SIAM: Two-Edged Blow

Of late the Siamese Official Gazette has been busy with the tribulations of King Rama VI, enlightened monarch of Siam. Some two months ago it announced that he had decided to "demote" Queen Lakshmi because she had not borne him an heir (TIME, Oct. 26). One month ago it chronicled the "promotion" of handsome Chao Chom Suvadena to the rank of Queen, adding that a royal birth, the first in Siam for 32 years, was shortly expected (TIME, Nov. 16). Last week it deplored amid bitter lamentations a swift two-edged blow of...