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Show TIME Year of 1999. SCENE Subway station of $ J the Chicago and North Pole J Consolidated lines, located 215 feet beneath the ethereal sta- tion of the Fort Wayne, Duluth i and Polar Aerial Transportation Company. J CAST Airship chauffeurs, subway motormen, passengers, aerocabmen, automatic news- boys, polar bears, Eskimos, J wireless telephone linemen, etc. ti0n jjioi the' pole. Only' one , ' , , I &B3$Kk I Eskimos, polar bears and j - 1 1!Mb 1 nu"trs iu tlu' second story of the which would greet his eyes would make liira ppditioit imm.-! ,-.u- :; " . ', , , , I M bird ear forwa-r-r l. Aw 1-1 'he envy of Rip Van Winkle. an known only ' , 8amPI abo-a-r-r-d." Discovery of i he nun n pel., will doubt as he Ha nam wen ... "... Wlltt ft frTiM..., Gee. but I was glad to get into made within the lifetimes of many citizens of has made such & 1 the polar bear section and away to-day. Anyhow that is what the scientists de- attempts he'nre - from that automatic instrument for rendering clare. Thev say the mere discovery of the Thai has bei ?: , s ' ' " t ' "jHtev1 sane persons mentally incompetent. I had pole is simple. It is the conquering of the de- the great trouble ' . ., . I been reading a copy of the North Pole Friday tails which must be surmounted that require wlth poIar expe- : night Post when, with a noise like all the air he thought and efforts. ditions, it is said. " . - coming out of a balloon all at once, the C. & N. Most novel of all plans to plant the American They are ton mi ' , v - , - P. train started. flag or for tliat matter any other country's en planned with " ' . JjZb It was all strange to me, of the year 1909. flag on top of the pole, is that which some the conveniences r M'WigmL. I must have slept an awful long time to wake time ago was proposed by Evelyn Briggs Bald- of a great city -mZ " P here ln tne year of yes, the date line on win, who is now working out details of his within reach of W3L v """ "'mif ,' - - 1 the publication 1 was scanning said February scheme the hand ' 1,1999. It was printed in white ink and the This 'intrepid explorer aims to float to the Perhaps the " - " ' 4 ... "' words were all spelled phonetically. pole and take plenty of time getting there. He most sane polar i ' " ' :- - ' ' " ' . . Mfdlcine ' .' v.,.,-- in my ear a ,ajd om the Um , ,., before ,,. Harvard expedition which tr minute or two after the train had started. I union al Cambridge, Mass., some time ago and an von e has SjSfMt UnT" around ready to punch the wjlju. some blase Uli W1, skeptical, oth- sprung for years Cf2lfflP Wl.i.MANS SfiLsSH braketman 7 T K; erS said " liked the '),an- has been that of MHEjJSIK (CffiM SAT A MOW rasping notes. As I did so I bumped m nose , ,. A. , , . , , . .. .... ., ,, V4HHwHP,wlfe V wBWA JSvOtAS o cvt-V . t. .. , , . ... v . Elere s the waj Mr. Baldwin would do it: Walter e nian, JySBBSSS Wk. WaSMi against the well, it looked like a phonograph JSp1 ?sllskvwJil sticking out from the wall of the M , 'KrV?f The mSt "Vel and pernaps th car. Then it dawned upon me. I tu"" "" yr gf al -0? ytiP most insane project which was ever wast:: 'he hnikema'i a: a!: In fac'. "";:'r'i';''-- ' - ; :.; ' v rJ&ffil V N sprung for finding the pole was that looking around I could see no c a: - - ' ff 11??"? of Capt. Bowser, a Chicagoan, who was ployes. As we reached the chunk of JlrVV t ' KM Mtf "IS'' ' ' 1 a martyr lo his scheme. He, loo, darkness, which I took to be the al- " ' " ' ' " Bf '"m '4 J was firm in his belief lhal he could leged .Medicine Hat, the coach doer -1 'wf I t. - IS find Ihe pole in bis especial private opened without any human assistance, !i " ,-. ."'--' .. . ' . . H l V If way- He aimed to roll to the pole in amar WJ1 "n weather bureau." I glance 88 " pole. The as'snment was about from day to day andn see if it looked like rain. Far to the Jfc y i given him when politics, a Swedish scientist allowed to escape his sys- south I spied what looked strangely IT CAPT. B ' O IaSJ?Z'J jy7fO - 5 which he had been covering, tern the assertion that the pole was moving like the pictures I scanned in 1909 mJ6S& nad sort of died down in towards Siberia. Of course if the north pole when I used to read about Count Washington. keeps on moving like that, how can it ex- "'SLL ABO-A-R-R-D," yelled ffip k I the phonographic train tsfejfl? I crier. "Train on the third lJ level leaves in five minits va I for the pole. Only one I I st0l) Detween Medicine I Jj'N? I Hat and Arctic Circle city. I Kan I Eskimos, polar bears and I SSeHT I hunters in the second story of the g KSaJa'hird car forwn-r-r-d. Aw-1-1 BAsmpBl abo-a-r-r-d." ft ftBUi J Gee, but I was glad to get into the polar bear section and away from that automatic instrument for rendering sane persons mentally incompetent. I had been reading a copy of the North Pole Friday night Post when, with a noise like all the air coming out of a balloon all at once, the C. & N. P. train started. It was all strange to me, of the year 1909. I must have slept an awful long time to wake up here in the year of yes, the date line on the publication I was scanning said February . 