Nation-Building and Contested Identities: Romanian & Hungarian ...

The Idea of Independent Romanian National Economy in Transylvaniashould not relegate the task of social advancement to the peasants themselves,but they should pursue it under the leadership of the priest and theschoolteacher. 33 The life of this fictitious village was transformed: besidesintensive farming, peasants produced handicrafts as well, which they soldadvantageously through their co-operative. Meanwhile, many associationswere established (firemen, beautifying the church, a sobriety association,a reading circle, a choir and an orchestra), furthermore, a library and a localbranch of ASTRA were also founded. As a token of a brighter future, theschool was enlarged and modernized: in the spacious building an increasingnumber of teachers educated the new generation.Perhaps, this idyllic situation could be found only in those settlementsnear Hermannstadt that did not have to be “re-educated” becausethey had already been developed, nevertheless, the Romanian elitefocused on the middle and rich peasantry. They wanted to establisha Transylvanian Romanian agricultural association, which could havebecome a “national organ,” but the Ministry of Internal Affairs eventuallyturned down their application, reducing the area of activity to Szebencounty. A regional association was established in 1888 and, through itsvarious activities (public lectures, expositions, distribution of improvedseeds and breeding animals, founding of co-operatives, etc.), it providedan example for the most ambitious farmers. 34As it is clear from Lãpedatu’s speech and Simu’s booklet, the Romanianelite urged the foundation of village banks and credit cooperatives.The first such co-operative was founded in Rãºinari, in 1868, due to VisarionRoman’s initiative, symbolizing the co-operation of the intelligentsiaand the rich peasantry. 35 After a decade, it came to an end because of anunfavorable economic environment, and, as a result, the peasants werereduced to asking regular banks for credit. As a matter of fact, VisarionRoman’s large-scale plan of establishing a Transylvanian Romanian creditassociation remained on paper. In his vision, every Romanian shouldhave offered a single crucer (“penny”) for this enterprise and, in sucha way, a capital of ten thousand forints might be gathered, which presumablycould have been supplemented with large sums from Romania. Theagricultural section of the association might offer advantageous loans tothe farmers and, following the example of the Hungarian Erdélyi GazdaságiEgylet (Transylvanian Economic Association), it might elaborate developmentplans, while the commercial-industrial section might be modeledon the chambers of commerce and industry. As Roman suggested, nothingcould be expected from the government, instead, he referred toa Saxon credit institution in order to demonstrate that success could bereached while relying exclusively on the forces of the community. 36213