The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-11-01
value Ct Arctic Exploration.

srbere e an an EMERY from n lot Of
r,o-gss,a,,a,.s thsf sxniorafion az the
Arct;, ysc;ons ,,,,,at ason. that the re-
enIor e #, = s~,.lnrst;o,,a IL NOT Justify
the ,.nst n ,,onav and life But the
~~s,lo~st;ons viii act sfon.Sand the gem
tlas,,e,, VIE ,vI,c 80 de,nand;ng tbat fbev
shsl1 are q , I'll, COUNCIL If their henrta
,etha,' :, tSan tbe3r heads-ltheT are more
sr ,5s-, Sss than sensible There has.
;ydeed hean great sacrifice OF life 10
The IT,. ra,y;on Rnt has there not also
b ,a,s 10, oraaf sacr;Fice az life al homer It
q ssitssds WV 81 st,..t ~ !, ,.et,,,n for fine
,,tfo,.;y,r .,,d death In the Greedy marty
4 ~ 3,,sn,,,gatiop be ohtainedp Tn
ro,,l-r. TTbst sart ~ a RETURN for tha
adrs,}, - TIC o,,a hundred and twantv
:, & -, 81 sIsnt in the fiery fur
4 4, II = ia Poo Shoistass mine was all
',,. - b enf,s,t6f M Shall the
I,{s "a man and tie tears and cries Of
Widows ard orphaiss he weighed in the
balance With Some tons Of coal. and
shallsno account be made of the. dis
WAYS a. heroisn5 and their value in the
Edrsnation Of National character May
man nerish bv scores digpiu6 coal and
tha fsct be nccented as an incident in
National progress. and others perish in
.eIforts to enli1hten the human race on
sf,sna If the most important problems
Of natural science. and the fact be set
down a q waste merelyp II the fate
81 those with Greatly and De Long
was a waste OF life and limb. what
was the fate Of tI1k thousands
who lost life 81 limbs in hinesp It is
|important to have exact knowledge of
.he world Ne live In. as we'll as to have
coal to Keep Us warm or cook our FOOD.
Those who pry cut against Arcuc ex
ploration do not seem to know that the
scientific world Is looking to the Arctic
region fora solution Of difficulties en-
coIlnt6red in the study of the laws Of
storms. and upon correct knowledge
Of those laws depend the life and safety
of all who 90 TO sea. to mention only
ons part Of the multitudes who would
he benefited by such knowledge. If
tIsb laws Of storms were thoroughly UNI
derstood, does anyone suppose that a
charlatan like Virgins could succeed
IL frightening thousands Of mariners bv
his prediction Of coming storm on the
ocean, To saw nothing about the effect
of that scare upon the character of the
people, the DELAYS to shipping by it
caused directly and indirectly the loss
Of a greater sum of money than the
Government ever expended In an Arc
tic expedition. Recall the great disas-
ters at sea. and how many of them
might have been avoided had the laws
Of storms been understoodp How many
| ships have sailed right into the vortex
because no one knew that a distant
| storm was forming the vortex Or look
| III the matter on the other side. How
\ MANY ships have been saved. with all
their crews. in late wears. by a short
| telegraphic dispatch announcing
| changes OF weather. and reporting the
alterations in the thermometer and
! barometerP Read the stories Of the
| storms on the coasts of all civilized
nations now. and an answer to the ques-
| ton may be had. In tho stormy season
no reports in the papers are much more
common than reports Of how fleets Of
merchant vessels ran to shelter when
| word was received, from across the
ocean perhaps. that there was peril in
being abroad. Is it waste OF money
| and life to send brave men to regions
where thew can obtain facts to verify
and amplffy such important knowi-
edgep And what has the loss of life
amounted top The statistics of Arctic
explorations show that the number OF
deaths in all the expeditions from the
one sent out in search OF Sir John
Franklin down TO recent time has
amounted to only two per cent. of the
whole number of explorers. These are,
Indeed, perilous expeditions. There