1, 1999. It was printed in white ink and the words were all spelled phonetically. "Medicine Hat," yelled a voice in my ear a minute or two after the train had started. I looked quickly around, ready to punch the rude brakeman who had given vent to those rasping notes. As I did so I bumped my nose against the well, it looked like a phonograph which would greet his eyes would make him the envy of Rip Van Winkle. Discovery of the north pole will doubtless be made within the lifetimes of many cilizens of to-day. Anyhow that is what the scientists declare. de-clare. They say the mere discovery of the pole is simple. It is the conquering of the details de-tails which must be surmounted that require the thought and efforts. Most novel of all plans to plant the American flag or for that matter any other country's flag on top of the pole, is that which some time ago was proposed by Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, Bald-win, who is now working out details of his scheme. This intrepid explorer aims to float to the pole and take plenty of time getting there. He laid out the plan in detail before the Harvard union at Cambridge, Mass., some time ago and while some blase persons were skeptical, oth: ei's, said they liked the plan. Here's the way Mr. Baldwin would do it: pedition must face are known only to the man who has made such attempts before. That has been the great trouble with polar expeditions, expe-ditions, it is said. They are too often oft-en planned with the conveniences of a great city within reach of the hand. Perhaps the most sane polar expedition which anyone has sprung for years has been that of Walter Wellman, J i ne most novel ana pernaps rna most insane project which was ever sprung for finding the pole was that of Capt. Bowser, a Chicagoan, who was a martyr (o his scheme. He, too, was firm in his belief that he could find the pole in his especial, private-way. private-way. He aimed to roll to the pole in a round ball with small holes at each end. He got as far as South Haven, Mich., which is a summer resort. He reached South Haven in the winter and lie was found frozen on the beach. The wind and waves carried Capt. Bowser 75 miles across Lake Michigan from Chicago, but the indications were that his death occurred half way across the lake. Inside of his round shell he lay upon a board around which the object revolved, it being hollow. Bowser received a Christian burial. sticking out from the wall of the car. Then it dawned upon me. It wasn't the brakeman at all. In fact, looking around I could see no employes. em-ployes. As we reached the chunk of darkness, which I took to be the alleged al-leged Medicine Hat, the coach door opened without any human assistance, a man at my side punched a button and promptly disappeared through a chute which appeared at his feet. "Two minutes for liquid air refreshments." re-freshments." came the same rasping, phonographic voice through the instrument in-strument at my right. I hunted for the button my disappearing friend had used to disappear by and in an instant in-stant I was looking down Medicine Hat's main street. I didn't try to puzzle out that phenomenon. I didn't care if I ever saw the pole, if it had to be seen via the cold," clammy subway sub-way route. Nearly every place of business on the main street was labeled "private weather bureau." I glanced upward to see if it looked like rain. Far to the south I spied what looked strangely like the pictures I scanned in 1909 when I used to read about Count the newspaper man, who two years ago was assigned by his paper to find the north pole. The assignment was given him when politics, which he had been covering, had sort of died down in Washington. which is less than lots of unfortunate explorers explor-ers have received for their efforts. The north pole is a peculiar thing. It shifts about from day to day and not over a year ago a Swedish scientist allowed to escape his system sys-tem the assertion that the pole was moving towards Siberia. Of course if the north pole keeps on moving like that, how can it ex- Zeppelin and his airship. As the big bird-like machine came closer, I managed to read the sign on the side. It read: ROUTE NO. 34. Fort Wayne, Duluth and Polar Aerial Transportation Trans-portation Company. That was pretty near the last straw. I wanted to look at something ancient. I couldn't stand this much longer. It was getting get-ting on my nerves these ahead-of-the-minute contrivances. The airship drew nearer. I could see a roof garden party of young people sitting among the palms on the dome of the big machine. Around them were electric heaters, heat-ers, which radiated heat clear to the earth. Carelessly one young man emptied the contents con-tents of his glass over his shoulder in my direction. di-rection. i tried to dodge the cloudburst of amber beverage, but, alas, too late. It caught me squarely in the face and I WOKE UP! And still when one comes to think it