STARS AND STRIPES OF VERBAL BLUSTER

NZ Truth, Issue 1213, 28 February 1929, Page 1

STARS AND STRIPES OF VERBAL BLUSTER

... • >i . WHEN, m quest of information m connection with a cbmplaihi .brought to "N.z: Truth" by a - member of the Expedition,' two representatives called on Brophy, they fully i expected an audience m keeping with the gallant gentlemanliness which r characterises the famous Commander Byrd and his pioneering adventure. They took too much for granted, The reception Brophy had m store for I the two pressmen was foreign to the :. ethics of either business-man or genZ tleman, and certainly the most maligI nant attitude ever encountered by this paper during its many years of very close contact with every circle of the New Zealand public. The object of the interview with Brophy was William Darling, a mem- . ber of the expedition, who joined at Panama. He called at "Truth's" Dunedin office with, the complaint that, owing to certain circumstances, he had been left behind m Dunedin for the purpose oi being transported back to the United States; l . The Expedition was paying his board at an hotel,, but over two months had elapsed and ; apparently nothing What Darling Said had been done. Brophy, Darling Informed "Truth," had suggested that he should get work m New Zealand. Was Darling's story that he was not getting fair play... a. true one, .or was Brophy endeavoring to "dump" on to , New Zealand's already overburdened Jabor market a man who was undesirable- to the .'. Expedition? . • These were . the * questions to be. investigated. , - - • At the time, Brophy was making the • acquaintance of Auckland. Having called upon the American Consul, who knew something about the matter, and having gleaned what was available from Messrs. H;^>T^p.tey_-atidj;ep.y : (:thiß; OExpedition's,- v local ■;'■'. Agents) ,..i^;:'!N.Z. Tiuth" decided to wait for Brbphy's return. . Circumstances may or may not have justified the Expedition authorities m deciding to send Darling back to America. That is no concern of anyone m New Zealand, beyond the fact that having at his disposal the New Zealand railways and post and telegraph departments, Brophy might nave made use of other New Zealand ports for a

; Byrd's N.Z. Base How He Greeted i Manager Was '.^^^-■'■■"N.Z.Tnith"- 1 : Highly Annoyed ~— "^— .At An Interview : BOUNCE, NOT COURTESY, WAS THE GAME HE TRIED \ '■'':)' (From " N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative) Although Richard Brophy is an American, and the, much-advertised base-manager of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, it does not follow that his job and nationality allow him any special privilege to make a * circus-ring of his Dunedin office for the. purpose of insulting legitimate interviewers m the presence of two or three lady-secretaries. ,

more expeditious arrangement to get Darling back to New York.. A« an adventurer without a passport, Darling had no legal' right to remain m New Zealand and take up emplby merit. . , , . Everyone m New Zealand must have heard of " Richard Brophy. Since the arrival of the various ] units, of the great Byrd Expedition, '. his name and movements have been flashed all over the country, giving him no small share of the notoriety' associated with the world-watched ;;.i. r v.>^^iti9..rgt.ig / ,aclve.ijt.ure ! ,,. v ,.',.-- ; ,. t ,' , i, Bfecause', .yNi.Z.V^rji th'", ;aScertarii : ' tf^ ; ' 'a'^ellawadveriturer and countryman of Brophy's, who had appealed to our Dunedin office , to investigate his case* he became insultingly . indignant, and unburdened himself of a number of opinions concerning the interview which, while they, were amusing — if ■ unedifying— showed Brophy up as a man who, seemingly at will, can dis- • pense with courtesy and good manners • for no. apparent reason' at all. , . Brophy has alleged that, by telephone conversation and personal apf proach, "N.Z, Truth's" representations ( were marked by arrogance and that the interviewers were— well, at all events, exponents of interviewing who did not fall m with the fastidious ideas of Richard Brophy. A civil question and a request for legitimate information made Brophy quite annoyed, and his unwarranted reception of "Truth's" representatives was as inexcusable as it was ungentlemanly and un-'-Justified. Brophy's movements were patiently watched through the agency of the Not Gentlemanly daily press,, and on the morning after his return to Dunedin a\ telephone call asked for a personal interview. Had Brophy given this paper's representatives a. modicum of the courtesy to which every press-reporter m New Zealand is accustomed, the matter of Darling's grievance— it later transpired — would probably have gone back with him to, the United States, untold and forgotten. But as Brophy made the occasion one for an acrimonious and uncalledfor outburst of bad manners from behind the shelter of his own fortress, "N.Z. Truth" thinks it fitting to record the inter" view and show how Press representatives are received by this American citizen m the Dominion, whose hospitality and free- citizenship he and his colleagues are now enjoying. Simultaneously, and at Brophy's own request, we are able to give our readers an exclusive story of his own present position. , In his own words, "Dick Brophy is stranded!" During a lull m his bumptious attitude towards two "Truth" reporters, he told them so, and asked that they let the public know. ' Though it Is hard to understand Brophy's request to , have his heartache put into cold print, when he took such umbrage at the interview, all, or most, of what Brophy had to say will be recorded. When it was known that Brophy had returned to Dunedin, it w a s not long

