JENS IVERSON WESTENGARD 99 Strobel's long absence and illness, from December, 1905, to Febru- ary, 1907, he was the Acting General Adviser, and after Strobel's death he was appointed General Adviser with the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary. As his years of service increased, offices and honors were heaped upon him. He was appointed a member of the Hague Permanent Arbitration Court. France made him an officer of the Legion of Honor, and Denmark conferred upon him the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog. The Siamese royal government bestowed upon him the highest honors. Successively he was decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Order of White Elephant, Grand Cross of the Crown of Siam, Order of Chula Chom Klao, and Order of Ratanaphorn. These orders were ac- cepted and worn gracefully, but not too seriously, for he wrote home: "I consider them of value because of the kindly spirit which is manifested by their disposal." As he came to exert an influence in the government second only to the King, every problem of internal administration and foreign diplomacy passed through his office. He drafted laws, made treaties, arranged foreign loans, built railroads, improved agricul- ture, revised the kingdom's system of finance, rearranged and classified the revenues, and practically did away with the opium traffic and with gambling, both of which had been a large source of revenue to the government. The Siamese, even to the common people, came to have a great respect, veneration and affection for "Phya Kalyana Maitri," as he was uniformly known. To American friends who visited Siam, however slight their claim upon him, he dispensed a royal hospi- tahty, not only in Bangkok, but wherever they went in the king- dom. I am sure that we who have enjoyed the pleasures and royal conveniences bestowed upon us have all felt profoundly that the Siamese officials and people who served and feted us did so only because of the affection and admiration in which they held our fellow alumnus and countryman. To all this I believe Sinclair Kennedy, '97, and other visitors to Siam have borne testi- mony. When "Phya Kalyana Maitri" himself traveled into the re- moter provinces of the kingdom he was shown royal honors. In fact it was said that on his trip to Chieng-Mai, in the extreme north, the festivities and the welcoming pavilions prepared in his honor
