Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1930-01-17

first to fly over both the North and
South poles. During his history-mak-
ing fight he discovered 10000 square
miles Of ice-blanketed lands never be-
fore seen by man and claimed them
In the name Of the United States.
And thereby hangs the tale of dis
pute between nations as to who owns
Antarctica, dispute which would seem
to the casual observer to be a silly
one. For, as he would naturally think,
what difference does it make who
owns" that 10000 square miles of
Ice and snow, SO far as practical value
to the possessof is concerned? But
what if.it should be discovered that
that vast territory contains vast stores
Of Oil. gold and other mineral wealth?
that would be something else again!
While the dispute so far has not
reached anything approaching a criti
cal stage, it is, nevertheless, one which
offers some interesting possibilities
For Uncle Sam and John Bull are the
two would-be Owners" Of Antarctica.
When 1t became known that Command
er Byrd was planning an Antarctic
expedition, the British government
fled with the State department of this
country a communication offering to
lend any assistance possible while
Byrd was Sin British territory" and
defining that territory by quoting a
resolution Of the imperial conference
In 1925, promulgated at the request Of
Australia.
This note was received by the State
department on November II, 1925 but
the department did not give it's official
answer until November, 1929, just a
short time before Byrd made his epic
flight. That reply, it is said unofficial
ly, was q courteous thank you" for
England's expression Of interest in
Byrd's activities "in the Ross depend
ency and the Falkland island depend
ency." but was strictly noncommittal
In either conceding or denying British
claims to sovereignty over the areas
enumerated in the British note.
British claims to sovereignty in Ant
arctica go back for their beginnings
to an event which took place just 157
years ago. That was on January IL,
1878, when Capt. James Cook, later
famous for his discovery Of the Ha-
waiian islands, in his ship, Resolu-
ton, accompanied by the Adven-
ture, crossed the Antarctic circle for
the first time in history. A year later
he reached what was then "farthest
south" (even though it was 1918 miles
from the South poleD and discovered
q land which he named the Isle of
Georgia, in honor of George III, and
Sandwich Land, In honor of the fourth
Earl Of Sandwich, first lord of the ad.
miralty during the American RevoIu-
ton.
In 1923 James Weddell of the Brit
ish Royal navy discovered the sea
which now bears his name and set
new "farthest south" record or 1,1O2
miles from the pole. Soon after that
the famous whaling firm of Enderby
In London became interested in Ant
arctic exploration and sent out sew
eral expeditions. In one of them In
1880 james Briscoe of the British navy
discovered and named Kemp Land, and
In 1899 John Balleny discovered and
named the Balleny islands.
By this time the United States had
become interested in South polar ex-
ploratiOn also. and in 1895 congress
authorized an expedition which was to
make discoveries. upon which our prin-
cipai claims to ownership of land In
Antarctica were to be based. Com
mand of the expedition was given to
Lieut. Charles Wilkes of the United
States navy and In command of six