stefansson-wrangel-09-28-008

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study of a field they had not previously cultivated and where their ideas had been
only those of the average educated person.

Equally pleasant and profitable were my dealings with the Managing
Director of the Times, Sir Campbell Stuart, and its editor, Mr. Geoffrey Dawson.
When things became difficult later in the summer the support of the Times was
invaluable. They would have come out openly sooner except that it seemed to Mr.
Dawson
that a press campaign would probably do more harm than good at a stage when
the Government appeared to be seemed favorably inclined.

It was perhaps only logical that the British Empire League should
be interested in Wrangell Island but the enthusiastic support of its secretary,
Mr. Evelyn Wrench, went far beyond official routine. One of the most valuable
things he did was to bring me in touch with Mr. St. Loe Strachey, and Mr. J. B.
Atkins
of the Spectator. It was through the Spectator that I was able to publish
for the first time in England a comprehensive if brief history of Wrangell Island.
Since the Spectator is read by practically all the influential people in Great
Britain
, this really amounted to submitting to the men who controlled the
Empire the facts on the basis of which they could make up their minds independently
as to whether the issue was an important one and what should be done about it.

There were other journalists who were personally friendly but were
unable to give us any support because of their views of domestic and foreign
politics. For instance, Mr. J. L. Garvin, the editor of the Observer, believed
that the Empire was already too large and that no riches or possible advantages
of Wrangell Island would be any argument for retaining it in the Empire. I am
still of the opinion that if Mr. Garvin had gone farther into the subject he
might have seen that Wrangell Island was an exception to his general rule, even
assuming the rule to be valid. Until the Empire is much contracted, it needs
half-way stepping stones in every ocean to help connect the various dominions, and
Mr. Garvin might have recognized Wrangell as an important way station of the future.

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