San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-04-08
STEFANSSON PREDICTS AIR
TRAVEL BY ARCTIC ROUTE
SOON WILL BE GENERAL
Destined to Become Favorite Passageway Between
Europe and the Orient, He Says, and Five
Great Advantages Are Pointed Out by
Famous Explorer of the Arctic Regions.

Standing for centuries as a giant
barrier to ships seeking a short route
10 the Far East, the Arctic ocean VIII
in dine course Of time become the IA
yorite passageway between Europe
anl the Far Eastern lands, according
70 Vilbialmur Stefansson in an article
snnearing in the current number OF
me M s. Air Service magazine, a
nav nublication. This time will come
when travel by dirigible airSmps mas
,enlaced travel by ocean liners TO the
oytant commercial transportation Dy
air can be maintained between ontln-
on+s How soon this will be is a mat
ter of speculation.
Especially during the summer
months will the polar route be traE-
eled between Europe and ASIA, Stel-
ansson saws. In addition to being the
shortest route between the centers OF
0onulation. the midnight sun when
nrevails during the summer season IN
fhe Arctic regions will be one OF the
nrincipal inducements for tourists
booking their passage over this route
n;r;gibles will still have to vary
their routes according to season, put
can be more free in so doing than can
passenger liners, whose winter anu
summer routes vary several hundred
miles. The dirigible will have the al
vantage of altitude variations. ana by
maneuvering into favorable winds can
increase its speed. Meteorologlcal
data sent by wireless from weather
bureaus will enable the ships to do
this.
Five Advantages Pointed Out.
\ Mr.. Stefansson says that there are
five main reasons for the coming popu-
larity of the trans-polar air route IN
the inter-continental travel, citing
these advantages as follows:
Advantage 1.-The most practical
route of the recent past between Eng.
land and Japan has led by way OF
socear, steamers to Montreal, the Can
adam railways to Vancouver and
then by the northerly route along the
Aleutian Islands to Japan. The
slengfh Of this route is given by the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company,
which covers it all either by steamer
or rail, at 992S.S miles from Liverpool
10 Yokohama. But the distance from
n railway terminus at the north of
Great Britain to the north end of
Japan proper where railway travel
could be again resumed is by air
route. only $500 miles. -.
To a man in a hurry, whether for
personal transportation or the trans
nortation of urgent dispatches, a saw
ing of a third of the distance, mean
ing also a saving of third the time,
will in some cases b extremely i'm
portant. But the route has other adj
vantages. which in some cases, may
be even more attractive than the saw
ing in distance and time.
Advantage PIT is said that helium
is for dirigibles a gas much prefer
able to hydrogen, not only because it
will not explode but also because it
does not expand rapidly with heat.
However, helium is at present exceed
ingly rare, so rare indeed that even
were the costliness Of it no considera-
ton we are at loss to see how any
considerable number of dirigibles
could be operated with that gas. Fur
thermore, there are many countries
which are not known 10 contain any
sources of helium, and while the
United States and Canada are con-
sidered to be fortunate in possessing
resources, other countries have by that
much a greater reason to feel them
selves handicapped by certain unde-
sirable qualities of the hydrogen they
must perforce use for dirigibles.
Hydrogen expands and contracts not
so much under the influence of heat