before the microphone of "N.Z. Truth's" the two interviewers into the basetelephone was transmitting excuses if manager's office, which, by the way, it so ' happened that the call had dis- has been placed gratis at his disposal turbe'd Brophy from his bath or break- by the New Zealand Government. ■ ■ . , . : He was handed a Cigarette, and, hay"l know what ..yuh're. after," said ing lighted his smoke, Brophy faced Brophy -from his end of the .wire, "but those he^ supposed were, his foes. ' „. „ „ , . powerful voice and by his bomA polite suggestion resulted m an bastic personality, to make pulp of afternoon appointment at Brophy's of- thesetwo audacious intruders, flee m the Government Buildings. ■ . < ..; /^Give's, ,a - cigarette," -., was Bropljy's „-.:^atv.t^fe>^\ r oul{l,,-g_o.-..but- -a" darned ;g^eetih|^iien;! 6ne- bfJSO^^l^etljffeung' si^t^aiater^Hian}ithey, came s^eme^ ladle's^ of his' sebretariai%tafr^u6

for neither was asked to take a seat. ' Before the object of the visit could be made clear, Brophy turned on his tirade taps. He knew just what the visitors wanted, and there would be nothing doing. ' . '. , ' . The interviewers did not race for the door when the floodgates of wrath were opened. . Their mission was information on one matter, and not violent ' opinions on a variety of subjects. Efforts to bring Brophy back to earth went unrewarded, andby his attitude it. seemed although it was , only !the. : ; presence; of vihe^two/vlady-se^re^ taries' Avh6 ! ; lie said, "enjoyed his 1 'earn? fudence," which restrained him from using a whole battery of adjectival "eloquence;" . ■ While Brophy tqok breath, "Truth" took the opportunity to ask him what it all meant. . ■ , ; "What right have yu'h to - say that any member of the Bu-rrd Expurditipn is stranded?" fired Brophy When he was brought back to the subject to be discussed. It was explained that this paper was saying no such thing, but was simply asking for inforriiat.ion from the foun-tain-head with regard to certain allegations. Brophy had hold of the wrong end of the stick. Away he went again, launching out into another flow of eloquence. Brophy would not be subdued. Back he came with a flourish of indignation over the manner m which, he said, he had been spoken to over the 'phone. ' He 'was asked to revise his memory. He did so, and decided that what he took exception to was the fact that he. had received a refusal when asking for the names of the man concerned or the informants. Revised His Memory He had been a journalist himself and knew what was what. When he found time to listen to the interviewer who wanted to know if it was strictly businesslike to give names at random over the 'phone, and if this refusal constituted the sole reason for hisevident antagonism, Brophy made the startling contradiction that itwas not the telephone conversation which had indicated to his mind, the cause of a grievance, but the • manner of approach at the interviewj Stars and stripes of verbal confusion left the two visitors m a vortex of bewilderment. The interview took a dramatic turn when Brophy, with a tremor of jilted ambition m his voice, exclaimed: "Thar's only wan man of the Bu-rrd Expurdition stranded. Dick Brophy is stranded! I'm stranded hee-rre m Noo Zealand. Thar's the truth, and if yuh want a story yuh earn publish that. I wantta go to the ice. . . . "Twice I have radio-ed Commander Bu-rrd asking if I could go, but he told me I was too useful m Noo Zealand." Followed a colorful harangue to show how the man Darling could not be deemed to be stranded because that day an America-bound vessel m Dunedin harbor had taken him aboard. Moreover, Brophy had emptied his own pocket-wallet — it was flourished before the visitors — to _finance the other man.

Subsequent inquiries of the captain of the "Golden State". disclosed the fact that Brophy had handed the master of the vessel, to which Darling had been attached, a whole £l note to be transferred to Darling ."on his arrival' at San Francisco. • Brophy was then invited to make use of these columns so that the public might know something of his grievances and ; objections. "I caa-in't do it," 'he replied. An' offer to assist him m writing them up was declined. "Oh, I've got the ability all right, but I caa-n't do it — no member of the Ex;purdition is allowed to write for noospapers," was his excuse. "Then what are. the fourteen typewriters doing on the 'City of New York' ?" he was asked. ' A giggle from the direction of the secretarial -duo was quickly drowned m Brophy's explanation that the machines were solely for . the recording of -scientific research. Many things, about himself, .Brophy appeared anxious to tell his visitors. That he had been a journalist, an editor; yes, and even a "noospaper" proWas Most Versatile prietor, he gladly informed them. Such matters, however, were beside the point so far as' "N.Z. Truth" was concerned, and aa" the interviewers showed signs of leaving, Brophy shook hands with one of them,, saying he was sorry if he had said anything on which he had been misunderstood. As; the door was reached, .Brophy had a filial shot by reminding them that if they published anything about himself; or the Byrd Expedition that was not true, they need never seek to interview him again. ' ' • He was told that "N.Z. Truth" was known throughout the' Dominion for its fairness, and veracity^ and the interviewers left him to his own ■i ; ,efle\ations.^^ " ¥ - WfSfatS -WiySn? *o ASu^deratatidf. that Brophy was once connected with a circus, and from his own lips he is an 1 experienced- journalist. : If this be true,, let him step into the publicity-ring and crack the whip of substantiation to his highly- colored opinions when he returns from the cold regions where he has gone temporarily to N interview Commander Byrd. . .: