The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-28
An LnterDieW With
 Commander Peary

CT work upon her will be only the ef 1 fecting of repairs and some slight
 changes in detail to add to her com venfence
 The plan of campaign. the route, l the methods, will be practically the
 same as the last time The expedi- tion will start north the latter part of June if I succeed in raising the supplies"
 Commander Peary made this, his first official. statement to me regard
 ing his forthcoming expedition to the
 North Pole, and he has supplemented it with the following interview in which he touches upon some valuable
 and Interesting points in connection With his last trip--the trip upon which he succeeded in planting the Stars and
 Stripes nearer the Pole than has any
 other flag ever waved before.
 Although almost constantly lectur- ing upon his exploratory experience
 to enthusiastic audiences all over the country. and having written a detailed account of his experiences in his latest
 book, Nearest the Pole" the Com.
 mander has by no means exhausted
 his stock of interesting information in
 his books or upon the lecture platform. The Man. As the writer the yecturer, the man who stands highest in the history of exploratory achievements, Commander Peary Is well-known figure in the
 public eye. As the informal kindly gentleman with whom one may visit as with ones friends, he Is not SO well
 known. It was in this latter light that the writer had the pleasure of sesing
 and hearing this remarkable man who
 has done more for the America in polar , exploratory achievement than has ever
 been done by any other man for any other country. 7fs <
 Commander Peary Is man at once Is genial, responsive, and speaks and
 IS geial, responsive. ana speaks and carries himself with a simple dignity which impresses one at once. Here. one reeis, Is man who has seen and telt ard lived among big things, a man who has wrestled with The elemental
 forces, whose perspective has been as
 It were limitlessI He Is reposeful with the repose which comes to a man who has lived in the open--who has faced an infinity of land and sea and sky without so much as leaf or a distant
 masthead to break the vast horizon. He speaks in a few words--but every
 word tells. He uses no extrayagance,
 no superlative. because his subject is so great that only the simplest phrase oiogy can convey it's greatness.
 The first statement which Command V istic of, not only the man, but the
 American, that 1t most aptly prefaces this intervitw.
 Our Duty to Be the Discovrrers of Pole. The natural boundary of the United States on the north is the North Pole
 nothing else. In this last expedition
 have brought the Stars and Stripes within two hundred miles of the Pole,
 and l am fully persuaded that the con
 quest of those remaining two hundred
 miles will be the glory of the United States. The Roosevelt, in which my
 last voyage was made. Is the first American ship built for Arctic explor- ation. Constructed of American timber In an American shipyard. upon plans
 which were the result of American ex-
 perfeuce. fitted with American ma !chinery. the Roosevelt went north by what is known as the American route,
 as a typical American entry in the
 great international race for the North
 Pole. So far, she holds the champion
 snip flag. She must not let go that
 flag. for It's proper and permanent
 place Is upon the same masthead from
 which fiutter the Stars and Stripes" Real Significance of Reaching Pole. To the question-what Is the real
 motive-the biggest significance of
 reaching the Pole? Commander Peary
 replied without hesitation:
 The attainment of the Pole spells
 national prestige. For three centuries
 some of the best men in the best coun-
 tries have devoted their lives to this
 quest and without success. The con-
 quest of the North Pole is the last
 great geographical prize which the
 world has to offer to adventurous man.
 For that reason I feel by every right
 that this great country of ours should
 be the winner. Once won there will he
 no future challenge. To the first con- queror belongs the spoils and the glory.
 Entirely regardless of any intrinsic
 value, the discovery of the Pole will
 be as distinct a milestone in the his-
 tory of the globe as was the discovery