The Press Monday, July 9, 1928. Arctic Hazards.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19357, 9 July 1928, Page 8

The Press Monday, July 9, 1928. Arctic Hazards.

The dramatic failure of General Mobile's attempt to explore the Arctic regions in the airship Italia and the disappearance of the most famous Polar explorer in the world in an attempt to rescue him must have caused many people to wonder why men and money are being sacrificed so freely over such an unprofitable part of the earth. The answer is that the exploration of the Polar zones has only just begun. The spectacular dashes into the unknown that thrilled people at the beginning of the century added little to our knowledge of the Polar regions, and after Peary's exploit exploration on foot rapidly declined. It was realised that for'the collection of scientific data some better method of travel would have to be found, and men's thoughts naturally turned to the air. As far back as 1897 a Swede named Andree, with two companions, set out from Spitzbergen in a large free balloon to drift over the Pole. The only traces of them ever found were some buoys with messages attached which they threw overboard. Twelve years later Wellmann took off from Spitzbergen in a three-motor airship, but by a remarkable stroke of luck fell into the sea thirty miles from his starting point and was rescued. The experiences of Byrd and Amundsen last year have shown quite clearly that Wellmann's machine could not have lived in Arctic weather. General Nobile's eipedition was to have been the first attempt at a thorough air reconnaissance of the Polar regions, but from, the first there was considerable controversy over the time the Italian had chosen and the suitability of his airship, and finally over his qualifications for the leadership of such a venture. Wilkins favours March and April and Byrd April and May for Arctic exploration, but both held—and subsequent events have supported their opinions—that Nobile delayed his start far* too long. It was widely held also that a rigid airship would have been much more suitable than the semi-rigid Italia, but the enormous cost of the rigid type led Nobile to make the attempt in an airship which he himself admitted was not large enough. As to Nobile's personal qualifications it is hard to form a just estimate. His knowledge of meteorology is profound, and he is almost Teutonic in his attention to detail, but on the other hand he is a fervent patriot and his desire to glorify his country may have been in conflict with his scientific caution. It is at least significant that competent judges like Amundsen and Wilkins had misgivings from the first concerning his chances of success. We cannot, however, blame Nobile if he has been reckless, since the world owes much to reckless men, and is not very tolerant of cautious ones when their preparations keep it "waiting too long for the sensation of seeing the performance begin.