(See front cover)
The only monarch absolute both in theory and in fact is the King of Siam. Last week this potent small man (98 Ib.) was en route to clasp hands in Washington with President Hoover. When he does so the King of Siam will be the first Oriental ever to enter the White House with the rank and dignity of Reigning Sovereign.
The name of His Majesty is Prajadhipok, easily pronounced with accent on the second syllable pra-chat´-ti-pok. Like nearly all Siamese the King is a Buddhist, officially Defender of the Faith.
No other monarch has a Cabinet predominantly composed of princes, his relatives. The Crown Prince of Siam is now Minister of Interior, has been Minister of Marine. No other Crown Prince holds Cabinet office, no other king is in effect his own Prime Minister.
The famed sacred white elephants of Siam were never white, are rapidly losing in popular Siamese opinion their sacred character, and have disappeared entirely from the national flag which today is red, white, blue, white and red (five horizontal stripes).
A prominent member of the Hoover cabinet recently asked a representative of Siam, "How far is it from the coast?" But Siam is not in fact an island, quite the reverse. Shaped like a plump spider, Siam squats between French Indo-China and British Burma on the mainland of Asia, faces the Gulf of Siam, darts a narrow tongue of Siamese territory 600 miles down the Malay Peninsula. Population: 11,506,200. Area: more than four times that of the State of New York.
Royal Progress. Steaming away last month from sunny Bangkok, King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambai (115 Ib.) were imperially feted fortnight ago in Japan, the only other independent oriental monarchy.
In Tokyo in the Phoenix Hall of the Imperial Palace, the Son of Heaven collared King Prajadhipok with the Grand Order of the Chrysanthemum with Collar. Queen Rambai received from His Imperial Majesty the Order of the Sacred Crown First Class, and from Her Imperial Majesty a symbolic Japanese doll richly bedight. Neither Queen nor Empress has ever had a son. Sorrow unites them.
Emperor Hirohito addressed King Prajadhipok in Japanese. He replied in English. An interpreter did the rest.
According to cables from Japan, His Majesty highly praised the cherry tree grove of His Imperial Majesty, then gracefully introduced a less weighty topic, saying: "Have you a golf course?"
"Yes we have," replied the Son of Heaven, "six holes—and you?"
"Nine holes," admitted King Prajadhipok who plays both golf and midget golf but prefers: as an exercise, rowing & punting; as a hobby, color photography* (still & cinema); and as a penchant, collecting canes (the unrivaled Royal Siamese Cane Collection is publicly exhibited once a year).
Statue of Liberty Puzzle. Conspicuous in the Royal Party as they sailed from Japan for Vancouver in the S. S. Empress of Japan was handsome, majestic old Prince Svasti, father of Queen Rambai.
For the last time a few favored U. S. passengers were regaled by His Royal Highness with his favorite humorous puzzle, which would be killed the moment he stepped on U. S. soil. Puzzle:
"I have been inside your Statue of Liberty, and yet I have never been in America. Can you explain that?"