The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-21
Nansen's Failure.

A London dispatch says il is feared that
Arctic Explorer Nansen's ship the Franz
has been wrecked in the ice and the whole
expedition lost. The hansen expedition
was supposed to be the most scientifically
equipped of any that has yet made an
attempt upon the frozen secrets of .he
polar regions. The ship was constructed
with an especial view to resisting heavy
pressure from ice, IN order that She might
drift with the breaking ice into the open
polar sea. and wherever else fortune might
lead her She was stocked with the most
advanced scientific apparatus and manned
by a picked crew Of experienced cold
climate sailors.
Nansen's is the third Arctic expedition
to fail within a year or such matter.
The others were Peary's and Wellman's.
The former was a scientific expedition
with purpose; the latter "A sensational
dash made by an adventurous newspaper
man for the purpose of getting something
to write about. Peary was compelled TO
abandon for the time his pursuit because
Of the terrific storms that swept over
Greenland. Welman turned back because
he had gone far enough, and as far as he
could conveniently go.
These expeditions, and similar. ones that
preceded them, have resulted in scarcely
anything more than the sacrificing of the
lives of brave and good men. and the
adding of a small sum to our knowledge
of geography. Nothing practical has been
achieved No northern passage between
the oceans has been discovered; and
the finding of such a passage was the
purpose of the earlier expeditions. why
should Arctic expeditions be continued
when only death ana failure lie at the
end of them? There is now no need for the
finding of a northern passage between
the oceans. Such a connecting link would
not be used if it were discovered. The
Suez canal and the Geographic cables
have brought the ends of the earth i'm
pretty close touch. The Nicaragua canal
win supply what is lacking to make
the continents near neighbors. The dis
covery of the north pole and the naviga-
ton of the polar sea are at present
merely matters of speculative interest.
Why should not nature be permitted to
retain her secrets in the far north?
The mental caliber Of the populists in
the North Carolina legislature may be
| gagged by their refusal to adjourn the
| legislature on Robert T. Lees birthday.
! There is certainly no politics in the OBJ
servance of Lees birthday. He was a
man loved and honored by the whole
south, and admired and respected by the
north. 1t is a matter of pride for south
ern people to pay annually a tribute to
his memory. These populist states
men," however. who are probably char
acterized by retrGating foreheads and
chins, offered an anront to their own
state. which sent thousands of gallant
soldiers to follow the fortunes Of Lee,
and to the southern people by refusing
his memory the mark of respect they
would accord to the most insignificant
member of their body if he should die
during the session.
The section of the United States most
remote from the Hawaiian Islands is the
state of Maine. Yet from out OF that
neck of the woods come the most dismal
and heartrending walls about the Hawa-
ian situation. The Pacific slope. which
is more or less in touch with the islands, is
not paying a great deal of attention TO
their affairs, for the reason that the Pa
cihc slope has some knowledge and appre-
citation of the situation in Hawaii. 1t is
a Characteristic Of the down-easterS how
ever, TO howl loudest about things fur
thest removed from them. L is their de-
light to try to reform" people and af-
fairs thousands Of miles away
News of japanese victories is getting
almost monotonous as were the bulle-