The Cordova daily times., 1922-09-02
WRANCELL lD. HOLDS LURE
 FOR NATIONS

tic flight, and one to the effect that another expedition had lately set out under the direction of Vilhjalmar Stefansson for Wrangell Island, recalls the controversy between StefanssOn and Edwin F. Naulty, whose protest against the claims of the explorer in favor of the Canadian government, was brought to the attention of Con- gross. Apropos Stefansson's latest ex- petition, it is timely to print an ex- tract from the Congressional Record of July 6, 1922 in which Edwin F. Naulty attacks the purpose of Stef- ansson's enterprise. Naulty, who is we'll known as an aeronautic investl- gator, formed and published about year ago plan for a trans-Arctlc polar flight, definite in details and H. lustrated by charts as to ice drifts current flow, known directions and other data. This chart was deposited in a government bureau and no effort made to keep it's contents secret. Some months later. according to Naulty's ac- cusation. Roald Amundsen appropr1- ated his plans and adopted them for his own. Naulty's communication fol- lows:
 "Two foreign explorers, Vihljalmar Stefansson, a Scandinavian, who now asserts that he is a British sublect' and Roald Amundsen, Norwegian have taken, and are about to taNe' action that may result inimlcally to the interests of the United States. Their york is camouflaged under the name of scientific exploration, put as I see it. and as the facts seem to nrove this is only a disguise for ter ritorial exploration and aggression. We're the work of these men carried on from the countries of their birth or adontion but little objection might De made, but under the pretense ol "science" all the obtainable tacllitles of various departments of the Onlteo States government have been used tc forward their plans at the expense ol the United States.
 In September, 1921, stefansson hastily organized party and took nossession of Wrangell Island tof Great Britain. Stefansson has been under fire from Professor O'Neil] and Anderson of Canada, over the Karluk expedition of 1913-14, and one of them had definitely charged Stef ansson with having "subOrdinated the interests of science to his own per sonal advantage" during the karluk expedition, which was under Canadian auspices. In his exploit of taking Wrangell Island Stefansson perhaps saw way of rehabilitating himself with Canada and Great Britain owing to the great value of Wrangell Island as an air base for flights across the Arctic.
 Alaska and Siberia effectively closed the air exit of Great Britain or Canada from the Atlantic across the Arctic, to the Pacific, on the main llttoral, so that Herald Island, a small granite rock, unsuitable for an air base, and Wrangell Island, which is 70 miles long and 30 miles wide, assume intense strategical importance. To Herald Island the British may lay fair claim by right of Lettett's discovery of it ex- cept for the implication of the north ward extension of boundary lines Of nations abutting on the Arctic, claim for which northward extension Canada makes for all the territory lying be- tween the 6Oth meridian west, and the Al meridian west, running from the known lands therein to the North Pole
 On November g, 1921, at Kansas City, Stefansson announced that q marty had been sent from Nome, Alas ka. to Wrangell Island, about 100 miles north of Siberia, to establish base for what he said would be a huge British exploring party into the north' and arrived safely at it's destination
 Stefansson sent his "expedition' out in an American vessel flying the American flag, the Silver Wave, Of Nome, Alaska. He cajoled three Amer jeans to join the party under Cana dian leader, without explaining to them the object of his expedition' to take Wrangell Island for Great BTU ain. This was in September, l92l. The Stefansson party can not get out from Wrangell Island until July or Au- gust at the earliest this year, when we