761.71/271: Telegram
The Minister in Rumania (Gunther) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 3—12:50 p.m.]
366. Both the Turkish and Yugoslav Ambassadors68 tell me that they have been assured by the new Russian Minister here that Russia has no present intention of advancing further demands upon Rumania. They both concur, however, that this prospect might change overnight depending upon both internal and external developments.
Mr. Lavrentev has just conveyed the same assurances to me. He talked, however, for a long time of the Galati incident69 concerning which he is obviously much preoccupied and I was able to relate to him the eyewitness account transmitted in my 325, July 2, 1 p.m.70 and also [Page 493] my personal impression that the incident was not intentional but merely the result of misunderstanding and bad management. This may serve to offset somewhat the many more lurid accounts which he admits receiving constantly from individuals concerned or their relations here. The Minister also questioned me at length upon the problem of the Hungarian minority.
- Hamdullah Suphi Tanriöver and Yovan Duchich, respectively.↩
- About 2,000 persons, mostly Jews and Communists, stampeded in Galatz on June 30, because the departure of their train for the Bessarabian side of the Pruth River was delayed for several hours. The rioters presumably believed that they were being prevented from leaving, which was a misconception. There was shooting by Rumanian police and armed guards, with resulting casualties. Official reports announced that a small number were killed, although observers and investigators believed that the total was several hundred, the highest figure being about 600.↩
- Not printed; the eyewitness was the Swiss Consul.↩