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Show j acted government expedition eoits may be worth -many timet that at some future, lbit far-distant date. Dispute in the Antarctic PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S appeal to congress for $340,000 with which to finance an ex-' ex-' pJorstory expedition to the Antarctic regions J may cause inquiry In soms circles where it Is thought that such enterprises could be postponed la view of the size of the federal debt It is very possible, however, according to Washington observers, ob-servers, that the request will be granted forthwith forth-with by congress and that any opposition that has been Initiated has been merely for ballyhoo purpose, ' The question of exploring the Antarctic, in the opinion of government officials, ia an ex- , ceedingly important one at this time, and speed ' is one thing which will put the United States ahead in the race to establish claim to much of the barren land, covered with an uninhabitable ice cap from two to 200 feet in thickness. It msy seem absurd to some that anyone would be anxious to own such territory, but there is more Involved than meets the eye at first glsnce. There are several reasons why the United States ha seen fit to take immediate action. j Whaling ia an important international Industry Indus-try which soma gay ia threatened with extinction extinc-tion unless agreements contained in an International Interna-tional treaty are observed by all signatories. There are half a dozen nations who have agreed to certain regulation in connection with whaling, whal-ing, hut one of the big offenders who continues to kill Indiscriminately is Japan. Incidentally, Japaa has never signed the accord. With 130,000,-000 130,000,-000 Involved ia whaling ia the Antarctic every year, it is easy to see why the United States It interested in having some legal daim to the surrounding sur-rounding territory. It is true there have been many expeditions7 to Antarctic regions. Byrd and Ellsworth are the best known Americans who have penetrated the desolate region and who have claimed the Antarctic Ant-arctic continent for the United S la tea, but congress con-gress never has officially recognized the claims. Other countries have made claim to certain portion on the basis of planting flags along the shoreline. None, however, has ever been recognized recog-nized internationally. Members of the interior department are anxious to have the dispute settled set-tled for other reasons, too. They point out that Antarctica may be important from an aviation standpoint at some future time. Development of irplane makes this not beyond the realm of possibility. Then, some point out, it might be possible to establish - an accurate long-range .weather forecasting station there. Weather men have long looked upon such place as an ideal site for making such predictions. Evea though the possibility of anyone taking ever Antarctica with the idea of establishing anything beneficial there sounds at this time something like a Jules Verne tale, it must al-ways al-ways be remembered that there were those who I scoffed at the automobile and the airplane, His- t-rjl ct An thai &: p.tf.nna tut the pro- j i |