Princeton Prince

At Princeton University, as elsewhere, it is customary for freshmen when registering to indicate the name of the person responsible for their debts. Two autumns ago a Princeton freshman put down "The King of Siam." At once he was sent to see Dean Christian Gauss. But Dean Gauss knew that this small, coffee-colored freshman was right. He was H. R. H. Prince Prasob Mom Chow Sukhavasti, nephew of Siam's Queen Rambai Barni. A sturdy little fellow who had captained the boxing team at Chestnut Hill Academy near Philadelphia--and been handed an interscholastic prize by Princeton's President Hibben--he settled down to work at college, taking particular interest in economics. His presence caused Princeton little excitement. Only a few years before (Class of 1923) Princeton had had a Siamese--popular little Boon Pitrachat, who won his letter playing soccer. And even Siamese princes are not rare in the U. S.: Prince Swasti Pradish Svasti graduated from West Point; Prince Nondiyavat Svasti from Georgetown last June; Prince Tong Ti Kayou went to San Francisco in 1928 to attend high school and learn baseball; Prince Arjuna Svasti to Yale in 1930; Prince Chukratong Tong-Vai is now studying entomology at Cornell; Prince Debriddhi Devakul is studying agriculture at Boscowen, N. H., supervised as are 22 other Siamese by Murray Sheehan of the Siamese Legation in Washington.

No Siamese himself, Supervisor Sheehan soon found his Princeton charge a bit of a problem. So did Princeton officials, who obviously could not crudely oust an H. R. H. Last year the Legation heard to its dismay that Boxer Prince Prasob, 18, was planning to marry a Manhattan dance hall hostess. From Siam King Prajadhipok squelched the notion (TIME, June 6).

Prince Prasob belonged to Princeton's rollicking Campus Club. Last week the Campus Club was closed and Prince Prasob had departed from college. There had been drinking and late parties. There was talk that the dance hall girl had been present, and that afterwards a Princeton high school girl had been asked to leave town. In Washington. Supervisor Sheehan said: "This young man got in with a crowd at Princeton that thought he had a great deal of money. He had only what I sent him . . . which was little enough, I can tell you." Said Dean Gauss: "The Prince was an oriental. He did not understand American ways." Later: "Any report that Mr. Sukhavasti was dismissed from Princeton is not true. Princeton had nothing but the friendliest feeling for him when he withdrew."

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