Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-01-09

Prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety Washington, d. CO
valuable information which may
help farmers, fishermen and sailors,
as well as scientific data that will
materially enrich mans knowledge of
his spherical home promise to flow
from an extended survey of the Arctic
regions. Such survey, to be made
next spring, has been ordered by Sec
rotary of the Navy DENLY with the
authority of President Coolidge, and
will be participated in by the National
Geographic society.
The expedition Is to traverse the
most extensive unexplored region that
remains on the face of the earth. 1t
lies, roughly, in a large wedge-shaped
slice, at the threshold of American
territory, between Point Barrow, Alas
kn, and the North pole. This north
ern tip of Alaska is separated from
the pole by 1887 statute miles,. and
the direct path between the two cuts
the center of the million-square-mf
region Of mystery. 1t is not even
known whether this is an area of land
or water or both.
Only the edges of the UNEMPLOYED
region have been szirted, but deduc-
lions have been drawn from careful
observations which seem to Indicate
that land exists there. This conclusion
has been reached by a number of OBJ
servers from a study of the movement
and age of ice and from tide and wave
measurements. If land exists there
1t may harbor minerals of great value
as does Spitzbergen in a comparable
situation on the other side of the pole
Ut is entirely possible that islands, if
Ghey do exist in the unknown region.
may have such an economic value that
dhe planting of the flag of the United
States there may be accounted an act
Of great foresight by future genera
tons.
Animal life" abounds in the Arctic,
fish are plentiful, and as a multiply
ing population turns more and more
TO the sea for its food the submarine
life of the Polar regions assumes ever
Increasing Importance. Oceanic man.
mails, especially whales and seals,
emerge into reach of mankind's habi-
tations upon the Arctic's outskirts.
Should aircraft be used to make a
reconnaissance flight over the 1887
mile course between Point Barrow and
the pole the flight will be another men,
orable exhibition of the navy's initia-
tive and daring, but it will be far
from the rash adventure the layman
might at first imagine.
Indeed, the flyers would have some
marked advantages over a similar dis
lance across Atlantic ocean waters.
The continuous daylight of a posar
summer eliminates the handicap that
darkness entails in the event Of me-
chanical troubles. In an uncharted
region the 24-hour day is especially
helpful.
Not So Bad for Flyers.
Flyers would encounter leads of
water short distances apart in much
of the unknown zone. These would
permit planes to alight. and would
allow the use Of convoy planes to
bring supplies, relief, and additional
personnel. The ice foes are virtually
safety RATS for the flyers. In trou-
BILE, a plane alighting in the water
always would be in easy reach of ice
or, if under sufficient control to land
on the ice, it could there make repairs
or radio for relief.
The radio. of course, is prime fac
tor in eliminating hazard in Arctic
flying
Another important advantage the
Arctic holds is the eternal calm of the
waters. No high seas are ever en-
countered among the leads, as fire.
Quently is the case in the Atlantic.
Comfortable flying temperatures are
practically certain in an Arctic sum
mer The weather bureau has record
ed 100 degrees at Fort Yukon, Alaska
In this respect the use of aircraft gives
the polar explorer new-found ad
vantage over the pioneers who had
to brave the extreme cold of winter
to gain the benefit of unbroken ice.