Evening star., 1940-01-14
BY JACQUES FUTRELLE, Jr.,
Travel Editor.

A new train service from WASH
ington to Mexico, the south of the
border" land that is one of the CEN
tral attractions In a restricted travel
world, was initiated this week end,
while at the same time many a
traveller was forced to alter his
plans for sea trips through cruise
cancellations and revised itineraries.
Answering the demand for through
sleeper accommodations from New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington and other big cities on
de luxe tours to Mexico, the Ameri-
can Express travel service has ar
ranged to eliminate the necessity
for Pullman car changes on "the
American" leaving Eastern sea-
board cities every Saturday night.
The new accommodation began with
the departure of the flyer last night
and the customary shift of passen-
gers to another car in st. Louis
thus is avoided.
Outstanding in the news in the
cruise field over the week was an
nouncement by the Holland -Ameri-
can Line that the 56-day trip of the
Nieuw Amsterdam down the east
coast Of South America, through
the Straits of Magellan, up the west
coast and through the Panama
Canal into the Caribbean, has been
Cancelled. The Nieuw Amsterdam
was scheduled to sail from New
York February on this cruise. A
series of seven short cruises, starting
from New York on January q and
sailing every other Saturday, has
been substituted. On each 12-day
cruise the Nieuw Amsterdam will
visit st. Thomas, Curacao, La Guaria
and Puerto Cabello in Venezuela
and Havana. The Nieuw Amster-
dam also will make an eight-day
Easter cruise, sailing March %.
The lines announcement also dis
closed that the Statendaam had
been withdrawn from the cruise
field to go into transatlantic serv-
ice between New York and Rotter-
dam, and that the popular liner
Rotterdam, after 80 years in trans
Atlantic and cruise service, is to be
Withdrawn from the seas forever
and scrapped.
The Norwegian American Lines
Oslofjord, with a schedule of II and
Is day cruises uncompleted. also has
been taken from the New York
Caribbean service, local travel agents
have been advised The Swedish
American Lines Kungsholm will
continue its cruises-at least that is
the word at present.
Notes about the astounding CONT
nent of South America:
1t is twice as large as the United
States.
In Argentina the average farm
estate is eight time as big as in
the United States; in Chile there are
two estates half as big as Rhode
Island; in Brazil are estates bigger
than the British Isles.
The University of San Maros at
Lima, Peru, is IS years older than
Harvard.
Americas Jamestowns and st.
Augustines must give way in an
tiquity to Bahia, Brazil. the oldest
city of continuous eXistance on the
mainland of the hemisphere Homes
antedating jamestown, Philadelphia
and Boston are the 18th century
residences in Panama, Bogota, Asun-
cion, Santiago and Bahia.
The captain of the Mayflower
brought over hundred or so pill
grims. yet Columbus is said to have
piloted some 1000 colonists to the
New World.
If those Americans who mix
sightseeing and shopping for bar
gains miss the Mount of Pity" on
their. first visit to Mexico City, they
are quite likely to enter it on their
must" list on the second. For there
can be found a wide variety of
goods, ranging from trinkets and
jeweled crosses to carpets and
pianos.
Monte de Piedad is the government
regulated National Pawnshop, and in
the shifting history and calamity to
great families, many treasure has
sifted down to this famous shop
located on the Zocalo, the main
plaza of the capital. Almost any
thing can be found there, for few
objects are ineligible for a loan;
and if never redeemed, the articles
are advertised for sale at an ap-
praiSed value.
Most notable, perhaps, is the array
or pawned jewels, but many tourists
60 there for the mantillas. The
price of the silk and the gorgeous