The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-11
THE KING OF SLAMS TOUR
GREAT PREPARATIONS MAKING po,.
HIS VISIT TO EUROPE.
Some of the Peculiar Characteri.u.-
Of This Potentate. Who Rules
with None tn Say Him Nay.
Kew York Commercial Advertiser

The King of Siam is coming. This -
been a busy week in Bangkok. The roysI
| yacht Machachakri has been overhaulsa
| and reprinted dazzling, shining white. thu
| yachtsmen of high degree have marshalsd
| their flotilla of junks. and a parting salut.
| OF ten thousand giant firecrackers. accom-
panied by an illumination Of rockets ana
| showers of fire. will give the harbor a CAV
and festive appearance when Chulalonc.
korn Cwho is called Somdetsch Phra Para
mindr Maha, for the sake of ab5reviatioo
starts on his travels.
The Kings trip will begin at Bangkok
| from which port he sails early next week
| making the first stop at Genoa Leaving
| the AIachachakri in the Mediterranean tia
King and his party will disembark and
travel through Italy, and up through Swift
| zerland and France. OF course, the King
! will stop long enough in Paris 10 see the
| President and the opera house, and per-
| haps, the opulent charms of the plumn
| ballerinas OF the Folies Dramatiques. Then.
| at the risk of disturbing his Oriental pls-
| cidity. his royal highness will cross the
| channel 10 England and remain for ths
| Queens jubilee. In fact. if it can he ar
! ranged. the gallant Chulalongkorn Will take
part in the festivities with which the ami
versary of the longest reign will be celo-
!
King of Siam both driving down Piccadilly
| on the same morning would be a sight odd
enough TO crafty the lovers Of royalty.
who have already paid thousands of doll
| lars for a few seats in window or on
| balcony on the route of the procession. The
! Kings suite Will include "A long train OF
| courtiers, servants. sailors and women 10
attend upon her majesty, the Queen. who
will accompany her husband and see that
he is not too severely smitten by the charms
lie q Ens.. I'D So -
| different chimes he intends TO visit.
| THE KINGS POWER AT HOME.
| Being King of Siam is almost good az
| being King of the Cannibal islands far
as power goes. TO be sure. missionary
| saute ever appears upon the Siamese bill
of fare and quarrels and crimes are as
often settled and expiated by arbitration or
| punishment as by death. Clothes are worn
by the wealthy. and meat is sometimes
cooked before being eaten, but still Siam
| is country where the child of nature has
very big say in the customs Of the coun-
| try. and the frown of the King is tanta-
| mount TO the whirring swing of the eXecU-
| toners curved and cleaning scimiter.
The King of Siam is like the prince in 4
turning one into a cat or dog or even some
more obnoxious animal, for the Buddhist
belief will help him out in any such little
transformations through the medium OF
| the above mentioned curved and cleaning
! scimiter. Then, if he is pleased with one.
| he can put his hand into one OF the capa-
| cious pockets of his silk. embroidered
boomers and take out a handful of uncut
| diamonds or a fist fun of pearls or rubies.
| You have but 10 please the King. and jew
| els galore are yours. Again. like the prince
in the fairy tale. he can make whom he's
| brave youth who saves the princess from
| the dragon stands before the King TO re-
| ceive his blessing. But the fierce old kings
| in fairy tales are generous TO fault, ana.
| like Lear. they not only give the brave
youth the hand of their most beautiful and
! best beloved daughter but they also i'm
| mediately abdicate and politely but firmly
| insist upon the dragon-kllling youth taking
| the throne. OF course. that is as IL should
| be. and that is the way titles are sometimes
obtained in SIAM
The present King; however. has estab--
| lished precedent. He has already named
| the Crown Prince SOmdetch Chowfa Maha
VaJirunhis as his successor Siamese adj
| heads AT this unusual proceeding, and
| prophesied that Cnulalongkorn would some
| day have a son that he would like better
| than Somdetch Chowfa Maha. or a nephew
| who might be particularly adapted 10 run
| the affairs of state. but the King had alb
sorbed several ideas from his European
| studies and one of them was that the first
| born should succeed his father. The
crown prince is nineteen years old. and the
| oldest child of the first Queen. There is
another prince. n son of the first Queen.
and two prfncesses. and half dozen sons
and daughters children of the second
Queen. but Somdetch Chowfa will be King
if he lives and manages to worry along
his father mas done on pdltry Sl3,OeJVvD
year.
n PROGRESSIVE KINGDOM.
Siam is a little country, which occupies
| about the same position in the Chinese en-
pire Florida does i'm the United States,
WHICH lucid statement, being translated,
means that il is a little spot OF yellow en-
the tip end OF the Chinese empire. Instead
of ending in peninsula, as Florida does.
il reverses the order, and the inverted point
forms the Gulf of Siam. Sailing directly
south. the King Of Siam could reach Aus
tralia in a short time, and on his way might
call upon the wild man of Borneo without
| at all inconveniencing the yachting party.
The population of Siam is something over
six million, which includes Siamese. Chi
nese MalayS and Loatians. The area OF
| the country is $4,000 square miles. although
the boundaries are very hard to determine,
| as the border lands are mostly occupied
| by independent tribes. Bangkok Is the cap
| Siam is called by its inhabitants Thai.
Muang-Thai, which means free" or the
| kingdom of fire" The word Siam is iden-
| teal with Shan, meaning in Burmese the
| LOa race.
Education has been making considerable
advance of late years The capital sup
ports three government schools, where En-
| glish is taught. The Siamese education has
been systematized and reduced to code.
Throughout the country ii Is still chiefly
| in the hands of the Buddhist priests. SIAM
csc is the official language of the country
| He Is an English scholar. and reads and
| writes Sanskrit and other languages Of the
| far East. He is considered both wise and
| good ruler, and the wave of advancement
! rippled very near the kingdom in the China
| sea when the King founded two govern
ment hospitals and several schools.
The government Is paternal in the eX-
| treme. and its tactics are TammanyesQue
| as far pulls go. The Council of State
| consists of the ministers of war. agricul-
| ture etc. between ten and twenty members
appointed by the King and six princes OF
| the royal house. The ministers of finance
| instruction. public works. etc. are all half
| brothers OF the King. The Siamese domin-
| ions divided into numerous provinces
| each having a governor. who derives his
| authority directly from the King. Thanks
| 10 these governors. the population Is Kept
| in a state of serfdom, which cripples agT1-
| culture and industry.
Mortgages on houses and lands are not
known. When a man il in debt he sells
| himself and his entire family TO some rich
| land owner, and thus mana ges 10 keep
| out OF Jail by making himself a serf for
| life. Polygamy is legal. but the new woln-
an. who can turn doctor. lawyer. supreme
| court judge or mayor. and thus supply her
4 self with pin money. does not exist in SIAM
When a man marries in Siam he has 10
| supply all the luxuries OF Housekeeping
| from bamboo furniture TO filets OF mice
| The result is that the Siamese husband
| practices domestic economy. and while the
| law allows him many wives his errant
| fancy wills. generally himself