Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-08
SEES RESULTS OF VALUE
In SEARCH OF ARCTICS
DIR. Nansen, Eminent Norwegian Ex-
plorer, Glasses Discoveries Already
Made as Merely ''the Beginning"

the dancing wraiths Of snow. He is
interested in the Arctic only for what
he can get out of her that will be Of
permanent value to his fellow man.
And he is going back at 10.
The idea that everything worth dis
covering in the Arctic has been discov-
cred. says hansen, is pure nonsense"
Everything that has gone before, all the
sacrifices that have been made and All
the heroism displayed, has been merely
a beginning. Because of the work of
men like Peary, De Long and hundred
others. the explorer of the future can
start out with fairly good map to dis
cover things that are really worth
while. He will not have to bother with
essentials. as M 1sen did. HIS
laboratory has been built for him.
The Norwegian veteran doesn't turn
IN his nose at the dude exploring"
with airplanes that cover In a few
nours territory that he was years in
traversing. He is glad that there has
been such an opportunity presented to
men to increase knowledge Even with
| the airplane he sees ahead a program
Of Arctic exploration which will require
another century to complete.
Classics Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic Ocean. says hansen, Is an
| integral part of the ocean system of
the world. Its behavior must be un-
! derstood in order to understand the be-
/ havior of the other great bodies of
water The behavior of the oceans
must be understood in order to under
stand the weather. The weather must
| be understood to predict rately.
| Agriculture and business must have
! accurate predictions When one link
of the chain is missing the whole is Of
doubtful value
When DR. Nansen sets ont over the
polar sea next Summer ne will b.
thinking of the dinner tables of an
other century.
The Arctic is the cradle of storms
When they burst over the circle they
already are full grown. One of the
great needs of science is to study storms
in their babyhood.
However foolhardy some of the polar
ventures may seem they all are path
finders for those of the future The
immediate results may seem to have no
practical value for the human race
The object behind the expedition NAV
be simply love of adventure, or even
pure advertising.
Worthwhile Results Obtained.
! But the object gained always Is more
than that. Tragedy in the polar seas
now is like setting up lighthouse for
the fog mariners of tomorrow. It
teaches them more of what to avoid
The sailor the sledger. and the flyer
are trail-blaZers for the meteorologists
and the university professors.
So long as any bit of ne earth's sur
face remains unexploreL, in the opinion
of men like DR.. hansen. there remains
work for the scientist: for the earth,
like the human body. exists as a whole
and not merely as a cong omeration OF
parts. The obScurest corner of the
/ Arctic seas or the Antarctic mountains
may hold the secret of survival or de-
struction fer the human race. There
fore no explorer dies in vain. His life
becomes an essential part in the great
temple of heroism whose cleaning
towers guide men on in the night and
the storm of today toward a nob,el
tomorrow