The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-25
Adverse Report Is Made Upon Cooks Story of Ascent
 of Mt Mckinley
POLAR CONTROVERSY HAS
 ND BEARING ON CASE
Signatures of Seven Members of the Club Are Attached to the Ar raignment of Cook, Two of
 Them Personal Friends.

New York. December A.-The board of governors of the Explorers club met to- day in executive session and standing in silence voted with bowed heads that Dr. Frederick A. Cook be dropped from the rolls Of the club for frauds practiced on It's members and on the public. Coming hard upon the heels of the crushing yer dict rendered by the University of Copen- hagen, the action of the Explorers club today Is the result of Independent inves- tigations which in no way touch upon the polar controversy and the weight of its disapproval thus becomes cumulative.
 Preliminary to it's vote of expulsion the board met to pass upon the report of its committee. which has been Investigating the validity of pr. Cooks assertion that he reached the summit of Mt. Mckinley. This committee in concluding an exhaus- tive examination recommended that Dr. Cooks claim that he ascended to the sum init of Mt. Mckinley in 1906 be rejected by the Explorers club as unworthy of credence."
 The committees recommendation was based on its finding that "Dr. Cook had repeatedly made statements that have not been in accord with the facts. and that he had entered upon agreements which he has failed to keep, and that the mis-statements and broken agreements deal not only with matters pertaining to discovery, but to ordinary financial trans actions, so that no credence can be given to statements made by him.
 Basis of Decision.
 Among the seven signatures appended to this arraignment are those of Casper Whitney and Anthony B1ala. both per sonal friends of Dr. Cook The commit tee is further explicit in It's statement that 1t undertook its investigation only after first apprising Dr. Cook of It's pur- pose, which he approved in person; and that it has disregarded entirely the testi- mony of Edward Barrill, pr. Cooks guide, and of Frederick Printz, his packer, although such testimony was before them, because it wished no cloud of partisan contention, or question of financial in- terest to dim the integrity of its verdict. In addition to the findings of the commit tee as a whole, which are signed by An thony Fiala, Frederick s. Dellenbaugh, of the American Geographic society; Prof. Marshall H. Saville, of the chair of Archaeology in Columbia university; Wal ter G. Clark, Charles T. Townsend, direc- tor of the New York aquarium; Henry G. Walsh, secretary of the Explorers club, and Casper Whitney, individual, signed reports are submitted by Herschel c. Parker, professor of physics at Columbia, and Belmore Brown, both of whom were members of the Cook Mt. Mckinley expe- ditions; by Charles Tendon, who has re- gently returned from a years residence on the slope of Mt. Mckinley, where he went with the purpose of studying the confguration of the mountain, with view to the possibility of its ascent Professor Parker reports that he was a partner with pr. Cook in the Mt. Mckinley ex- petition. both physically and financially Dr. Cook assumed the lead with a plan which proved unfeasible. and the party escaped with their lives. thanks to .ne local knowledge of Brown.
 Cooks Plan Carried Out.
 "It was perfectly understood" says Professor Parker, that after the mis- adventure all future attempts were aban- doned for the season." Otherwise Pro- lessor Parker would not have left the expedition. Instead of .his pr. Cook, 1t is charged, side-tracked oil members of the expedition until there remained only Cook. his guide. Barrill. and one pack CT. who was subsequently, got rid Of These defections left Dr. Cook, says Professor Parker, no instruments cap- able of assuring the attitudes he says he attained. Moreover, he adds, the summers experience had shown that of all the party, Dr. Cook and Barrtll were the least fitted physically for arduous mountain climbing. Brown in the main confirms Professor Parker and says also that in Dr. Cooks book there is not one Asnto urfy fro he l,a Iaft itna.
 This makes intelligent criticism im- possible, he declares. He asserts further than he never saw Dr. Cook make a single barometer reading during the whole trip. Confirming charge that has previously been made. he says that Dr. Cook was known to be in serious financial straits and would have had great difficulty in getting out of Alaska if he had not reported that he attained the summit of Mount Mckinley. Brown fortifes his charges with the declara- ton that Cook and Barrill had no ice creepers and that though Dr. Cook afterward told Professor Parker that he (Cook) and Barrill were roped together every foot of the last stages, Profess sor Parker and Brown both remembered that they destroyed the climbing rope as defective before they quit the expe- dition. Furthermore, in none of the pic- lures published in Dr. Cook book does a climbing rope appear.
 FaIse Photographs.
 Brown and Sheldon also report that various photographs in pr. Cooks book do not represent the peaks they are said to picture; and Sheldon denies that he is the author of the appendix "C" in the book. which Dr. Cook credits to him.
 The committee as whole, therefore, concludes in part:
 ''Dr. Cooks account of the ascension is not only such as to be unconvincing to the experienced mountain climber, but that under analysis 1t becomes incred- ible.
 That he entered into a secret financial agreement with a publisher which re- suited in embarrassment 70 his associ- afes.
 That he broke his agreement with his fellow clubmen to supply his original