stefansson-wrangel-09-32-049r

THE DEVELOPMENTS OF 1924 301

Island to Russia. But they were later defeated at the
polls on the very issue of the Russian treaty and a Con-
servative Government has come in. The Conservative
party are not supposed to feel that the Empire is too
big, but we do not know as yet if they will reverse the
Labor policy with regard to Wrangel. Quite as impor-
tant, now that Americans own the physical property on
the island, is the fact that the American Government has
not as yet committed itself, perhaps waiting for the Brit-
ish to speak first. Meantime interest in the Arctic in
many countries is steadily increasing. Amundsen’s fre-
quently postponed transarctic aeroplane flight is once
more announced for 1925; Nansen has announced that he
will voyage across the Arctic and back by dirigible in
1927; and the American Navy says it has not discon-
tinued plans of arctic dirigible flying, though no date for
the start has as yet been set.

In this situation of uncertainty we have decided to
bring the story of Wrangel Island down to date of publi-
cation not by anything we write and vouch for, but by
newspaper extracts which we endorse only to the extent
that, so far as we know, the errors they contain are minor
ones. You who have just read this book are in almost
as good a position as we to detect the errors.

In addition to the newspaper cuttings, we introduce
a letter from Mr. Lomen on his motives in buying the
property on Wrangel Island.