Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-10-06


to be backed up with quite unanswer
able proofs. Peary's case is weaken
ed by the systematic charges of ly
ing which had been brought agains
his rival, and which one by one hay,
been disproved by the event. Flrs
1t was said that DIR. Cook had M
proper equipment or backing; Alr
Bradley and various people who knew
of Cooks outfit have corrected that
Then it was held impossible to tray
ell SO fast In high latitudes; Pear,
reported higher speeds.
At every point, in fact, DIR. Cook:
enemies have assumed him to be q
liar. and at every point where proof
has so far come to hand he Is shown
to be not only a truthful but very
accurate man. He was accused OF
lying about alleged proofs left with
some unknown person named Whit.
ney. Very suspicious, said his crit
les. He was considered nailed
when Peary made no report of such
proofs or of Whitney's having told
him of Cooks discovery of the pole.
But by wireless DIR. Cook explained
that he had asked Whitney to keep
his secret. Another lie to explain the
rest, said his assailants, making
Cook out fool as well as an i'm
postor, for the return of Whitney
must have compromised him fatally.
But on the contrary as soon as Whit
ney reached a wireless station he co,
firmed Cook absolutely, even as to
details. Amid all the confused and
conflicting news, whatever has come
authenticity from DIR. Cook, though
often strange and so far out of the
ordinary as to be startling, has been
the straight thread of truth, the
clew through the mazes of this aston
ishing romance which novelist
would hardly have dared to invent.
With all their accusations of false
hood, his hostile critics have yet To
catch him In even minor untruth.
1t seems absurd, then. for his en-
emies to insinuate now that he lies
when he says that he turned over
his instruments and some data to
Harry Whitney to bring home by
ship. Such charge is made by
IPeary when he says:
While knowing nothing of the
matter, l don't believe that Cook left
either his records or his instruments
or flags with Whitney. cannot con-
ceive it possible for a man, under the
circumstances, to have left such
priceless things out of his sight for
an instant. AS he went across Dan
ish Melville to Danish Greenland with
three or four sledges and teams Of
dogs, his instruments, his records and
his flags would scarcely have added
a featherweight to the burden.
Again we are. asked to believe,
without evidence. that Cook is fool
as well as liar How could he have
known that Whitney would be pas
senger on the Roosevelt or that the
alleged instruments would be aband-
oned in the far north? If he really
left nothing of the sort, he was need
lessly inviting prompt exposure as a
liar. Now if the public has still to
be shown that Dr.Cook is liar, it
knows very we'll by this time that he
is no fool. The lengths to which par
can go are shown by the
effort of some of the artic experts"
in New York to include Whitney too
In the sphere Of suspicion Instead
of trying to palliate Peary's behav-
ior in refusing to carry any of his
rivals property they demand: If
these things as alleged were really
left behind, why did not Whitney
have his ship sail back for them?
This is jealousy gone mad; it was no
affair of Whitney's-he was simply
carrying Cookies things as favor,
and having lost them through no
fault of his. he was under no con-
obligation to have his re-
leAooeI OF qlIou no os dIus JelII
tack will not serve. If DIR. Cookies in
them. This attempt at flank at
struments have been left in the
north, unprotected through the win.
ter. it is not his fault nor yet Whit
ney's. Whose fault, is it?s
1t is needless to go into the ethics
Of the case. Undeniably Peary was
BY accident put in an exasperating
position by being asked to carry the
effects of his dreaded rival. Never
.heless, his refusal, whatever justif.
cation of 1t may be offered, was tact
cally as disastrous mistake as he
70 doubt now realizes. If he believ-
ed his rival to be aan imposter, It'll
vas his part to give the other a
chance to offer all his evidence, con-
'ict himself by failing to show that
lie had reached the pole. On the
'ther hand. while no one will bring
such an accusation, Peary has put
under the disadvantage of
having behaved precisely as mean
nan would have behaved who sus-
,ected a rival of having succeeded
Ind wished to hamper him in proving
lis case. The fit and gracious thing
or the Peaary Arctic club, under the
circumstances. would be to offer
promptly to send up vessel next
pring, with a representative of DR..
;ook on board, to bring back the
ached articles if they are still to
'e found. Meanwhile. of course, they
will realize that their demands for
'rompt display of DR.. Cooks proofs
ra NO 1nppar arSa,. o ~ |