File No. 701.7111/28
Remarks Made by President Wilson on the Reception of the Rumanian Minister ( Angelescu), January 15, 1918
Mr. Minister: I am happy to accept the letters by which His Majesty, The King of Roumania accredits you as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary near the Government of the United States and to accord you formal recognition in that capacity.
I appreciate and thank you for the views you express with regard to the present effect of the entrance of the Government of the United States of America into the fearful war now raging in Europe and your hopeful prediction that through this a new order of things built upon the freedom of nations and international equity will result.
[Page 738]The United States has been forced into this great conflict much against its will and yet there is a great underlying satisfaction in the thought that no longer must the United States stand off, a mute spectator, in the presence of the cruel and barbaric acts which have been heaped upon your people. Your nation has endured with extraordinary patience and self-possession a long series of tyrannies at the hands of a relentless oppressor, and the United States, in fighting to protect her own liberty and integrity as a nation, is glad to have freed its arm for the like protection of your country and your country’s allies. I am glad to express the confidence that our combined efforts will issue in a final triumph of right and liberty.
The intercourse between our two countries in the past, while always animated by trust and confidence, has not been extensive, but Roumania and the United States are now drawn closer together as common sufferers in a common cause and the action of the Government of Roumania in sending a diplomatic representative to this country is accepted as an added evidence of fraternal good will and a welcome recognition of the importance of unity and good understanding.
I welcome you to our country as the first Roumanian Minister at Washington and I am sure that your efforts in that high capacity to promote the common interests of both Roumania and the United States will be successful. In these efforts I shall be most happy to give you my hearty cooperation.
I trust that you will find your residence at this capital most agreeable.