New-York tribune., 1909-12-18
OSBON is "SCRAPPY"
ALSO DISCOURAGED.
Pole Roc Stirs e a Lot More
Vdr1ed Stories.

Captain Bradley S osbon pulled down
his white mustacne Yesterday till he looked
more like wslrus than he usually does
u can go down there" he said, with en-
phasis an lick all three o. them felers. l
hate 10 do IL. because ] don't want TO rush
into the Iimelght OF publicity. But some
thin ouchter he done
The three men then in the eye OF the vet
ersn secretary OF the Arctic Club of Amer
ics were Messrs Dunkle. Loose and Light
foot Of whom the captain had declared the
dsy before that they had offered to repu-
date the afidavits receatiy printed that
Captain Loose helped Or. Frederick A
Cock work ovt an astronomical fiction
showing that he had gone to the North
Poe
At an early hour this morning Captain
Osbon's new plan for settling the North
Pole affair had not been carried out-and
that in spite Of the fact that Mr. Lightfoot.
said by the captain to nave first made the
offer 10 repudiate. had meantime offered TO
make an affidavit Of his own that Captain
Osbon was wrong
LIGHTFoOT'S VERSION.
George A. Lightfoot told his story TO the
reporters in the ONCE Of -he Lightfoot Gold
Dredging Company, at No. 81 Broadway.
Il thought Loose would repudiate his
affidavit" ne said. If IT was false for
knew he vas broke He came into my
Office one day with just four cents. and
from what Re said I Judged he Was ready
10 repudiste. He said that whatever The
Times may have paid for the affidavit. he
got none OF il.
Later he went uptown 10 see he Times
and ask FOR the money 10 take him to
rgrderSfOS1 that IL he did
not get the money from them he would
probably be willing to repudate the affida-
vit- AS he did not return wrote him the
letter printed in the morning papers.
A reporter for The Evening Mail came
10 me and said his paper would pay $500 for
the Reputation. But Loose stuck TO his
story. saying that his affidavit was true. !
never told Captain Osbon that I had a
check for $50 10 pay Loose, or that ! had
any check Of any kind. I'll make affi-
dsyit % that II you want it,"
TOO HIGH, SAYS MAIL
The city editor Of The Evening Mall
told a someN hat different story.
on the day in question" he said, Mr..
Lightfoot called me up IN the telephone
and said that Dunkle had gone 10 The
Times Office practically TO demand, as l
understood it, that they pay him TO refrain
from going back on the affidavit he had
made for that paper. Lghtfoots words
were, as I remember them: I feel sure
that if The Times don't pay them they
VII be ready to talk with you
Il sent a reporter TO see Mr. Lightfoot
The man returned and said they wanted
500 for the Reputation. ] told him that
that was altogether too much money. that
from the nature Of the case the first affi-
davit cast doubt on itself, and that to pay
any such sum for discrediting such a story
would be absurd. People are sick Of the
whole mess, and / took little interest in
the offer"
'Lightfoot told me- said Captain Osbon,
that Loose was going to make 2 confess
sion; that he had a stenographer to take
il down and a notary in the next room to
take his oath on it. And. Wh1t-s more, he
says. says he: I've got check for $500
in that drawer there to hanc TO Loose
when lis over
SCHBEY SITS ON MEDAL
Poor Loose is in wrong. OF course, he's
broke What can you expect when poor
sailorman gets like that ashore? He'd
have been plumb crazy to have gone back
on that affidavit in the first place. and
that's what / told Lghtfoot. but he in
This is dirty ship,-fore an aft
Now. there's that medal for the King o
Denmark. The executive committee of the
Arctic Club decided TO send the King a
copy Of the medal they gave Cook the day
ne got the freedom of the city down TO the
City Hall. They turned it over 10 me to
handle.
Now, bein' intimate some with kings an
queens in my day. I know that's way
TO do business. So ] writes nice let
ter the King, an A nice letter to the
ambassador, an does up the medal in
box an ships IL off TO Admiral Schley as
president OF the club.
Well Schley. he takes the medal an
he sits on it. He says he's a-goin to sit
On H. too till this Denmark committee has
MADE its report. He's right about that;
but. TO my mind. it's kind o discouragin'
all round"