Constantin Mille (; December 21, 1861 – February 20, 1927) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist. A Marxist for much of his life, Mille was noted for his vocal support of peasant emancipation, for his early involvement with the Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR), and his presence at the head of several magazines, culminating in his association with the moderate left-wing newspapers Adevărul and Dimineața. After serving as an independent member of the Chamber of Deputies for one mandate (1899–1903), he aligned his views with those of Take Ionescu, and became a supporter of Romania's entry into World War I alongside the Entente Powers. In addition to his political career, Mille was the author of two autobiographical novels (Dinu Millian, 1884, and O viață, 1914).
Biography
Early life and literature Born in Iași, he later indicated, in his Dinu Millian (written on the model set by Jules Vallès),George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu ("The History of Romanian Literature. Compendium"), Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1983, p.196-198 that his childhood had been a tragic one, with his father suffering from a mental disorder and his mother falling severely ill. Also according to his testimony, Mille spent much of his childhood and early youth in a boarding school.
He attended the local university's Faculty of Law in autumn 1878, Ionel Maftei, "Constantin Mille, 75 de ani de la moarte" (Constantin Mille, 75 Years since His Death"), in Evenimentul, February 27, 2002 and became associated with other socialists, including the Russian-born Nicolae Russel, a physician and noted militant, as well as the locals Alexandru Bădărău, and the brothers Ioan and Gheorghe Nădejde. Henri H. Stahl, Gânditori și curente de istorie socială românească ("Thinkers and Trends in Romanian Social History"), Cap.VII, "Curentul gândirii socialiste" ("The Trend of Socialist Thought") Mille also began his association with the Iași-based socialist magazine Contemporanul, which carried a polemic with the established literary society Junimea, 110 ani de social-democrație în România ("110 Years of Social Democracy in Romania") , Social Democratic Party, Ovidiu Șincai Social Democratic Institute, Bucharest, July 9, 2003, p.11, 12, 13 and authored his first poems, collected in a "red notebook". Among his debut works was an 1882 poem honoring Vasile Conta, the materialist philosopher who had died in the same year.Tiberiu Avramescu, "C. Mille alias Gh. Copăcineanu", in Magazin Istoric, June 1972, p.50-51
Allegedly winning Eminescu's admiration, his literary attempts were nonetheless later dismissed as "pure prose" by the influential writer and critic George Călinescu. A similar view was expressed by Traian Demetrescu (also known as Tradem), an eclectic poet who shared views with the Symbolists, and who contended that Mille lacked "a powerful talent, the original disposition of an artist", which had prevented him from "creating, out of [his] socialistic material, remarkable works". Corina Popescu, Verismul italian și literatura română (teatrul italian în România: 1871-1911) ("Italian Verism and Romanian Literature (Italian Theater in Romania: 1871-1911")) , Section 5: "Teatrul italian – vehicul al influențelor moderne în literatura română" ("The Romanian Theater - the Vehicle of Modern Influences in Romanian Literature"), at the University of Bucharest site Tradem concluded that "[w]ithout profound meditation, without sensitivity, without imagination, an artist cannot become anything other than, at most, a fecund and passable worker, and not an illustrious figure that would endure". Most of Constantin Mille's prose works bear the imprint of Naturalism.
With Russel and others, he organized the first General Congress of Romanian Students (1880), and ultimately attracted attention from the authorities, who, later in the same year, transported Russel out of the country as an agitator.
Studies abroad Ultimately expelled from the faculty due to his politics, Mille left for France, where he attended the University of Paris (spring of 1882). He became one of the main figures in the Romanian students' left-wing circle of Paris — together with, among others, Alexandru Radovici, the future minister Mihai Săulescu, as well as Vintilă and Horia Rosetti (the sons of Radical leader C. A. Rosetti).
Mille and Săulescu hatched up an intricate practical joke, designed to ridicule the Conservative Party and its press organ, Timpul: from early in 1882 and until September, using the name Gh[eorghe] Copăcineanu, they sent letters to the editors, which presented imaginary, shock-value, accounts of student activities in the French capital, part of which specifically referred to Mille himself (among other things, they pretended that Mille had become a restaurateur, and that Copăcineanu had been assailed by socialists armed with knives while crossing the Seine on the Austerlitz Bridge). The correspondence was published in its entirety by the Romanian newspaper, which led Mille to declare that "any inanity can fit in the journal's columns". Ultimately, Mille revealed that he was responsible for the whole affair (a notice published by Telegraful); although Timpul did not reply, Mihai Eminescu, the influential poet who worked in the journal's mail room and reviewed all letters, later confessed to Zamfir Arbore that he had "given approval for print without reading them".
Mille completed his studies in Brussels, at the Université Libre, being awarded a diploma in Law (1884). He returned to Romania during the same year, and settled in Bucharest, joining the local Bar association.
