NOBILE HAUGHTY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 424, 4 August 1928, Page 1

NOBILE HAUGHTY

DEFENDS EXPEDITION “WELL WORTH THE COST” PURPOSE ACCOMPLISHED (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian and N.Z.. Press Association) ROME, Friday. The leader of the recent airship expedition to the Arctic which met with disaster, General Mobile, in an interview with the correspondent of the British United Press, proudly defended the Italia expedition. Throughout the talk he displa3 r ed a proud and haughty spirit, and seemed ready to challenge anyone who attempted to discredit him. He said the expedition was worth all the suffering and sacrifices entailed, owing to the wealth of scientific and geographical research that he would give to the world. No Polar expedition in history, he said, had accomplished so much for science. “We succeeded and we need no excuses. I repeat, we accomplished our purpose fully. We flew for 2-13 hours, of which 134 hours were spi nt in flying over the Polar regions. "We encountered meteorological difficulties that tested the fibre of every man. We overcame a thousand difficulties, and had we continued for three hours more the flight would have been the most complete of any Arctic venture. The mishap to the Italia could not have been foreseen.”

HOPE ABANDONED LOST CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) OSLO, Friday. Although the search expedition will be continued, hope for Captain Amundsen has been abandoned. The result of the Italian inquiry into the disaster to General Nobile’s expedition is eagerly awaited, but it is doubted whether the whole of the tragic story will be published. A message from Moscow says Professor Vise, the leader of the Russian expedition on the icebreaker Malygen, has arrived there. He is the only expert who has hopes for Amundsen. He believes the veteran explorer landed in a region where, the bears and reindeer, and his expert knowledge, will enable him to maintain life for a year.