Evening star., 1933-07-09
Lindbergh on Arctic Trail

trip was highly successful on the north
ern part Of the route, and he did e
splendid job over Greenland and Ice
land and as far as the Shetland Is
lands. But. with the end of their flight
almost IN sight. Cramer and Oliver
Pacquette were drowned in the North
Sea between Lerwick and Copenhagen
Meteorologists had warned them not
to leave the Shetlands at that time, be-
cause Of the weather. But one of the
major aims Of the flight had been to
create a popular sensation in Denmark
This meant reaching Copenhagen on
schedule time, since q reception was
being planned there for the flyers And
that, as 1t turned out, meant their
death.
Wreckage of their plane was picked
up In the North Sea shortly after the
tragedy. With it was a package con-
tanning Cramer's passport and, dra-
matically. map that had been pub
lished by Stefansson with his first ex-
position Of the Greenland-1celand
route as commercial feasibility.
But Cramer's flight was not fail
ure Through his death he probably
did as much to advance the cause ol
passenger service over Greenland and
Iceland as he could have done by I'm
ishing his flight in safety.
That flight, also. indirectly served to
bring Stefansson into active participa-
tion in the work for Greenland-1ce-
land flying service to Europe. And
Stefansson and his associates helped
materially in obtaining flying conces-
sions in the countries through which
the route paced. 1t was a classmate
Of Stefansson's, Judge Gudmundur
- Mall nd <Nl<
tanned exclusive rights to carry the
United States mails through that coun-
try on intercontinental air traffic for
IS years. After that the Danes were
Won over They granted exclusive
American rights for three years to
carry out research in Greenland toward
the establishment Of trans-Greenland
commercial service. The contract stip-
ulated that the American company was
to send at least two expeditions tc
Greenland and that at the end Of three
years Of study and flying. franchise
would be granted for commercial flying
across Greenland if both Americans and
Danes we're satisfied that the airline
was feasible.
Purchase OF Concessions.
The Pan-American Airways purchased
lIlcSt COIl(CSclOlAo dho oSACStSA IL. oSSA
ansson to supervise field research. Thus
the man who 10 years ago was called
an impractical dreamer now plays an
active role in the great scientific and
exploratory efforts in which Col. Lind
bergh is about to take his great share
The three-year research period stipu-
lated in the contract with Denmark
ends in 1885. Then We can expect q
decision as to the establishment OF reg
ular flying service between the United
States and Northern Europe.
An enormous network Of scheduled
fiyiRg service was established along the
coasts of South America after Col
Lindbergh's survey flights there. All
Of us can follow the Lindbergh route
to South America today through the
mere formality Of getting passports and
buying tickets. Is it too much to expect
that We soon will be able to travel the
route he will follow this Summer? The
prediction that paying passengers may
soon. and as matter of course. fly to
Europe over that inland ice of Green
land where PeGry and Nansen and
Rasmussen and Koch and Wegener
and a host Of others established their
regulations as heroic polar explorers
has been taken out Of the hands of
dreaming enthusiasts 1t has been
taken up by men with an eye for the
profits of everyday operations and no
mind for mere sensational stunts.