THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1910. THE RACE TO THE SOUTH POLE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9997, 18 March 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1910. THE RACE TO THE SOUTH POLE.

During the present year three expeditions under the Britiah, American, and German flags respectively are to set out with the object of reaching the South Pole, and as the honours of Antarctic exploration at present rest with Great Britain, whose representative, Sir Ernest Shackleton, reached a point within 97 miles of the Pole on his expedition in the Nimrod, the forthcoming contest is certain to be marked by the keenest rivalry. But international emulation in Antarctic research is no new thing. Before Sir James Ross won renown by his famous voyage in the Erebus and Terror in 1841, the Russians and the English had made ineffectual attempts to reach the Far South, and Captain Dumont d'Urville t.f the French Navy, with the Astrolabe and Zelee, and Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, of the United States Navy, with a couple of sluops of war and a small attendant convoy, had succeeded in.penetrating within the Antarctic Circle Hoss spent three summers in the Antarctic, and ar-

hieved brilliant results. Thirty years later Captain Mares, of the Challenger, established the fact that the land within the ice surrounding the Antarctic Circle was not insular, but a continent. After him the Germans, the Norwegians, and the Belgians sought without success to place their respective flags on the South Pole, andDrW. S. Bruce, in the Scotia, Gerlache in the Belgica, Charcot in the Fraucais, Borchgrevinck in the Southern Cross, and the German expedition in the Gauss, all achieved notable results. Then came Captain Scott's great voyage in the Discovery, and later Shackleton's in the Nimrod. Now that Captain Scott, on behalf of Great Britain, Captain Bartlett, who will lead the United States expedition, and Lieutenant: Filchner, of the German General Staff, are preparing for tneir respective efforts the world is likely to see a wonderful race to the untrodden snows of the earth's southern axis. The three leaders have been tried and tested in the work of exploration. They will have at their disposal ample funds, and they will have the experiences of many previous expeditions to guide them. It will be strange, indeed, if one of them, at least, does not solve the mystery. Possibly it may be solved by all three. But who will get there first? Some idea of the task that lies before the explorers may be gathered from the fact that the total distance marched by Shackleton and his party from their base was 1,725 miles, this including relay work and back marcnes Ninety-seven miles further and the same distance back would add 194 miles to the total, so that, assuming that C aptam Scott goes over the same ground, he will have to cover 1,919 miles. When Shackleton reached his limit he found himself on a plateau at an altitude of 11,600 feet above sea level, and on that plateau, which still had an upward trend, he was confident that - the South Pole would be found. The I eternal snows were swept at frequent intervals by icy blizzards, reaching a velocity of 80 miles an hour. On the last day of the outward march the expedition experienced 72 degrees of frost. Captain Scott is of opinion that the American route will be longer though possibly easier than his own. Apparently the German route will al&o be longer. Victory m this terrific contest will doubtless be won by the expedition which excels in leadership and in the thoroughness of its preparations. The race will be a test of national fitness, and it will .be decided by the intellectual capacity of the leaders and organisers as well as by their physical courage and endurance. To provide the most efficient means of transport will demand the most earnest thought,. for this is the real crux of the problem. Dogs, ponies, and motor cars have already been used in the Antarctic, and '. doubtless will be used again, but • there may be other means also. In view of the splendid results achieved I by German aeronautical science it is I hardly likely that Lieutenant Filchner will be unprovided with one or more dirigible balloons and possibly aeroplanes as well, in spite of the dangers connoted by the high altitudes and the fierce winds and bitter cold experienced by previous expeditions. Possibly the British and American parties will also be equipped with facilities for reaching the Pole by aerial transport as a last resort. In view of the fact that an aerial expedition to the North. Pole in a Zeppelin dirigible has already been projected in Germany, this contingency can hardly be dismissed as impossible. It is certain, at any rate, that every means which science can suggest will be adopted. People of British blood in every part of the world will watch the impending contest with a thrill of pride, and will hope that when the race is finished the Union Jack will be floating at the South Pole.