The Washington times., 1931-04-22
RULERS COME
To CAPITAL
APRIL 29
Visit Here Will Precede Eye
Operation on Young Mon
arch Scheduled for May 7

PURCHASE. N. Y, April %
UN.SD.-At the end of the long
long trail from the other side Of
the world, the King of Siam and
his lovely young Queen arrived
today in the little kingdom Of
Ophir Hall, set up for them dur.
ing their visit to the United
States.
King PradijadhipOk and
Queen Rambai Barni debarked
from their royal train at Scar
borough, N. Y, shortly after
noon.
Despite his recent illness the
absolute monarch Of Siam smiled
happily and raised his occidental
fedora hat as he and her majesty
permitted the photographers to
"Shoot" them.
Drive to Reid Home
An automobile awaited them
and they motored through lanes
of cheering and gaily decorated
houses directly to their American
home at the estate of Mrs. White
law Reid.
Things are not as happy for
the royal couple as they might
be on this historic occasion. For
the little King PrajadhipOk-he
is only five feet in height and
weighs but SO pOunds-has been
Ill from an attack of malaria and
bronchial trouble. And Queen
Rambai is just getting over a
bad cold.
DR.. John M. Wheeler, emf
nent New York surgeon, ex-
poets to perform an operation on
May 7 to remove cataract from
the Kings left eye.
Visit Here April 20
But before this ordeal, King
Prajadhipok will have chance
q, to enjoy himself. He and his con-
sort will visit President Hoover in
Washington on April 20. Impos-
ing festivities will mark their
visit to the Capital.
There will be pageants and
ceremonies glamorous in this
: Vicinity-if the visiting potentates
= will accept invitations. And the
royal pair will have an oppor-
( tunity to play golf, tennis, and
: bridge-Occiden diversions of
which both are fond.
In the latter part Of July, the
royal visitors plan six weeks
tour of Canada.
: AS far as the record goes, their
Majesties will be incognito during
( their visit to the United States ex-
cept for the time they are in
Washington. They are travelling
= as the Prince and Princess Suk-
hodaya.
y. Town All DOlled Up
: It is to be regretted that King
Prajadhipok's eyesight is not 100
per cent, for this little town has
decked itself up in big parade
fashion.
? And in White Plains, the
, county seat, through which the
royal party will pass from their
debarking point at Scarborough
on-Hudson, the Siamese flag is
flying beside the American colors
wherever one may look. The
: Siamese flag is red, white, and
blue, in horizontal stripes.
The King, in his late thirties, is
the first Asiatic monarch to visit
: the United States. Educated in
&; Eton, England, and absorbing by
travel much of western civillZa'
: tion, he aScended the Siamese
: throne in 1925 following the death
Of his brother, King Rama vi.
King Is One.Wife Man
He married his cousin - Queen
Rambai - in 1918. One OF the
first of his reforms" was to indi-
cate royal disapproval of the an
cient and honorable Siamese Gus
tom of polygamy. He showed the
way by continuing as one-Wlfe
king.
s.. King Prajadhipok. despite his
delicate health, has progressed far
in blending western civilization
with the Oriental traditions OF his
kingdom of 100000 persons-a
kigdom of half mountain and
jungle where in the interior
slavery still persists, magic Is
mixed with medicine. and women
: are treated as less than the dust.
But King Prajadhipok, aided by
his Queen, who speaks English as
: excellently as her husband, has
done much to modernize the state
of affairs in Siam. Women now
have legal rights, the budget is
balanced, men are chosen for gov
. ernmental positions for their
ability instead of their aristocratic
relationship, and white elephants
are not as sacred as they used
to be.
Nevertheless, the rules of prece-
dent still flourish in Siam. There
is a thousand-year-old custom that
. no head shall ever be higher than
the Kings head. So in the old
4 country, when the little King ap-
4 pears in public, veterans of ritual
insist upon vertical depression.
- The royal party which arrives
today includes the Queens father
Prince SvaSti.
MINIATURE LINKS OPENING
The miniature golf course
south of Twinipg Lake CTidal