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The National Geographic Magazine 



tween two nations; the race for the Pole 

 hundreds of years between practically 

 all the civilized nations of the world. 



There have been numbers of cup- 

 defender syndicates, and will be num- 

 bers more. 



The syndicate that lifts the Pole will 

 have no successor and can never be 

 beaten. 



The winning of the yacht race is a 

 matter of today ; the winning of the 

 Pole is for all time. 



Is it worth while f Certainly it is 

 worth while. 



As a matter of the valuable additions 

 to geography and science it is worth 

 while. 



The head of the Smith Sound route 

 is the one point from which can be 

 reached and welded the links still lack- 

 ing to make the Arctic exploration a 

 finished job. 



THE MORAL PRESTIGE OF GAINING 

 THE POLE WORTH TEN TIMES THE 

 COST 



As a matter of prestige it is worth 

 while. 



Abruzzi's expedition, costing two 

 hundred thousand dollars, was worth 

 many times its cost to Italy in increased 

 prestige. 



Abruzzi drove home to the civilized 

 world the fiber of which Italians are 

 made. 



Nansen's expedition, fitted out by his 

 King, his Parliament, and wealthy pri- 

 vate citizens, impressed the world with 

 the material which makes up the de- 

 scendants of the Vikings. 



And should you some morning read 

 in your paper that an American had 

 placed the Stars and Stripes upon the 

 Pole, each one of you would feel a thrill 

 of pride and enthusiasm, and be glad 

 that you are an American ; and every 

 true American at home and abroad 

 would feel the same pride, and that in- 

 crement of justifiable pride and enthu- 

 siasm to each of millions of citizens 



would be worth ten times the cost in 

 dollars and cents. 



As a matter of patriotism based upon 

 the obligations of our manifest destiny, 

 it is worth while. 



The North American world segment 

 is our home, our birthright, our destiny. 

 The boundaries of that segment are the 

 Atlantic and the Pacific, the Isthmus 

 and the Pole. We are fully able, I 

 think, to take care of the Atlantic and 

 the Pacific. We are negotiating for the 

 Isthmus. It would be a shame for 

 others to find and mark the Pole for us. 



Believe me, the winning of the North 

 Pole will be one of the great mile-stones 

 of history, like the discovery of the New 

 World by Columbus and the conquest 

 of the Old by Alexander ; and the man, 

 or the association, or the community, 

 or the nation that makes its discovery 

 possible will write its name to be read 

 and known when, perhaps, the very civ- 

 ilization of today is forgotten. 



Let us attain it, then. It is our priv- 

 ilege and our duty. Let us capture the 

 prize and win the race which the nations 

 of the civilized world have been strug- 

 gling for for nearly four centuries, the 

 prize which is the last great geographi- 

 cal prize the earth has to offer ; the race 

 which is far greater than the interna- 

 tional yacht races. Then let us take a 

 hand with England, Germany, Sweden, 

 Scotland, and the others for the con- 

 quest of the South Pole. As Assistant 

 Secretary Darling well says, the attain- 

 ment of the Poles is all that remains to 

 complete man's domination of the earth. 



Six years ago we were sleeping con- 

 tent within our borders, drowsy of our 

 strength and possibilities. Since then 

 we have embraced the earth, and now 

 right hand clasps left in the far East in 

 a grasp never to be loosened. What a 

 splendid feat for this great and wealth}' 

 country if, having girdled the earth, we 

 might reach north and south and plant 

 " Old Glory " on each Pole. How the 

 imagination stirs at the thought ! 



