stefansson-wrangel-09-31-092r

CHAPTER IX

The Summer of 1923 and the Tragic News

When the spring of 1923 approached action became im-
perative. A telegram to Ottawa brought the assurance
that the Prime Minister would see me and that the Cab-
inet would devote an afternoon to the consideration of
any statement I might want to make about the arctic sit-
uation in general, Wrangel Island in particular, and the
steps which I considered they should take. The first
week of April I had lunch one day with Mr. Mackenzie
King the Prime Minister and Sir Henry Thornton, who had been recently
appointed head of the Canadian National Railways, an
organization logically second only to the Dominion Gov-
ernment itself in its interest in the potential resources of
northern Canada. After lunch the Premier Mr. Mackenzie King took me to a
Cabinet meeting where all but two or three of his min-
isters were present. They listened to my statement for
an hour, asked questions for another hour, and then went
into secret session while I returned to my hotel room and
Waited for their verdict. One hour more, and
¶ The first week of April I had the promised
opportunity of stating the case to a Cabinet
meeting where all but two or three
of the ministries were present. Later the Prime
Minister sent for me to give me the substance of the
decision.

The Cabinet considered, on the basis of my statement,
that the general subject of arctic development was of
great importance and that I had made out what appeared
to them a good case for the probable future importance
of Wrangel Island. While they had always considered
that the island was historically and legally a part of the

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