New Britain herald., 1930-08-23
NEWS FROM A\DREE

NEN S FROM ANDREE
 In all the books on Polar eXplora- ton it is written that August Andrec and two companions set out for the North Pole in a bolloon and were never heard Of thereafter. And it is written also that it was a courageous attempt. considering that the leader and his men had no better aircra it 1t their disposal than any ordinary circus balloon. which would be al inc mercy Of unknown winds and currents, Andree hoped, ot course. 10 he waited across the Pole and that the balloon would come to earth somewhere on the other side of the great ice pact. For years exploring parties searched for remains of the expedition. Not until the present, 33 years after the event. has the body Of the Swedish explorer and one of his men been found.
 It would seem from the site of the camp where the men were eri- dently frozen to death that they did not get far on their tourney before the balloon was in distress. White Island is far from the Pole, and the distance from Spitzbergen is but q small part Of that which would have had 10 he traveled in order 10 pass over the Pole and .and somewhere or the other side" The expedition, then. as was generally surmised after TO word was received from the ex- pIorer within a reasonable time, was failure from the outset.
 Yet Andree had the spirit of later conauerors Of the Polar region. He had is much courage. too, and he worked with an improved tool 10 boot Whereas attempts 10 penetrate into the ice regions had been made more or less successfully with ships. before Andree's time no one had at tempted to make the trip by air He pinned his faith upon a craft that neither he nor anyone else at that ume could manage.
 He tried Polar air trip just q generation or so toe early. He did ror live 10 see the day when men flew in airp!anes and dirigibles all over the world. when both the Arc 'ic and the Antarctic -ould he well conquered with air machines. How his heart would haze rejoiced, prob ably had he lived long enough to have seen the imminent advances in tho field Of aviation. Probably in such an event he would have been one ot the first 10 utilize aircraft that really could be guided after they are aloft in order to penetrate into what a that time was the great unknown.
 For years Andrec's fate was g damper upon similar attempts to reach the Pole by balloon. Such d method had been preached from tune 10 time previously and undoubt- odly had nor Andree made the at tempt some other courageous indi- Htlual would have done so. The fajl- 4re O Andree's flight however. seemed to have convinced the world quickly that no penetration Of the Arctic was likely by air until somc- one invented an alrship capable Of being maneuEered through space. And n hile this was being achieved the Pole vas reached by Pcary with dog slcdz-nhich constituted 2 re- turn to the original methods of the past.
 In spite Of what achievements have been registered by explorers since Andree's time the world just now Will take off it's hat to his memory. He vas Q daring Viking who must have known before he de- parted that there vas only one chance ou, Of 1oo to return alive. -nd he took this chance gladly for tho sake of the slight possibility Of contributing to tho knowledge and achlelements of mankind.