Sympathy for Belgium and the popular aversion to Teutonic
methods had left no doubt as to the duty of Siam. The motive of Siam had
a curious fitness, though there was a certain quaintness in her
expression of a desire to make, "the world safe for democracy."
The native name of Siam is Muang-Thai, which means the Kingdom of the
Free. Siam is about as large as France, and has a population of about
eight millions. Its people, who are of many shades of yellowish-brown,
have descended into this corner of Asia from the highlands north of
Burma and east of Tibet. The tradition among these people was that the
further south they descended the shorter they would grow, that when they
reached the southern plains they would be no larger than rabbits, and
that when they came to the sea they would vanish altogether. As a fact
the northern tribes are much taller than the southern.
The original population of the Siamese peninsula was a race of black
dwarfs, remnants of whom still dwell in caves and nests of palm leaves,
so shy that it is almost impossible to catch a glimpse of them. The
literary and religious culture of Siam comes mainly from southern India.
Buddhism is the dominant religion, but there are many Mohammedans also.
The accession of Siam to the ranks of the Allies did not make any great
difference from a military point of view, but it was another evidence of
the general world feeling with regard to the Germans and their
encroachments in all parts of the world.
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