"PRICELESS AID."

Taranaki Daily News, 21 July 1919, Page 11

"PRICELESS AID."

ADVANTAGES OF THE SUBMARINE. "The submarine comes first as n modern method of transportation to reach the North Pole," says M, iVilhjaltmir Stefansson, the Arctic explorer. "Next comes the dirigible balloon, and finally the aeroplane. The subriiarine appears to mo to be a perfectly practicable way of reaching the Pole, as well as a comfortable way, for one could carry all the necessary comforts. I have seldom seen a stretch of ice extending more than 30 miles without coming to open water. In the circumstances there would never be any diffi culty in the matter of getting to tin surface. Also the navigator would be assured of calm water."

'M. Stefansson also said fiat the submarine had already been, used for getting to ice-bound ports, 'though au "ice submarine'' would of necessity require sligllt changes in construction from the usual type, such as adding wheels to go along the bottom of a channel, and eliminating much of the above-deck construction, including the periscope, and in its place substituting a ridge that would enable the submarine to cut through thin ice, M. Stefansson pointed out that ocean icc is mushy, and said that he bad often seen a whale cut through six or seven inches of thin ice.