The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1928. BOUND SOUTH

Southland Times, Issue 20648, 21 November 1928, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1928. BOUND SOUTH

An interesting parallel can be drawn between the Antarctic expeditions now preparing to use aeroplanes in an attack on the South Pole, and the two rivals of some years ago, Amundsen and Scott. Captaie Scott’s expedition went to the polar regions largely for scientific operations, and the dash to the Pole was the secondary, if the most spectacular purpose of the project. Amundsen came in with the object of reaching the Pole and did so in a quick journey there and back, forestalling Scott’s, whose work, however, was of greater value to the world. Sir George Wilkins is in the southern regions now preparing to cross the Pole by aeroplane. He was anticipated in the Arctic flight by Commander Byrd, but this time he is ahead of the American. Byrd’s expedition, like that of Scott’s, is not concerned exclusively with the flight across the Pole. His preparations have been made with great care, and hh equipment, like his plans, has been designed to extract the utmost information of scientific value by means of aerial survey. Enough is known of the expedition to aiake it clear that nothing has been left to chance, and nothing has been sacrificed to display. The American airman has not in any way altered his plan as a result of tie appearance of Wilkins, and he has generously offered the hospitality of his depots to his rival if they should be required. Commander Byrd’s achievements in the aerial field have been valuable, and he belongs to the order of airmen who seek results of value to the human race nther than notoriety. In commending the American’s expedition, it is not necessary in any way to belittle the Wilkins flight, dthough the Australian proposes to do ncthing more than demonstrate the practicability of an aeroplane transit of the Pole, coupled with a brisk, superficial survey of tie Antarctic region from the air. Wilkins h his North Pole flight gave proof of his courage, his determination and his resource, but his success in the south will add little more to the sum of the world’s knowledge. On the other hand the meteorological and other records obtained by Byrd, especially the aerial survey conducted with cameras, will be of great value in checking the information already gleaned in the south by previous expeditions. The aeroplane offers means of covering a wider ana than dog teams and ponies made possible, and the Byrd expedition should prove to be one of the most successful despatched to the southern ice region. Some idea of ihe elaborate

care taken in fitting out this expedition can be obtained from the manner in which the library has been chosen. Previous expeditions have not gone much further than to limit the number of books chosen by the individual members, but Byrd is taking down a large stock selected by experts to meet the requirements of the expedition. Of course, it has an American flavour, but, tflfc brief description of the library shows that the choice has been wide. Although no complete list has been made public it is surprising to find that the authors mentioned do not include Shakespeare, who usually appears in every list of works chosen by people having to spend a long time apart from civilization. Probably Shakespeare will be there; but even if he has not won a place in the Antarctic library, the fact that the choice of the books was given into the hands of an expert is enough to show the manner in which the plans of the expedition have been laid. Commander Byrd has caught the attention and sympathy of New Zealanders by deciding to make this country his point of departure for the south, but his modest bearing, his generous attitude to his rival, and his undoubted anxiety that the expedition should be of real scientific value have done more than anything else to ensure the warm approval of the people of this country, coupled with the hope that his highest hopes will be realized.