the short serbo-bulgarian war in 188s, the nation was able to devote itself entirely to its own welfare, with the result that very great progress was made. but this progress did not continue after 1911, for the balkan war (1912-3) caused an interruption, and the world war had extremely serious economic and financial consequences. area and population.—in 1o11, the total area of the country amounted to 96,345 sq. km. with a population of 4,337,513 and a density of 45 per sq. kilometer. later on, however, its territory was increased to 114,424 sq. km., with 4,978,600 inhabitants, as a result of the treaty of bucharest in 1913 and the convention with turkey in 1915. the treaty of neuilly reduced the area to 103,146 sq. km., with a population of 4,846,971 (1920). the chief towns of bulgaria in order of importance and popu- lation are:— pop. pop. sofia . . : » 154,025 shumen se = 2a ara plovdiv (philippopolis) 63,415 stara-zagora ; 23.753 varna : 50,810 burgas . 21170 russe (ruschuk) 41,652 yambol 19,875 sliven (slivno) 28,590 kaskovo : 19,418 pleven (plevna) 27,446 pazardjik . . 19,362 bulgaria these figures are taken from the 1920 census returns, but the population of the above-mentioned towns, especially of the first four, have increased considerably since then, chiefly through the big influx of refugees from macedonia and thrace. foreign trade.—the consequences of the balkan war, al- though heavy from a political point of view, were of practically no permanent economic or financial importance, except for a drop in the value of the lev that had very little effect on the normal course of the country’s foreign trade in 1914. the entry of bul- garia into the world war in 1915, however, completely changed the situation. although the trade balances for 1915, 1916 and 1917 were favourable, much importance cannot be attached to that fact, as the country, both economically and financially, was almost at a complete standstill; the small amount of trade that was done was carried on exclusively with the central pow- ers. but for the first time in bulgarian history, bulgarian tobac- co began to be exported in considerable quantities. after the armistice in 1918, and the treaty of neuilly in 1919, the position became steadily worse. the trade balances for 1918, 1919 and 1920, were adverse. an enormous need was felt in the country for manufactured and semi-manufactured goods from abroad, all stocks being exhausted as far back as 1917, with the result that imports increased, greatly exceeding the rela- tively small and diminished exports. the decrease in the latter was due chiefly to two reasons. the first was that, as a result of the neuilly peace treaty, bulgaria had to concede to ru- mania her richest wheat-growing province, the dobruja, tem- porarily recovered in 1916. this entailed a loss of 7,695 sq. km. of extremely fertile land, cultivated on comparatively modern lines, and producing 11% of the total grain crop. the second reason was the general disorganisation brought about throughout the country by the war. , in 1911, 1912, 1913 and'1914, the export of grain was 973,844 tons, 691,001 tons, 370,110 tons and 613,339 tons, respectively, whereas in 1919, 1920 and 1921, exports only amounted to 490 tons (when the country was on the verge of famine), 142,937 tons, and 198,362 tons, respectively. at the same time, tobacco went up to the head of the bulgarian export list, a place it still occupies. during 1924, 32,000 tons of bulgarian tobacco valued at 2,000,000,000 leva, equivalent to 48 % of the total exports of that year, were exported. for the same year grain exports amounted to 278,000 tons with a value of 1,500,000,000 leva. at the same time as the falling-off in the exportation of cereals, the country began to be recognised as one of the biggest producers of oriental tobacco. in 1922 and the following years, the position improved. as a result of various measures taken with a view to stabilising the lev, and also of good crops, especially that of tobacco in 1923, the trade balance began to recover. on a total turnover of 11,500,000,000 leva for the period 1918-21, a deficit of 1,800,000,000 leva was regis- tered, whereas on a turnover of 27,900,000,000 leva for the period 1922-4, the deficit only amounted to 1,900,000,000 leva.: with the latter figures, the trade balance returned to its pre-war dimen- sions, with an upward tendency. imports for the period 1911-25 consisted mainly of manufactured and semi-manufactured goods, while exports were agricultural products and raw materials. textiles hold the first place in imports, followed by metals, machinery, lum- ber, leather and hides, vegetable and mineral oils, coffee, etc. up to i915, exports were headed by cereals. from 1918 onwards, however, the latter were displaced by tobacco and now occupy second place, with eggs, skins and hides, cocoons, live animals and rose oil following them. great britain held until 1924 