Bucharest socialist circle
Although initially an advocate of common-law marriage, Mille allegedly accepted a Romanian Orthodox ceremony, and, according to Călinescu, "defended [his new position] through ridiculous sophistry". A founding member of the socialist circle in Bucharest (known as Cercul de Studii Sociale, the Social Studies Circle), he joined Ioan Nădejde in creating the magazine Drepturile Omului (published for several months in 1885 and reestablished in 1888, it ceased to exist in 1889).Heith Hitchins, "Rumania", in Marcel van der Linden, Jürgen Rojahn, The Formation of Labour Movements, 1870-1914: an International Perspective, Brill Publishers, Leiden, 1990, , p.389-390
The editors repeatedly issues calls for the creation of a working class party, and argued in favor of public ownership, but also took inspiration from Narodnik ideas (see Poporanism). According to Henri H. Stahl, during the late 1880s and early 1890s, Mille shared the vision of Vasile Morțun, Alexandru G. Radovici and Nădejde, which called on the socialist clubs to merge with progressive and radical forces such as George Panu's grouping. Henri H. Stahl, Gânditori și curente de istorie socială românească ("Thinkers and Trends in Romanian Social History"), Cap.IX, "Curentele antigheriste" ("Anti-Dobrogeanu-Gherea Trends") Nicknamed the generoși ("generous ones"), and arguing that Romanian socialism could only be established when capitalism had been fully developed, they thus disagreed with the mainstream Marxist theorist Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea. Most of these younger socialists associated with the socialist sympathizer Constantin Stere, and, a decade later, merged with the National Liberal Party (PNL).
With Panait Mușoiu and Nădejde, Mille founded the magazine Munca, which was published between 1890 and 1894.Z. Ornea, Viața lui C. Stere ("The Life of C. Stere"), Vol. I, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1989, p.149-150, 257-265, 413, 443, 500, 521-524 It followed in the wake of Contemporanul'''s 1891 disestablishment, and adhered to Dobrogeanu-Gherea's pamphlet Ce vor socialiștii români? ("What Do the Romanian Socialists Want?", 1886), which had set the tone for unifying the various socialist groups in the country. Carrying the subtitle "Organ social democrat" ("Social democratic organ"), Munca effectively relocated the center of socialist activity from Iași to Bucharest, and had among its collaborators Garabet Ibrăileanu, Sofia Nădejde, and Mihai Pastia. Associated with the labor movement and frequently reporting on strikes, the newspaper urged workers to organize into trade unions and popularized Marxist tenets. In 1891, Nădejde, Mille and Morțun issued a manifesto of the would-be socialist party (at the time, a loose rally of socialist clubs), entitled Manifest către țărani, în numele Comitetului electoral al partidului ("Manifesto to the Peasants, in the Name of the Party's Election Committee").
PSDMR episode and deputy
In 1893, Mille joined the newly created PSDMR and stood among its most radical members, calling for immediate social reform. He was to be expelled from the group two years later, due to his purchase of Adevărul (known then as Adevĕrul), which was considered bourgeois in tone. During the same period, Adevărul became involved in a heated debate with the literary magazine Vieața, after publishing an article in irreverent tone which referred to the writer and editor Alexandru Vlahuță as "a scoundrel". From that moment on, Vieața repeatedly issued unflattering reviews of works by socialist authors, and chronicled Mille's poetry under the derisive title "Pliviri" ("Weedings").
Taking over as editor-in-chief following Alexandru Beldiman's death in 1898, he led the paper into opposition to the PNL cabinet of Dimitrie Sturdza, who he argued had betrayed the generoși in his party by endorsing reactionary policies."Viața și luptele ziarului Adevĕrul" ("Life and Combats"), in Dimineața (anniversary issue), November 13, 1933 During the elections of 1899, the newspaper, through its correspondent Ioan Bacalbașa, investigated alleged violence by government forces in Slatina. At the time, Mille was proposed as an independent candidate for Teleorman County, running for the Third Electoral College (that of peasants), and came to serve a mandate in the Chamber of Deputies. He was again elected during the 1907 suffrage.
In December, following the arrival to power of Gheorghe Cantacuzino and the Conservative Party, Adevărul investigated and denounced the practices of a French firm who had failed to respect its obligations involving public works in Constanța (see Hallier Affair). Their campaign culminated in the intervention of low-ranking police forces, who assaulted Mille and Bacalbașa — while recovering, they were visited by the PNL's Ion I. C. Brătianu, who expressed his sympathy.
Also in 1899, the PSDMR disbanded, when a scandal was caused by the presence of socialist clubs in the countryside — of them, the PNL's Minister of the Interior Mihail Pherekyde claimed had been fermenting agitation, an accusation which met with protests from Mille and his Adevărul. In parallel, Munca's legacy was taken over in 1902 by Christian Rakovsky's România Muncitoare, which was more radical in tone and hosted contributions by Mille. As deputy, he unsuccessfully promoted universal suffrage, and notably called for the reduction of tariffs on products of strict necessity to peasants.
Early 1900s causes Interested in international causes, Mille was, by 1903, a vocal supporter of Alfred Dreyfus and Émile Zola during the Dreyfus Affair which split France into two rival political camps, one in arguing in favor of nationalism and militarism and the other in favor of justice and human rights. Constantin Antip, "Émile Zola: «Adevărul este în marș»" ("Émile Zola: «Truth Is Marching On»") , in Magazin Istoric Writing at the time, he identified the Third Republic's influential conservative, revanchist and antisemitic groups with a "militarist dictatorship".