New Britain herald., 1930-07-19

consisting Of 9o0o polar bears, 1O.- ooN reindeer. 14,0S1 Eskimos and 274 Danes, may be the midway sta ton for 2 British airway company carrying passengers between Eng land and Winnipeg, Canada, if
 And that If" is one of the big gest in the world. On July 3rd. H. G. Watkins, with an expedition backed in part by the British and Canadian governments, the Royal Geographical Society and some pri- vate individuals. is setting sail from England to solve that "if." The chances are all against his finding q satisfactory solution but, in the meantime. he probably will have done much 10 clear up the unknown matters relating 10 one of the last of the earth's spaces to remain an unWrltten book
 Air Route to North America
 As visuahzed by Watkins packers. there is q chance for an air route in comparatively short hops-Eng- land to the Farce Islands, from there 10 Iceland, from there to point midway in Greenland. thence to Baffin Land and next sweeping over part Of Hudson Bay to Winnipeg The one big advantage would be that nowhere would there be a sea passage of over 800 miles.
 But the drawbacks are manifold. The seas between Iceland and Green land and between Greenland and Baffin Land are among the loneli- est in the world and if a commercial seaplane had 10 come down there would be slight hope of rescue. In the next place almost all the year round the weather is terrible for flying on account of the frequent fogs and the high winds.
 Again. the formation of Green land, with it's coasts indented with huge fjords, most Of which look alike and with it's inner plateau just one vast eXpanse Of ice and snow, would give a navigator few land marks by which to guide himself
 There IS supposed 10 be smooth central plateau in Greenland where the snow IS practicable for landing purposes and where high winds are almost unknown. but as the height Of this plateau is 5000 feet, ordin- arr flyin0 0machines would be very near their ceiling" all the time,
 But, if all other conditions were favorable and all difficulties over come, it might still take some six days to fly from England to Winni- peg. AS steamships are swift and sure and now are taking a bare five days 10 make the ocean transit, it is unlikely that the fog, snow and ice route would appeal to enough people to make the thing a commer- clal success. A company undertaking such a project would not only have 10 have exceptionally stout flying machines. would not only have to have buildings on the Farce Islands and Iceland, but, what is more eX- pensiye, would have 10 establish them on the ice, plateau of Green land where everything would have 10 be hauled either hy dog or rein deer teams or else ny flying ma chimes. sending the cost up enor- mously
 To sail in Quest
 Notwithstanding all this, Watkins will go with fully equipped cXpe- dition in Shackleton s old ship, the Quest. which has been chartered from its present NorU egian owners. The British Air Ministry has given him the services ot a Royal Air Force officer, the war offic" wire less officer and the Admiralty a na- val surgeon.
 Watkins. also will have with him surveyors, gcologists, metooro.o- 'ats and ornithologists So tn, ln addi- tion to surveying Grec~ iard u5 q practical midway point for an air route, aU kinds Of eXplo.arons will be undertaken with q view 10 get ting fuller knowln 2go of Groom land than has been obt1 Lod up.to- date.
 The vast inner pl2.ear, witch they will explore, f equal n area to France Germany and Spain com bined The meteorologists expect to stay on the ice cap for q. whole year longer than this has ever been done before al such an altitude in th- Arctic. While this is being donr, it !' hoped the Canadian govorHaent VIII survey the proposed air l7"-. from Winnipeg over Hudson Bay and Baffin Land. The main exploration by the Watkins expedition will be made by means of dog sledges. fu' they also will have airplanes and motor boats. Watkins is a youne man cnly recently graduated iron Oxford University, b .l he eady has led expeditions to Edge Islan, and to parts of Labrador anu has shown himself a very resourcefu leader. ,,.,
 The mere fact that this expedition is being undertaken has led to re ports that Canada wants 10 buy Greenland from Denmark and thif l has considerably excited the Nor vegians. who have maintained gren hunting and fishing interests in the | island and who never officially rec | oenized Denmarks sovereignty oNel more than a small area along the coast. where the Danes have had set dement's for many years and where they have established a regular gov ernment.
 Watkins will have several rival eX peditions to cope with, One German 1 one Swedish and three Norwegian exploring parties have already beer | formed to go into Greenland.
 The biggest of these is to be un der the leadership of Professor