ROUND THE POLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 110, 11 May 1926, Page 6

ROUND THE POLE.

Lieut.-Commander Ryrd, an American airman, claims to have flown round the Pole; thrice, he says, he circled it in the'wake of the Stars and Stripes. Well, perhaps he did, but a little more proof than is at present offering will be demanded before the world at large accepts the claim. Mr. Byrd, rather an appropriate name for an airman, is an oiKcer of high rank in a great navy, and his word will go for a good deal. But it must be backed by unassailable observations, and for his own good name it is to be hoped that the proof will be forthcoming without delay. No doubt the American airman has flown to the North, and has circled a tract of ice and snow, but was h» in possession of instruments whicn, from the unstable platform pro\ided by a plane in full flight, would bo sufficiently sensitive to definitely determine his constantly changing position in the relatively few minutes during which be was circling the area which he considered surrounded the Pole? Absolute accuracy in such a matter is essential. We know that Capt. Amundsen, when he descended last year and took proper observations, found himself many miles from the point he thought he had reached. In view of this, until the proof is forthcoming, Mr. Byrd's claim will be accepted with some reserve.