Viewing page 37 of 146

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[Newspaper Article attached to page]]
Dr. Mann Widens His Circle
Of Friends on Rio Voyage
Zoo Director and Ambassador Caffery
Discover Mutual Interest in Circuses
[[italicized]] Bearing gifts for South American zoos, Dr. William M. Mann, director of the National zoological Park, is en route to points in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to collect birds, reptiles and animals. Among those on board his ship is William H. Shippen, jr., feature writer of The Star staff, who here presents [[underlined]] the 11th of [[/underlined]] a series of articles about Dr. Mann's expedition. [[/italicized]]
By W. H. Shippen, Jr.
Star Staff Correspondent.
Aboard S. S. Uruguay, Nearing Rio de Janeiro.-A lot of people who seem to know their way about the world have suggested that Dr. William Mann be dubbed a "good will ambassador."
His friends are scattered all over the globe-Europe, Asia, Africa, the East Indies, Japan, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the Amazon country of Northern South America. Now he plans to go into a new country-Argentina.
Although he knows few people there, he does know how to make friends. As a card of introduction, Dr. Mann (director
[[image: Bust photograph of man, captioned 'W.H. Shippen, Jr.]]
of the National Zoological Park at Washington) is taking along a number of gift animals-American buffalos, a pair of wolf-coyotes, two American bald eagles and various other specimens.
Dr. Mann plans to present the animals to the zoo at Buenos Aires. Included in the shipment on the s. S. Uruguay is a binturang (or "bear cat") from the East Indies, and civet cats from Sumatra and Africa, as well as American prairie dogs and a collection of native turtles.
May Go Into Patagonia.
The zoo director and Mrs Mann-who has accompanied him on many previous expeditions-will spend a month or so in Argentina, going by train from Buenos Aires to the lake perhaps into Northern Patagonia. They hope to collect rare animals, birds and reptiles in the Argentine, and at ports of call on the return trip-Montevideo, Santos, Rio and the Island of Trinidad.
The return collection will of necessity be small. On previous trips-to Africa, as leader of the Smithsonion Institution-National Geographic Society expedition-Dr. Mann was accompanied by assistants trained in the care of animals.
On this trip his only experienced assistant is his wife. I have volunteered to help water, feed and clean cages, but Dr. Mann-who likes newspaper reporters, but doubts their capacity for day-to-day, trice-a-day work of a menial nature-only shrugs and says:
"I respect your enthusiasm, but question your persittence!"
On the trip down from the States Dr. Mann met and made friends with our Ambassador to Brazil-Jefferson Caffery. The two hadn't been talking long until they discovered many mutual friends in various quarters of the world, and a common hobby-the circus.
Both had seen the opening of "the big show" at Madison Square Garden, just before the Uruguay sailed, and both had been thrilled and chilled by the same performance.
By this time, Dr. Mann had met and learned the life history of about everybody on board-Brazilians, Uruguayans, Argentines. They liked him well enough to tell him where they were going and why; to give him letters of introduction, as well as detailed information as to climate, train schedules, port regulations and the availability of various animals.
If Dr. Mann has any controversial indeas about world politics he refrains from expressing them. He visited in Japan in 1937 and then went to Shanghai-just before the Japanese bombed that city.
In both places he made friends he wants to see again. He refused to criticize either side.
On vacation last summer the Zoo director went to Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany, France and England. He left Germany just before the conference at Munich. The distressing circumstances which have developed since that time have not wiped out his memory of the warm welcome his old friends gave him in Germany.
In other words, Dr. Mann is a "good neighbor," sailing with this "good neighbor" fleet, to make friends first-and, secondly, to collect animals. It was President Roosevelt's idea, I'm told, to put these big ships, the Uruguay, the Argentine and the Brazil, on a regular passenger run to Buenos Aires.
Service Bears Fruit.
Already the service appears to be bearing fruit. Many North and South American passengers meet to exchange ideas. It becomes apparent that more South Americans speak English than North Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese-the language native to Brazil. Many passengers-even traveling salesmen bound for Rio-were surprised to learn the language is Portuguese here. Too, South Americans seem to know more about our country than we do of theirs.
Yet today, going up the Sugar Loaf, and visiting other sightseeing points, I heard German tourists, who can come to this port in less time than it would take the Uruguay to return to New York, speaking excellent Portugese (I'm told) and discussing Brazil as if they knew all about it-which they did, in all probability.
The big derricks traveling along our wharf are German-made, like the intricate machinery that carries the cable cars to the tip of Sugar Loaf with such regularity and safety.
Mutual Benefit Plan.
In any event, we need a few more "Good Will Ambassadors" down this way-in Brazil, whose potential wealth is larger than that of the United States, and in the Argentine. That is a statement I won't need to qualify-what with Brazil (as near as it is to West Africa) capable of supplying, however, unwillingly, a key to the Panama Canal, and the Argentine with its German sympathies and connections.
Dr. Mann, however, is not concerned with these things-he's merely making friends, as usual, and collecting animals on the side. He has no interest in exploiting the faunal resources of any country-he merely wants to trade fair ... something we have in our country which would be valuable down here for something they have here that would be worth while back home.
A sort of mutual benefit proposition, with nothing up this sleeve, or that one!
[[short solid line]]
[[italicized]] Tomorrow: Arrival in Rio. [[/italicized]]

Transcription Notes:
Apparently there was no spell-check for articles published during this period.