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location with regard to the land masses, there were also subsidiary considerations
based upon my historical study of the northward trend of civilization through historic time
and upon my personal observation as to the mildness of arctic climate when compared with
ancient beliefs, the abundance of arctic vegetation as compared with its
generally postulated absence, and the richness of the land and sea in lifeless
and living wealth.

The polar ocean, so far as we know it, is studded with islands.
There is also an area of about a million square miles not as yet explored and
this may or may not contain other islands. These islands, both discovered and
undiscovered, have an intrinsic value dependent on their vegetable and animal
life and upon their resources in minerals. The seas between will also confer value
on the lands, for they will have productive fisheries. But beyond their intrinsic
value the islands have positional value to the transportation engineer. Some of
them are small but others are far larger than Great Britain. On the headlands
of the smaller and on the wide, grassy plains of the larger islands will stand
supply stations for airships, providing not only what routine equipment the
air navigator may need if he gets there, but also the airships and airplanes that
will respond like our present coast guard vessels to SOS signals from distant
aircraft in distress.

On the basis of these considerations I began in 1919 to urge upon
the Canadian Government the importance of continuous and extensive exploratory
work in the Arctic. Hitherto the northern islands have been considered worthless
and have, therefore, remained the undisputed property of whatever nation cared
to claim them either through discovery or contiguity. Now these islands were
about to receive a value that would gradually develop until some decades hence
a few of them at least (and we could not tell in advance which) would be coveted
much as certain tropical islands now are by great nations that quarrel about them.