The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-09
DOUBT THE ESKIM0s
sC1ENTIsrs MUST HAVE PROOF OF
 POLE.
Natives of Far North Are Chi1d-Lfke And Gullible--Cook And
 Peary Must Do Better.

fniIadelphta, Pa, sept e--rIoo much importance should not be attached to the dispatch received from Commander Peary concerning pr. Cook" said Henry c. Bryant. president of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia today, when shown the Peary telegram to The Associated Press.
 Mir Bryant, who received a message to the Philadelphia society that he had discovered the pole. an1 friend of both explorers. said that the testi- mony of Eskimd1nannot be relied upon and that EskimoB will say anything suggested osthem.
 Continuing he said:
 Tt is possible that Peary heard Of the claim of pr. Cooks presence in the North and hunted up the Eskimos who accompanied the doctor ani he may have evidence which, corroborates their statements. But he knows as well as anybody how child-like and unreliable they are. .t
 T am still inclined to believe both Cook and Peary in their statements that they reached the pole. The records of each will be the real proof.
 Admiral Melville. who has been skeptical from the first regarding the success of pr. Cook, when told or Commander Peary's dispatch. said:
 All can say Is that believe that any statement coming from Peary can be relied upon. I cannot pass judg- ment upon the truthfulness or the Eskimos. Itis up to the men who saw and interviewed them and he is simply sending what he learned
 German Ia Conservative.
 Berlin. Sept. s.--Herr Baschin, cus- todian of the Berlin Geographical In- stftute and a member of the Drygalski Expedition. was interviewed today on the claims of pr. Cook and Commander Peary, each to have discovered the North Pole. He said:
 Neither nor most other German geographers can understand why the English scholars have attacked Cook. Hitherto it has not been the custom in scientific circles to attribute failse- hoods to explorers returning from un- known regions. Most polar discoveries have been made by the explorer alone, or at least without a large following.
 "Peary, Cagni and Nansen reached the highest attitudes alone, or accom- panied only by a few Eskimos. Their measurements were taken by one per son alone, and 1t is consequently of little importance whether the bystand- CTS were white men or Eskimos. since no witness would be in a position to rectify the measurements or determine whether or not they had been correct 1y made"
 "The reports telegraphed from Copenhagen up to the present time leave no doubt as to the correctness Of Dr. Cooks narrative on points where comparison with facts previ- ously established Is possible.
 Tt would be extremely audacious of Dr. Cook to declare he had found the pole owing to the fact that Peary was out for the same purpose and would be able to contradict Cooks claims. if they were false, when he returned to civilization. Cook affirms there Is no land at the north pole. Positive in- formation proving there was land at the pole would indicate that Cook ewas mistaken"
 Various German newspapers at- tribute the doubt arising in England to envy of the United States or to spirit of unwillingness to admit that persons of any other nationality are capable of performing difficult and splendid feats."
 Prof. Parker skeptieal.
 New York, Sept. 8.-'Tt is with great reIuctance that I can only say that Dr.. frrsderfck A. Cook hasS not made a satisfactory explanation or submitted corroborative evidence that he has made the ascent of Mount Mckinley.
 Thus spoke Prof. Herschel F. Parker, adjunct professor of physics of Colum- bia University and scaler of mountain heights, today.
 The attention of Prof. Parker was called to the fact that the question of whether Dr. Cook had found the North Pole had again revived the question of whether Dr. Cook had really climbed Mount Mckinley. pr. Cook and Pro-
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