stefansson-wrangel-09-38-006-004

But there was a protest from the Russian
Government. It was under three heads:
(a) "Baron Wrangel discovered Wrangel'
Island". This is absurd, since the Baron's own book
shows his route map indicating he was never near
Wrangel island. The book also says he discovered
no land in that quarter.
(b) "The Russians landed on Wrangel, and
the Russian flag was raised between 1910 and 1915."
If there was such a landing, and if it was before
1914 (which they do not specifically state) then its
force has gone through neglect, just as the force of
the British occupation of 1914 was considered to he
spent by 1919.
(c) "Wrangel Island is Russian because it
is North of Russian territory, and because it is
only 100 miles away". These are principles which
have never been established.
The logic of "land north of Canada belongs
to Canada" is based on the conception that the "top"
or "end" of the earth is there. But the earth is a
sphere and not a cylinder, and there is no end to it
anywhere. The U.S. Navy has announced its first
dirigible will cross the polar area in 1924 and
General Mitchell of the Bureau of Aeronautics of the
U.S. Army has said there will "soon" be a network
of air commerce over the polar area in all directions
at all times of year. That will end for ever the
conception that there is an end to the world in that
quarter and will destroy what little logic there
ever was in the idea that a land north of one country
4.