HIGH HAT

It is reported that King Amanullah of Afghanistan has offended the Ulemas, to the extent that the latter have cancelled a farewell reception planned in the King's honor on his departure from Cairo. It seems that the conduct of King Amanullah during his visit to Cairo was not acceptable to them, and the cause of controversy seems to be the royal headgear. It is not that the King has overstepped the prerogatives of his crown, but rather that he has slighted them, and by so doing has injured their prestige. For the Ulemas are deseribed as religious leaders among the Moslems, and their sense of the fitness of things has been rudely jarred by the sight of King Amanullah wearing a white top hat in preference to the traditional fez or (as the conservative news report adds) its "Afghan equivalent."

Whether King Amanullah's justification will be sufficient to appease the wrathy Ulemas remains to be soon, though it is to be hoped that they will take steps to see that the traditions of Afghanistan are not lightly treated, that those past generations of Afghans may not have cause to turn over in their graves. The problem is a delicate one. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown", but how much more precarious it is for a royal head that wears a white top hat when it should be a fez, or at least its "Afghan equivalent."