The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-09-02
ANOTHER ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

tNSAtCA1pOldIys
ANOTHER ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
| At dinner given by the New
York Yacht Club the other evening
to the officers of the Greely relief
4 expedition, Engineer Melville said
that Arctic expeditions should be
under the auspices of private par
ties, as they could be thus conducted
cheaper thsn by government, and
besides, relief expeditions could be
started without the delay attendant
upon getting appropriations from
Congress and fitting out vessels by
the slow course pursued by officials
The engineer thought he had a plan
for reaching nearer the pole than
anyone else had gone, and was will
ing to make the attempt. In his
enthusiasm one rich young member
Of the club said he would pay half
the expense Of the expedition,
if the others would make
up the other half; subscription list
was Immediately circulated, the
necessary money obtained and the
announcement went forth that
Engineer Melville, in 1885, would
lead an expedition towards the
North Pole. He is to be granted
leave-of-sbsense without pay for
two years, his own salary and all
the expenses of the trip being met
by the Yacht Club 1t is hardly to
be expected that government or any
otherpower viii Interfere to prevent
this rackless expenditure of money
-andthuman life; it is not known
thatthe lawful authority to put q
stop to the execution Of the scheme
is anywhere held; but if the expe-
ditio1 can be checked, it should be,
for the sacrifice alre lady mstle 90 the
pole is far too great. However, one
thing can be done that might
have a deterrent effect upon
the desperately brave fellows who
are willing to risk their lives in this
manner; they can be informed that
government wiil send no,expedition
forEGheir relief, that if they persist
in going they will do SO with the
positive understanding that they
leave behind all hope of a national
search party following year or two
later with food and to bring them
home if living or their bodies if
dead; let them know that if in their
madness they disregard dhe advice
of their friends and defy the ice and
snow Of the inhospitahle north,
national interest in them will cease,
andtthe country will feel under no
obligation to put forth az effort in
their behalf. When there is a rea-
sonebly fair chance to reach the
pole, or when it can be shown that
further discoveries in the north
can be of interest to the world,
the United States will Ba foremost
with men and means toembark in
the enterprise but with present
knowledge and under existing
circumstances It is simply criminal
to encourage these expeditions and
suicidal to attempt the penetration
of tie ice-bound region. Melville
YVES with the Inflated Jeanette
with the Greedy relief party :; |
his knowledge Of the north should
equal that of any other man living;
at least it ought to be enough to
him from further tempting
the elements which have been ter
ribly severe, yet remarkably kind to
him. It is to be hoped that The
Yacht Clubs proposition vas in
spired by a too tree use of wine, and
that when the enthusiastic young
men become duly sober their reason
and good Judgment will return and
defeat the scheme.