the first place in the provision of textiles for the bulgarian market, but conceded the place in that year to italy. bulgaria's biggest supplier of metals, machinery and hardware was, and still is, germany, followed by belgium and great britain. imports of lumber are practically monopolised by rumania, while germany heads skin and leather imports, with france coming second. the latter country is also bulgaria’s greatest supplier of vegetable oils, with greece and great britain occupying second and third places. mineral oils are im- ported exclusively from rumania. coffee, tea and other colonial goods are imported from various countries, among which great britain takes the first place. until 1915, the largest importers of bulgarian grain and flour were belgium and turkey respectively, but from 1921, the year in which bulgaria really recommenced exporting after the war, her best client for these articles has been france, followed by turkey, greece, austria and belgium. from 1917, in which year the country began exporting tobacco on a large scale, up to the end of the war, austria and germany were the sole purchasers. for 1921 and fol- lowing years, bulgaria’s best customers were, in order of impor- tance, germany, italy, czechoslovakia, austria, holland, hungary, bulgarian literature poland and the united states. eggs are exported in very large quantities to germany and switzerland, while italy is the sole pur- chaser of bulgarian cocoons. attar of roses is chiefly exported to france, the united states and germany. on the total imports for the period under consideration, germany holds the first place against italy and great britain, her most dangerous rivals. the latter country has been losing ground to germany during the last few years in the metal and machinery de- partments, and to italy for textiles. germany also comes first on the total exports list, chiefly because she is the biggest purchaser of bulgaria’s staple article, tobacco. italy as an importer of cocoons, tobacco and hides, is second. great pritain now takes only in- significant quantities of bulgarian produce. agriculture——as in the past, agriculture still constitutes the chief occupation of bulgaria’s population. in 1912, the area of cultivated land amounted to 3,385,101 hectares, of which 2,564, 588 were sown with cereals. the output of the latter amounted to 2,672,038 tons. after a considerable falling-off during the first few years after the war, during 1923-4 the area cultivated rose to 2,288,125 hectares. the production for the same year, in spite of a bad wheat crop, is estimated at about 1,950,000 tons. the most important fact to be noted during and after the world war is the great progress made in the culture of plants used for industrial purposes, the chief of which are tobacco, sugar beet and sunflower. the sugar beet and sunflower seed satisfy internal needs and produce a surplus for export. wheat is the most important cereal grown, covering about one-fourth of the land under cultivation, followed in order of importance, by maize, haricot beans, barley, rye and oats. vegetable-growing has developed considerably during the period under observation and certain quantities of seeds are exported. although vine-growing has decreased in area, in no other culture has so great progress been made from a scientific point of view. many diseases have been stamped out, and old vineyards rav- aged by phylloxera have been replaced, with great cost and sacri- fice, by new vines grown on the american system. orchards have increased, especially in southwestern bulgaria, and it is worth noting that the entire apple crop for 1925 in the kyustendil district was bought by germany. in short, it may be said that, although agriculture in bulgaria is not yet modernised, great efforts are being made in that direction, which is proved by the large imports of agricultural machinery and implements. indusiry.— bulgaria has made some progress in industry. accord- ing to statistics for 1921, flour-milling is the most important in- dustry, with an annual production valued at 654,713,965 leva: the mills are scattered over various parts of the country, and produce a surplus of flour, which is exported mainly to turkey and greece. the second industry in importance is sugar-refining: there are five refineries, having an annual output valued at 205,214,121 leva. the textile industry is third, with a yearly production estimated at a value of 243,122,395 leva: as in the past, woollen goods are the principal articles manufactured, and the industry still remains centred in the gabrovo and sliven districts. other industries are pottery, metal-working, lumbering and cigarette-making. the great obstacle in the development of bulgaria is lack of capital. mining.—since 1915 all importation of coal has ceased, for bul- gerian collieries are meeting the local demand and are even producing or export. the largest coal-mines are the government mines in the pernik, and the privately-owned mincs in the maritsa valley: the latter, however, have only recently been worked on a large scale. in 1911, the state mines’ output amounted to 251,605 tons, in com- parison with 17,000 tons from the private mines. in 1918 the hgures were 632,488 tons and 40,393 tons, and in 1924, 1,085,935 tons and 128,905 tons respectively. although a large number of concessions have been granted by the state for copper, lead, iron, zinc and silver mining, very few of them have been worked up; only copper is remuneratively extracted on a comparatively big scale, four mines working in 1924. the mining industry in bulgaria is still in a very backward state through lack of capital and railway communications, finance.—from 1913 to 1923, bulgarian finance was in a very un- settled state. owing to expenditure caused by the balkan war, the budget for 1914 showed a deficit of 18,000,000 gold leva, with re- ceipts standing at 224,000,000 gold leva, and expenditure amounting to 242,000,000 gold leva. after the world war, things became still more disorganised as a result of the uncertain position of the country, the fluctuations of the lev, the heavy reparations amounting to 2,250,000,000 gold francs,! various other indemnities, and an entire *reduced by agreement in 1923 to 550,000,000 gold francs, of which, however, only one-fourth was to be paid in the ten years ollowing the agreement, 475 lack of credit from abroad. in addition to the foregoing, in accord- ance with the treaty of neuilly, the bulgarian army had to be organised on the voluntary basis, which cost the state a minimum sum of 20,000,000 gold leva annually. all these factors had a very distressing effect on the financial position of the country, with the result that, although the ordinary yearly budgets showed a surplus, that surplus was always too small to cope with the requirements of the extraordinary budgets, which always closed with a deficit. dur- ing the period 1923 to 1925, very serious attempts were made with a view to balancing the budget, among which the most noteworthy are the successful efforts to stabilise the lev, the drastic cutting-down of government expenditure, and finally the reparations agreement of march 21 1923 by which payments for account of reparations were to be made on a moderate scale for some years. the lev depreciated very heavily in value from 1913 to 1923. after the balkan war in 1913, it was quoted at the rate of 32 leva for {1., a drop of seven leva from 1912, when it stood at 25 leva={1. owing to the reasons stated above in connection with the budget, the lev decreased disastrously in value, reaching the rate of 807 for £1. in 1922. this state of uncertainty, and the sudden fluctuations, also jasted through 1923, until, in dec. of that year, foreign ex- change business was restricted by law to the national bank of bulgaria. thanks to this measure, together with increased exports and moderate reparations payments, the rate of the lev has been fairly successfully maintained during 1925 at about 650 leva to the pound sterling. banking and currency.—the national bank of bulgaria is the state bank of issue, and has the sole right of issuing bank-notes. one of its functions is the conduct of the treasury service of the state. during the war period, the bank had to render services to the state far beyond the limits of its resources, with the result that it was obliged to issue great quantities of bank-notes. inflation reached its fighest point in 1922, when the direct and indirect hiabil- ities of the state exceeded the sum of 4} milliard leva, and the bank- note circulation amounted to nearly four milliards. on june 30 1922, however, a law was passed fixing the limits of the latter, and of the treasury debt to the national bank. under this law the total sum advanced to the state was not to exceed 4-7 milliard leva, while the total amount of bank-notes in circulation was not to be greater than 53 milliards. the latter, at the end of 1925, was under four milliards, with a gold reserve of 40,000,000 gold leva. at the end of the war, this old reserve amounted to 70,000,000 gold leva, but owing to the ad crop in 1919, bulgaria was obliged to purchase flour from america, paying 30,000,000 leva in gold before it was delivered. this is the only instance on record of a european country dealing under such conditions with america after the world war. conclusion.—bulgaria has been through a very severe economic and financial crisis, and serious and successful efforts are being made to extricate the country from its difficult position. re- markable results, such as the stabilising of the lev, had already been registered in 1925. (v. b.c.) bibliography.—publications, plumon, la bulgarie: la vie technique et industrielle (1921); m. turlakov, expose sur la situation financtere dela bulgarie (1921). .",
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