...AND ANOTHER

Sheik Ongha Biran is ruler of the oil rich state Halat Al Bhudi on the Persian Gulf. Chances are you have never heard of the state of Halat Al Bhudi, and for a very good reason: It does not exist. Which is more than some senators on various energy committees know.

Ongha Biran is a jumbled version of the name Brian Hogan, which belongs to an enterprising reporter of the Maryland Enquirer; he purchased a flowing Syrian robe for $88 in a costume shop, rented a blue Cadillac limousine from Hertz for $31 a day, and accompanied by a fellow reporter in a conservative business suit who claimed to be Sheik Ongha Biran's interpreter, he set out for the nation's august chambers of legislation.

"Uniformed security guards at the Dirksen Senate Offilce Building," reports the Enquirer of 1 1/1/1977, "were the first to fall for the hoax. They flagged the blue Caddy right past them into the official parking area.

"But the first dignitary to fall over himself was US Sen. James Abourezk (D. S.Dak.)...

" 'Welcome to the United States,' Sen. Abourezk gushed as he ushered the sheik into the inner sanctum of his posh office.

"Wilkins [the interpreter] asked Sen. Abourezk if he'd like to send a tape recorded message back to the 2,400 residents of Halat Al Bhudi..."

Of course he did. They all did, when the bowing, handshaking and backslapping with the sheik from the oil rich country was over. Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D. Wis.) was upset because Sheik Ongha Biran had only one day to spend in Washington on his whirlwind tour of the US.

And so it went. To get to the offices of your elected representative without an appointment, and to have much of oil-hungry Washington crawling on their bellies, all you need do is wrap a towel round your head and claim you' re Sheik Bogus Al-Phoney.

In the 202nd year of American independence.