| Show tate I 1 a aa 1 44 buddhist priest in front of temple slam siam Pre prepared by the national society W hi ian U D 0 aam whose sovereign king pro pra S SIAU Is visiting the united states Is one of tho the few important independent countries country c a now ruled by an absolute mon monarch a rab but despite the fact th that a t there Is no parliament and no check on the powers of the king slain siam Is in many ways a strikingly modern tate state a the count rys air mall mail system has operated successfully for eight years telegraph offices number more than and some post offices serve every city and rural center wireless service handles messages to foreign countries two kinds of american visitors one good one bad figure prominently in the kingdoms new prosperity francis bowes sayre the late president wll wil sons son in law and dr hugh smith former commissioner of the united states bureau of fisheries are staunch aids to slam siam the former headed a commission which secured treaties from foreign nations that removed extraterritorial extra territorial rights and lifted tariff restrictions doctor smith now directs tle the development of slams fishery re bourrels bour cels the unwelcome american visitor is the lovely but malicious florida weed the blue water hyacinth of florida brought to the east indies its as it a flower has become a curse because the lie queen of slam siam brought the first specimens for her garden from java it Is ig often called java weed but out in the country it creates a national problem by clogging the ilie irrigation canals it has earned the name blue devil slam siam jungles heavy rainfall are three ideas closely associated why then must slam build irrigation dams and canals the answer Is that the jungles are in the mountainous borderlands der lands the central delta plain receives an illinois rainfall because the siamese grow rice they must have it a wealth of water hence irrigation the grasak project with a barrage type dam completed in 1021 1924 serves acres the cubban project about completed will have three times the grasak capacity other vast works are under way or have been planned railroads show equal promise slam siam by its position Is a natural railroad center of the worlds densest population area bangkok the capital and Sl siamese arnese metropolis Is the inevitable majori railroad junction for all south and east asia railroads are important A hint of the importance to slam siam of her railroads nil all built since 1893 1803 Is contained in the recent report of an american agricultural expert 1 I was told he writes that a trainload of rice rica goes south dally daily for export to malaya and the dutch east indies rice nice Is to slam what cotton is to tho thi south in some superficial aspects it would seem that slam Is several laps ahead of ultramodern ultra modern modem america knickerbockers backers still attract attention when worn by american women to in city streets Bt and bobbed hair only a few years ago was frowned on in some of our conservative business and social circles yet the siamese woman wears the knee length as does her brother and for generations she has refused to be bothered with long hair she has a freedom that has developed a shrewdness and independence in contrast to most oriental women though she Is apt to be unlettered bangkok capital of slam Is in location the new orleans of the east it la Is in the delta of the benam river the mother of stivers Ill vers and dominates that stream as the crescent city dominates the 1 mississippi in a sense it may be said that bangkok Is slam much more truly than paris may be said to be france or duenos buenos alrea aires to be argentina in a country of inhabitants it la Is virtually the only city its population Is nearly three quarters of a million so BO that it Is roughly midway in size between pittsburgh and st SL louis and has more than twice the population of seattle about it lie slums slams richest rice lands to it come come on the one hind hand boats laden inden with the products of the country and on the other ocean going vessels to unload import and load exports and from it in turn are distributed the supplies for or the th interior the area of the kingdom Is about equal to that of spain bangkok the capital in bangkok the king anti and his court live and there Is operated the machinery of the count rys rya highly centralized government the capital has become in the eyes of the king and his people a symbol of Sl siamese arnese power and millions of dollars have been spent to beautify it and make it la in many ways a convenient modern city drained and cleaned sparkling with electric lights dotted with spacious parks and crossed by streets in which the clang of tramway gongs gongs and the chug of motor cars are common man sounds though slam siam Is a tropical country lying in the same latitude as aa southern india thanks to pleasant breezes it does not experience the extreme of heat known to the indian plains in bangkok the heat during the dry season seldom exceeds degrees fahrenheit in the shade in the sun it Is cipuch w warmer and paper parasols are seen everywhere halt half a century ago bangkok was called 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 aud alid tramways tram ways 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 its cargo of food bears a little lamp the market hours are from froia midnight until early morning and during that period the market section of the river resembles a fairyland with its glimmering glim merling lights the high civilization of bangkok has a contrast in extreme primitive conditions of other parts of the country curious customs abound in upper slam siam deais tea ls pickled tor for chewing instead of being 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 fermentation 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 appearance of the individuals with the balls in their cheeks forms forma a never ending source of amusement for travelers famous for lacquer the capital of upper slam siam la Is chieng mal mai famous for its lacquer ware and center of the teak tree trade this region Is a land of boats water routes form virtually the only lines of communication between the upper and lower kingdom in eastern slam a plea and a plain support a population which must move from swamp lands in the rainy season to higher elevations which are barren and stony hence living conditions are post most primitive the month of slay may marks the he beginning of the all important rice planting in slam king and court anti anil thousands of subjects turn out for the rak na or plowing ceremony before the vast crowd the minister of agriculture dignified with a hat like a n spire and gorgeous gown guides a huge gilded wooden plow drawn by two gally eally decked bullocks after tile the plowing various seeds and grains are spread before the bullocks oriental still in i spirit slam acquires modern occidental appointments of great variety the government runs on a budget and slam too has been passing through an economy program the king by way of example cut ills his royal allowance by bahta badts the metric system has hag replaced ancient measuring units and became compulsory in 1030 1930 civil and commercial codes have been published publish e d there are boy scouts the red cross has been organized Chul nIong koru korn university named for th the Q mo monarch n who during his reign of 42 years began the regeneration of the kingdom enters its fourteenth year strong and 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