The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-03
Some Doubt Is Expressed of
 Dr. Cooks Wonderful Trip
WAITING FOR HIS WORDS
One Newspaper Declares That it Is Not Just or Generous to Doubt Until the Explorer Himself
 Is Seen.

London, September 2.--Dr. Cooks nar- 1 rative of his thrilling journey to the
 north pole, while it has not removed the
 doubts raised as to his having really ;, accomplished the feat he claims has at 1 least set at rest the improbable sugges- tionsi advanced in some quarters yester- day that he had attained, not the north 1 pole, but the magnetic pole. 1 Capt. Roald Amundsen, in an interview at Christiana on this point, says: Such a supposition Is nonsense. The
 magnetic pole is situated on the Ameri can side and it Is quite impossible that 1 Dr. Cook could have been driven so 1 far from his planned route. I feel cer- tain that Dr. Cook has expressed noth- ing definitely about the result. I know him to be absolutely discreet and taci- turn. Other people have misunderstood 1 him and 1t will be necessary to await
 his arrival at Copenhagen for the real 1 facts
 l The London newspapers are not who'll l ly convinced by the narrative, and per 1 sist that 1t will be necessary to await l more details and reports. They
 able to conceive how a task which has 1 beaten the ablest polar explorers pro- 1 vided with everything that money could purchase would have been achieved in l such seemingly off-hand and unpre-
 meditated manner and with such ease
 and thickness At the same time they
 pay tributes of admiration to pr. Cook.
 Tt l 'It is for the mo snt beside the quesr ton to discuss the accuracy or prob ! ability of Dr. Cooks statement. It is l neither just nor generous to question In
 any way the genuineness of such a claim before full details of the expedi-.
 ton are made public by the traveller l himself.
 1 Indeed we have much sympathy be- 1 cause of the difficulties by which Dr. ] Cook or any other solitary explorer is 1 hampered in attempting to convince a l sxeptical world of geographical experts i of the reliability of his observations and
 reports We trust when the proper time comes for a full and impartial examina-
 ton of the record of the expedition, pr. l Cook will meet with the fairness and |
 ly invites.
 The Morning Post says:
 I eff Dr. Cook has found a new track I to the pole in so short time as thirty
 five days, others can follow in his foot
 steps and verify his story. When the
 matter has been settled beyond all doubt, l the civilized world will acclaim Dr. Cook
 as one of the greatest explorers of all
 time.
 l Dr. Hugh R. Hill. former librarian of
 the Royal Geographical Society, is rather
 skeptical, but says that great weight 1 must be attached to the opinion of po- 1 lar experts in America.
 1 q should particularly like to know ] Gen. Greely's opinion.' he said. My 1 own feeling is that our present infor-
 nation is iAaufficient to base any opin- | ion upon.
 thinks Dr. Cooks claim could be ac- cepted if his story on examination was l found to hang together. Prof. Milne the noted seismologist 1 thinks that if Dr. Cook has few prop
 erly taken photographs of the sky at the pole on April 21. 1908. they may as- ) sist in determining the position he reached.
 Another Expedition Planned. Berlin, September ?. - Professor Hergezell the scientific adviser of the proposed expedition to the north pole l in the Zeppelin airship. speaking today of pr. Cooks achievement. said: T am sincerely glad an explorer has l reached the pole. Our airship cxpedi- 1 tion, however, will not be affected in any way. When we first proposed 10 go 1 to the Arctic in an airship, the reach i ing of the actual north pole was a matter of indifference to us. Our main object Is to show how a diriglble bal loon can be used for exploration. "Our airship Is inteded for surveying ! and tho taking of hotographs md 1t | will be so constructed as to land on drift ice if necessary. There is still much to be done in Artic exploration. and there Is the probability of great geographical discovery. We regard Dr. Cook as serious man, but as he had only ,Esquimaux with him, any great enrichment to science through his expedition is hardly likely as it must have been impossible for him to carry the necessary instru- rnents."
 Comment In London. London, September 2-Dr. Cooks personal announcement that he reached the north pole has done much to dispel the uncertainty created here by the first dispatch CT, but the information is still too vague entirely to convince the hardened sk eptics.
 The personality of the American ex- plorer is held in such esteem in British scientific circles that those best quail fled to judge are the rsadiest to explain away the seemingly obscure points in
  far available.
 The general sentiment is summed up in the Evening Standard which, after
 lengthy review of the pros and cons. says:
 There Is nothing improbable in the
 oxplorer'U Gtatement. It will be a
 Sourcs os much satisfsetdon < tho north