Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-06-12

100 degrees to the extreme
limits of Kamchatka, the length
of the Asiatic coast, where the Sam
oyedes, Yakoutes. Tchuoktchis and
other conquered people lived, did Russia
not rule half of the Northern Ocean?
And then, on the 18TH parallel to
within less than nine hundred miles
from the pole, did she not possess the
islands of the new Siberia, the Archi-
pelago of Liatkow, discovered in the be-
ginning of the eighteenth century? And
finally, since 1864. before the English,
before the Americans, before the
Swedes did not the navigator Tschits-
chagof search a passage in the North
TO shorten the route between the two
continents? However, notwithstand-
ing this, it seemed that the Americans
were more anxious to become possessors
of this particularly inaccessible point
of the globe than any one else.
They had often tried 10 obtain it by
devoting themselves to the search of Sir
John Franklin, with Grinnel, with
Kane, with Hayes, with Greedy, with
De Long and other courageous navigat-
ors. They could also plead the geo
graphical situation OF their country,
which develops itself below the Polar
circle from the Behring Sea to Hudson's
Bay. And were not all these countries,
all these Observation-Disclosures Prince AL
bert, Victoria, King William, Melville,
Cockburne, Banks, Baffin, not counting
the thousand small pieces of. the archi-
pelago-like a leaf spreading TO the
Goth degree? And then supposing
that the North Pole should be attached
by an uninterrupted line of territory to
one of the large continents of the globe,
would il not be more to America than
to Asia or Europe? Therefore nothing
was more natural than the proposition
to purchase this region by the Federal
government for the benefit of an Amer
lean society.
If any power had undisputable modern
rights TO possess the Polar domain it
was certainly the United States of
America. 1t must also be considered
that the United Kingdom of Great
Britain, which possessed Canada and
British Colum bia, numerous sailors of
which had distinguished themselves in
these Arctic countries, urged very good
reasons for annexing this part of the
globe to their vast empire. And its
journals discussed the matter at great
length Yes, without a doubt"
answered the great English geographer,
KHptringan, in an article in a London
newspaper, which made a great sensa-
ton; Eyes, the Danes, the Hollanders,
the Russians and the Americans can be
proud of their rights AS for En-
gland, she did not wish TO let this conn-
try escape her. Did not the Northern
part Of the continent already belong to
themP Have not these LANDS, these
islands which composed them, been
discovered and conquered by En-
glish discoveries since Willoughby,
who visited Spitzenberg and New
Zealand in 1879, TO Mcclure, whose
vessel made in 1858 the passage of the
Northwest? And then were not Fro
bisher. Davis, Hall, Weymouth, Hud-
son, Ba9in, Cook, Ross, Parry, Bechey,
Belcher. Franklin, Mulgrave, scores by
MacClinton, Kennedy Mares, Collinson,
Archer, all of Anglo-Saxon origin?
And what country could make a more
regions than that which these naviga-
tors had been able TO acquire? well"
said a California journal, "let US put
the matter on it's real point, and as
there is a question of dmour-pfopre be-
tween the United States and England,
let US ask: II the English Markham, of
the Mares expedition, had gone 50 de-
grees and 20 II inutes OF latitude and the
Americans, lockwood and Brainard, Of
the Greedy expedition, went to So de-
grees s. minutes, 10 whom then does the
honor belong Of having come nearest to
the North Pole?
Such were the demands and explana-
lions, but one could see that the strug
gle would only be active between Amer.
lean dollars and English pounds ster-
ling However, according to the propo-
sition made by the North Polar Prac-
teal Association all countries had to be
consulted and given a chance at the
auction. The sale was announced to
take place,December at Baltimore. The
sum realized by the sale was to be di-
vided among the States which were un-
successful bidders, and they were to ac-
cept it as indemnity and renounce all
their rights in the Arctic regions for the
future
The delegates, furnished with their
letters of credit, left London, The
Hague, Stockholm. Copenhagen and St.
Petersburg. and arrived three weeks be-
fore the day fixed for the auction sale.
Up to this time America had only
been represented by Mr.. w 5. Forster
Of the North Polar Practical Associa-
ton.
The delegates Of the European powers
who had been chosen were included in
the following list: