The Grit-advocate., 1906-01-05
FOR NORTH POLE
AIRsHiP PLAN OF WALTER WELL
MAN AND SANTOS DUMoNT,
ALL MODERN APPLIANCES
Chicago Record-Heraid Correspondent
Has Orders to Go Ahead With the
Seheme-To Start Next Summer
From Sptzberqen.


Chicago-"Build an airship, go find
the north pole and report by wireless
telegraphy and submarine cables the
progress of your efforts"
This was the startling assignment
given few days ago to Walter Well
man, the Washington correspondent OF
the Chicago Record Herald, by Frank
B. Noyes, editor-in-chief of the paper,
and the commission has been accepted
by Mr.. Wellman. AS an assistant ON
this daring expedition Mr.. Wellman
Will have the services of Alberto San
tos-Dumont of Paris, who will have
charge of the construction of the air.
ship and will act as aeronautic director
and pilot for the ship on its voyage to-.
ward the north pole.
The airship. the order for which has
been given, will be built by Louis God
ard of Paris under the supervision of
NJ. Santos-Dumont, and will be com.
pleted by the end of next April. No
definite date has been decided upon
when the explorers will start on their
journey, but it is expected that every
thing will be in readiness to get away
next July or early August. After com.
petion the airship will have several
all the paraphernalia will be assembled
in Spitzbergen, where the explorers
will await a favorable opportunity for
the dash for the pole. which, according
to Mr.. Wellman, should the expedition
meet with a good run of luck, should
be reached in less than a week.
In announcing his acceptance to-
night of the proposed expeditions, Mr..
! Wellman said:
"If did not believe that the chances
of success were greater than those OF
failure, l would not accept the COM
mission. Mr.. Moves acted on no sud
den whom or impulse when he gave me
the order to try and locate the much
sought north pole, as he had before
him a report submitted to him as to
the outcome of two visits to the inner
polar regions.
THE problem of reaching the pole
by means of an airship does not re-
quire high speed, and the present state
of the art of aerial navigation by gas
buoyed and motor-driven ships-is am
| pie for that purpose. From an easily
| reached base of operations in northern
| Spitzbergen we have but $50 geograph.
ical miles to go to the pole and like
| distance for the return voyage. 1t we
take the whole at 1900 miles It means
but 100 hours of motoring at twelve
miles an hour. Santos-Dumont has fire.
quently made from nineteen to twenty
three miles an hour with small air.
ships equipped with relatively small
| motors.
1.-THE airship in which we propose to
attain the northpole will be the largest
practicable airship ever built.
ut will carry $500 pounds of gaso-
line and its distance capacity during
calm weather will be eighteen miles
more than equal to the distance from
| SpitZenbergen straight across the pole
and the whole Arctic ocean to Alaska.
AS our airship will be constructed it
will be able to make headway against
i twothirds of all the winds that blow,
even though squarely adverse, and 1t Is
part of our project to motor only with
favorable winds and to anchor our ship
to the ice and lie to- in all unfavOrable
winds of velocity exceeding one-halt
the normal speed of our craft. The
ship will be equipped for safe anchor
age in the highest winds ever known
in the Arctic regions. In fact, the ship
will be subject to the will and hand of
the navigator, just like steamship
| upon the ocean.
Besides the $500 pounds Of fuel
mentioned, the ship will carry also five
men, comfortable car to live In,
| (Which is also boat in case of need,
food and supplies for seveuty-tive days.
sledges to draw them over the ice, and,
in fact, a completely organized and
equipped sledgng party, ready at any
moment, should it be necessary, to
abandon the airship and take to the
| ice.
wireless telegraph stations will be
established at Spitzbergen and at Ham
| merfest, Norway, 600 miles distant.
Further than this, a wireless equip
ment will be carried in our airship, and
| it will be our effort to send daily dis
patches to the outside world through
out all the time the expedition is in the
Arctic regions, even from the pole it
self, should W ebe successful in reach
ing it,