The Coolidge examiner., 1931-05-01

sells to unload imports and load
exports.
In Bangkok the king and his
court live, and there is operated
the machinery of the cOuntry'S
highly centralized government.
The capital has become in the eyer
of the king and his people SYM
Dol of Siamese power, and mil
lions of dollars have been spent to
beautify it and make it in many
ways convenient, modern city
drained and cleaned, sparkling
with electric lights, dotted with
spacious parks, and crossed by
streets in which the cang of
tramway gOngs and the chug of
motor cars are common sounds.
Though Siam is q tropical cOun-
try, lying in the same latitude as
southern India, thanks to pleasant
breeZes it does not experience the
extreme of heat known to the In
dian plains. In Bangkok the heat
during the dry season seldom eX-
ceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit in
the shade. In the sun it is much
warmer and paper parasOls are
seen everywhere.
Half a century ago Bangkok
was called 1.-The Venice of the
East" and fully deserved the title.
for almost all transportation and
movement about the city was by
the river or the numerous lateral
canals. Even now, though streets
and highways have been built,
bridges constructed and tramwayS
laid, the waterways are still of
transcendent Importance in the life
of the city.
Perhaps the most cOlOrful river
scene is the water market where
each tiny boat with it's cargo of
food bears little lamp.
The high civilization Of Bang
kok has a contrast in extreme
primitive conditions of other parts
of the country. Curious customs
abound. In upper Siam tea is
picked for chewing instead of be
ing used as a beverage. First the
leaves are sun dried, then they are
steamed to rid them of tannin. Next
they are weighed down for fer
mentatiOn, a process suggestive of
the German preparation of sauer
kraut. The substance thus formed
is placed in the mouth until the
juices are removed. The appear
ance of the individuals with the
balls in their cheeks forms "a
source of amusement for travellers.
Famous for Lacquer.
The capital of upper Siam is
Chieng-Mai, famous for its lacquer
trade and center of the teak tree
trade. This region is land of
boats. Water routes form virtual
ly the only lines of communication
between the upper and lower king
dom.
In eastern Siam a plateau and a
plain support population which
must move from swamp lands in
the rainy season to higher eleva-
tions which are barren and stony.
Hence living conditions are most
primitive
The month of May marks the
beginning of the all-impOrtant rice
planting in Siam King and court
and thousands of subjects turn out
for the Rak Ma or plOwing cere-
mony. Before the vast crowd the
minister of agriculture, degnified
with a hat like Spire and gOr-
geous gown, guides huge glded
wooden plow drawn by two gaily
decked bullocks. After the plOw-
ing various seeds and grains are
spread before the bullOcks. 1t is
an anxious moment for the milling
pOpulace.
Oriental still in spirit, Siam ac-
quires modern occidental appoint
ments of great variety. The gov
ernment runs on budget and
Siam, too, has been passing
through an economy program The
king, by way of example, cut his
royal allowance by 100000 bahts.
The metric system has replaced
ancient measuring units and be-
came compulsory in 1890. Civil
and commercial codes have been
published there are $4,000 Boy
Scouts; the Red Cross has been
organized. ChulalOngkOrn univer-
sity, named for the monarch who,
during his reign of o. years, began
the regeneration of the kingdom,
enters it's fourteenth year, strong
and growing. There is an economic
museum; a national library has
usurped the former National Gre
nation ceremonial galleries; and
a Royal Institute of Literature,
Architecture, and Fine Arts has
been promulgated. The present
king, PrajadjipOk, has progressed
to one wife, from the century-ago
normal royal Siamese supply of
four to eight thousand wives.