stefansson-wrangel-09-38-006

Wrangel Land substituted. Since this time mapmakers generally have used the latter name. No human beings are known to have landed on Wrangel Island from 1881 to 1914, when seventeen men of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (commanded by Vilhjalmur Stefansson) landed in March, remaining till September (1914). According to orders from the Department of Naval Service of Canada, the Union Jack was hoisted on July 1, 1914, and possession reaffirmed in the name of the King.

Under the belief that the British rights which arose in 1914 through British occupation would lapse in 1919 through neglect, Stefansson began that year to urge upon the Government of Canada the importance of continued occupation, since a No-Man's-Land in that quarter was becoming so valuable through the development of aviation that we might expect Russia or (especially) Japan to plant a colony there and thus gain possession. In 1921 plans were being made at Ottawa for extensive Polar work (including occupation of Wrangel Island) when a dispute arose as to whether these operations should be commanded by Stefansson or Shackleton. From this resulted delay, and finally in July 1921, the Canadian premier informed Stefansson through J.B.Harkin, Commissioner of Dominion Parks, that no expedition could be sent in 1921 but one would be sent in 1922. Stefansson considered this delay unsafe, and accordingly fitted out a secret expedition to forestall what he believed to be imminent Japanese occupation. A party of four 2.

white men and some Eskimos were landed on Wrangel Island as a colony in middle September,1921, and they are there still. The Canadian Government were not informed of this enterprise until the ship that landed the party had returned.

Attitude of other Countries. At Washington, Stefansson has discussed the situation fully with his schoolmate and friend Theodore Roosevelt, now assistant secretary of the Navy. Through Roosevelt, Stefansson met several of the American Admirals. The general attitude of these men is about that shown by the following extract from a letter from Admiral Moffett, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics of the U.S. Navy: - "NAVY DEPARTMENT, "BUREAU Of AERONAUTICS, " WASHINGTON. "March 22,1923.

"My dear Mr. Stefansson: "Thank you very much for your kind letter "of March 10th. I am familiar with what you "have written and what you have done in regard "to Wrangel Island. Am only sorry that one of "my own fellow countrymen did not have the "vision to do what you did. "I am in entire agreement as to the importance of Wrangel Island and its future use...... ..................................................................... ................................

"(Signed) .W.A.Moffett."

In other words, the American attitude, in so far as known to Stefansson, is that they are sorry they did not think of occupying Wrangel Island between 1919 and 1921 while it was No-Man's-Land. Stefansson at Ottawa was shown what were said to be all the papers in the Wrangel Island case. There was no protest there from the American Government. 3.

But there was a protest from the Russian Government. It was under three heads: (a) "Baron Wrangel discovered Wrangel' Island". This is absurd, since the Baron's own book shows his route map indicating he was never near Wrangel island. The book also says he discovered no land in that quarter. (b) "The Russians landed on Wrangel, and the Russian flag was raised between 1910 and 1915." If there was such a landing, and if it was before 1914 (which they do not specifically state) then its force has gone through neglect, just as the force of the British occupation of 1914 was considered to he spent by 1919. (c) "Wrangel Island is Russian because it is North of Russian territory, and because it is only 100 miles away". These are principles which have never been established. The logic of "land north of Canada belongs to Canada" is based on the conception that the "top" or "end" of the earth is there. But the earth is a sphere and not a cylinder, and there is no end to it anywhere. The U.S. Navy has announced its first dirigible will cross the polar area in 1924 and General Mitchell of the Bureau of Aeronautics of the U.S. Army has said there will "soon" be a network of air commerce over the polar area in all directions at all times of year. That will end for ever the conception that there is an end to the world in that quarter and will destroy what little logic there ever was in the idea that a land north of one country 4.