New-York tribune., 1920-03-31
Yale Man to Seek
Answers to South
Pacific Problems
Bayard Dominick Makes
Expedition Possible by
$4,000 Gift; Ethnologi-
cal Secrets Object of Quest

To ascertain whether descendants of
the Stone Age still exist, and to gather
evidence on the theory that North and
South America once were connected
with Asia by land, Yale University in
June will start two years. scientific
expedition through the South Seas, as
the result of gift of $4,000 for the
purpose from Bayard Dominick. the
New York banker The announcement
OF the gift and of completed details of
the sailing Of the expedition was made
yesterday at Mr.. Dominick's Office. 115
Broadway.
The expedition, which will start from
Honolulu, will be in charge of Pro-
lessor Herbert E. Gregory, of Yale. a
noted geologist, biologist and writer on
scientific themes. He will be accom-
panied by group of scientists. Every
modern device for study of life in the
South Pacific will be provided, and
many remote islands in the seas made
there of Robert Louis Stevenson and
Jack London will be visited.
Ever since he was graduated from Yale
IN 1924 Mr.. Dominick has interested
himself in exploration. He went to
East Africa just before Colonel Roose
velt arrived there. The walls of the
Broadway office Of the firm of Dominick
d Dominick, of which Mr.. Dominick is
senior member. are crowded with
trophies of African big game hunts
Our knowledge of hundreds of the
South Sea islands is confined merely to
their location in longitude and lat-
tude,' said Mr.. Dominick Yesterday.
Some of them never have been visited
by white men. A number of funda-
mental scientific problems cannot be
solved until the evidence from these
islands IS made available. To bring
home that information will be the pur-
pose of the expedition.
For example, we want to learn
whether the Incas, of Peru, and tiic
Aztecs, of Mexico, are part of an
ancient Asiatic civilization, or whether
South and Central America are the
original homes of people which spread
westward across the Pacific; whether
america or Africa or Asia supplied the
Pacific islanders with their food plants.
and whether these islands once formed
a great continent, broken in recent geo
logical time into the present small
fragments, or whether they always
were islands.
"The American Wilkes expedition
and the British Challenger expedition,
years ago, made scientific contributions
which have served only to whet the
worlds appetite for more knowledge
The cruise of men like Jack London
and Stevenson have yielded interesting
stores of adventure, but no scientific
returns
The problem of the origin and
migration of the Polynesan race is
one which scientists long have wished
to determining: The Hawaiians. Samoans,
Tahitians, Tongans and Maori are
distinct race, belonging to the Stone
Age, but with evidence of Aryan origin.
They live only on the islands of the
Pacific. Where did they come from
How and why did they spread them
selves over the Pacific with only canoes
Tor transport? The answer to such
questions which the expedition will
seek to solve involves many other puz-
zlng topics in ethnology and natural
history
Professor Gregory, who has been
granted a leave of absence from Yale,
is already in Honolulu experimenting
preparation for the start. The names
OF his associates have not been an
nounced. ESQ., @'-