over, considering the progress which the year 1908 saw In the way of airship navigation and polar efforts, that dream is within the realm of possibilities pos-sibilities of the twentieth century. Less than 50 years ago the man who talked of saying "howdy" to a friend 1,500 miles away would be deported. To-day the telephone carries one's words as clearly as if spoken to parties in the same room. So if an American should fall asleep in the year 1909 and awake 90 years hence, the things Give me a cargo of logs, another of casks partly filled with emergency supplies and a single vessel, specifically constructed, and I can go from Behring strait to the pole right across the Arctic ocean. Scatter the logs, portable port-able houses and casks upon a group of heavy ice floes, surrounding the ship, shifting the supplies sup-plies if necessary by windlasses, motors or dogs, and we'll succeed. A single crew can handle the three cargoes. Had the Jeannette expedition adopted this plan it would have won. In support of my plan Rear Admiral Melville Mel-ville stated to me that a small house erected on the ice at the beginning of the drift of the Jeannette having blown away before it had been fastened down, was found two years later less than two miles from the ship, thus proving that the ship and ice proceed just as a balloon moves with the atmosphere in which it floats. With portable studios and laboratories, our artists ar-tists and scientists may work with tranquillity. With balloons we will view a wide stretch of territory and as did the Baldwin-Zeigler expedition expe-dition frequently, dispatch messengers homeward. home-ward. With our logs as fuel we'll barbecue the walrus seal and polar bear. Wilh the casks emptied we'll form a flotilla filled with duplicates dupli-cates of our collections." That's the way Mr. Baldwin would do it. With your feet planted on the home hearthstone, hearth-stone, the domicile good and warm, plenty to eat for each meal and no worries, it looks easy, doesn't it? But the obstacles which any ex- So Mr. Wellman went way up north, far away from Sweden, and after spending a long time in the construction of his aerial pole-finder, pole-finder, he set sail In his airship in a snowstorm. The snow was thick high up in that cold climate cli-mate and it got into the pilot's eyes. Consequently Conse-quently the expedition was abandoned for the time. Next June, however, Mr. Wellman will again set sail for the pole with the assurance that his" machine will perform at least part of the journey satisfactorily. On ethereal subjects Wellman has become an expert. He has also had real polar experience. Mr. Wellman not long ago declared that his airship is, for his own purpose of finding the pole, more efficient than that of Count Zeppelin, which can sail all day long without dropping to earth for more gasoline. Commodore Peary is to-day scrutinizing arctic arc-tic regions for signs of the location of the pole. He win go as far north as is possible on his polar ship Theodore Roosevelt, and dogs and sledges will take him the rest of the distance. It will be several years, probably, before the real fruits of this expedition become Jtnown to newspaper readers of America. Many lives have been lost in the quest for the pole. That and the south pole, located somewhere in the Antarctic, are the only undiscovered un-discovered parts of this wide world, and the nation na-tion which plants its flag on either of the poles will be lucky, for then it will own the end of the earth. pect to be discovered? ask skeptical persons. The reason the north pole is said to be playing play-ing hide and seek is said to be this: The earth revolves on its axis from west to east. Hence centrifugal forces tend to pull the regions of the equator outward, thus giving giv-ing the tendency to flatten at the poles. This flattening process is irregular and as a consequence conse-quence the "top" and "bottom" of the earth tend to flit about from place to place. Try this scheme with a rubber ball. Soft rubber is best; it shows the flattening better than hard rubber. Push a nail through the ball, making it an axis, and then tie strings to each end of the nail. Hold the strings in your right hand and twirl them over your head. During the twirling you notice that the ball becomes flatter at each end and bulges slightly on the s:3eg. 1'hat's why the poles are shifting. shift-ing. The earth moves at a rate of 19 miles a. minute around its axis. Each day in revolving revolv-ing it has a journey of 25,000 miles, its circumference, cir-cumference, to accomplish. It moves about 20 times as fast as the Chicago-New York 18-hour special. Is it any wonder it is flattening? The dream above, which transplanted a citizen citi-zen of the United States of the year 1909 to the year 1999, hence furnishes an ordinary example ex-ample of things which may transpire when Peary, Baldwin or Wellman discover the north pole. Nobody has yet tried to discover the pole by the subway route, but somebody will, some day, and soon after they'll convict him of insanity. |