Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-11-03
GOLDEN HARVEST FOR
DR.. COOK and PEARY.
$4,000 Apiece Will Accrue to
DISCOVERIES, Besides Honors,
Medals ard Decorations.

Shortly before Commander Peary.
sailed away in the Roosevelt, his little
girl asked him a question. People of
sordid inclinations, to whom the eagle
on a dollar bill is ever the bird Of
freedom, have been asking the same
question ever since the first Arctic
explorer sailed away for the top Of
the world.
Papa" asked the little girl, 4what
do you want that old pole for? Is it
any good? Can you get any money
for it," |
"My DEAR" replied the explorer
when you are older you will know
that there is a thing called honor
which is worth more than money"
This vas a very noble sentiment,
and the little girl is proud to remem-
Der that her father said 1t, but now,
that he has been successful and the
North Pole has been discovered and
tagged and tabled for future refer
ence, it begins to be apparent that
the North Pole not only brings honor,
but large amounts of money as well.
Market Price of a Pole.
Why so in search OF the pole?,
What is it worth?
For the sake of those to whom
medals and decorations are but gold:
discs strung on fancy bits of ribbon.
let us turn first to the cash value of,
the North Pole and exploration a a
business proposition. The price tag
is always an interesting document; it
is the point from which most men
figure. The medals and decorations
can wait, for they have always been
above price.
Before DR.. Cook had time to get a
shave and q new suit Of clothes, a
man knocked at his door and stated
that he was authorized to offer him
the sum of S125,000 for his book.
DR.. Cook did not accept this offer, and
the. result of the Peary announcement
has been that one firm of American
book publishers has offered DR.. Cook
a sum which dwarfs the orinigal
amount. The same will be true in
Commander Pcary's case.
The next man who made DR.. Cook
an offer was a representative Of a
lecture bureau. He offered a cool
quarter of a million for n hundred
lectures; an American theatrical con-
Germ asked Cook, to name his own
terms and consider the affair closed.
The Lucrative Lecture.
At the same time a magazine
offered Dr. Cook $4,000 for an arti-
Gle dealing with his trip to the pole.
This makes all other dollar-a-word
rates look cheap by comparison.
The great amount of money will
come from the books and the lecture
platform. The latter is always open
to men whose dignity will not allow
them to descend to theatrical methods
of exploitation. Those who live in
a great city have notidea Of the wide
field offered to the MAI whom the
common people wish to see and hear.
Commander Peary has made many
lecture tours; he has always been a
great drawing card. What has gone
before will be q very small thing to
what must come after his successful
trip to the pole.
On a safe, sane and conservative
estimate, the discovery of the North
Pole will be worth somewhere be-
tween $4,000 0 and 100000 to each
man within the first eighteen months.
!; AS the world is a large place and lee
ture platforms are always open, both
men may be sure Of more than a Pres
ident's salary for several years to
come, or until such time as they de-
eide to retire and live upon the in
terest of their money.
The cash value of the North Pole
has been dealt with. Now for the
honors and the decorations-the little
medals in the hardwood cases.
Medals Galore
While the telegraph wires were
still buzzing with the wonderful news
came the word that the King of Den
mark had greeted the man from
Brooklyn with royal honors. DR..
Cook has received from the Danish
Geographical Society the Gold Medal
of Merit with the Crown, a decoration
which has been bestowed on but three
explorers-Nansen, Sven Hedin and
Amundsen. DR.. Cook will be the
first American to wear this decora-
ton.
aroused to great interest in polar re-
search by the feat of Abruzzi, will
present their gold medal to DR.. Cook.
He will be the third man to wear it,
the others being the Duke of hbruzzi
and Lieutenant Shackleton, the En-
glishman.
The other Royal Geographical So
cieties Of Europe are sure to confer
their medals on both Cook and Peary.
America sometimes recognizes
favorite sons who have done some
thing. Congress will vote medals to
both men. These medals will not be
handed to them by a gentleman of
! royal birth; some representative with
whiskers will probably make a short
speech, perhaps crack a joke or two,
and the plain gold discs will be de