50± THE WELLMAN POLAR EXPEDITION 



honor the. Norwegian for what he did, and we expect great things 

 of the .young Italian prince, the Duke of Abruzzi. Upon meet- 

 ing him in Franz Josef Land we went aboard his ship and wel- 

 comed him to the region of ice and snow and wished him good 

 luck in a fashion which I feel sure was hearty and sincerely 

 American. 



We may have differences of opinion as to the value of reaching 

 the Pole. If we apply the utilitarian test, it is of small moment ; 

 but so is a poem. And what is polar exploration but an epic 

 of endeavor, in which all sordiclness is left behind, and in which 

 a man, knowing the risks and the chances of failure, ventures 

 his life and his all in a combat against the forces of ignorance? 

 For I deem it beneath the dignity of man, having once set out 

 to reach that mathematical point which marks the northern 

 termination of the axis of our earth, which stands as a sign of 

 his failure to dominate those millions of square miles of un- 

 known county, to give it up because the night is dark and the 

 road is long. He will not give it up. The polar explorer t,ypifies 

 that outdoor spirit of the race which has led conquering man 

 across all seas and through all lands, of that thirst for knowing 

 all that is to be known which has led him to the depths of the 

 ocean, to the tops of mountains, to dig in must}'' caves, to analyze 

 the rays of light from distant worlds, to delve in the geologic 

 records of past times. It will carry him to the North Pole, too, 

 and that before man}'- years shall have passed. Any one who 

 supposes anything else of man doesn't know man. His acquaint- 

 ance with human nature — with the nature of the adventurous 

 races of our zone and times — is limited. 



The eyes of the scientific world are turning with more and 

 more eagerness to the Antarctic regions. Little now remains — 

 beyond the Pole itself — in the Arctics; but in the far south 

 there is great work to be done in every field of scientific explo- 

 ration and investigation. I have here the suggestion to make 

 to the National Geographic Society, and I make it after a care- 

 ful study of the situation in all its bearings. It is that this 

 Society institute a movement whose object shall be to gain from 

 Congress an appropriation for an American Antarctic Expedi- 

 tion, to work in harmony with the expeditions which are to go 

 into that field from England and Germany. The modest sum 

 of $150,000 would equip a creditable expedition bearing our 

 flag, and it is my belief that even in this utilitarian age the 

 American Congress can be induced to devote such a small sum 

 to such a great purpose. 



