The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-24


 expedition under Captain Bernier. l. poo miles out of its course to ne'p us to it. gladly pass the basket. "when returning shriveied skin ana withered muscles were filled out ~ the expense of Danish hospitality. And last, but not least. the recep- ton with open arms by fellow explor- ers--to you and to all. belongs this basket of good things. which the chairman has placed on my shouiders. Nothing would suit me better than to tell you tonight the complete story of our quest---the briefest telegram gives more specific data than could hope to tell you at dinner address. Therefore, shall devote the allotted time to an. elucidation of certain phases of our adventure.
 Answers Some CK6rges.
 "0ne of the most remarkable charges brought out Is that I did not seek a geographic license to start for tho pole. Now. gentlemen. to the large public that may be a mystery. but you who know will appreciate that no ex- plorer can start and say that he will reach the pole. Many good men have tried before. all have failed. All who understand the problem know that success Is bat barely possible when avery conceivable circumstance is fa- vorable. It is only necessary to start undesirable bombast and fiourishes of trumpers. This chose to escape. Mir. John R. Bradley furnished the funds. shaped the destiny of the expedition. For the time being. the business con- cerned us only. believed then. as believe now that If we succeeded there would be time enough to fiv the ban- ner of victory.
 You are here tonight--Mr. Bradley Ia here. and am here. We have come together to celebrate the victory.
 Now. gentlemen. appeal to you as explorers and as men. Am l bound to appeal to anybody to any man. to any body of men--for . license to look for the pole.
 Another criticism is the charge Of insufficient equipment. We have met this. You know that we had every possible aid to succeed in siedge trav- cling. big ship is no advantage. An army of white men. who at best. are novices. is a distinct hindrance. while a cumbersome luxury of equipment is fatal to progress. We chose to live Q life as simple as that of Adam and we forced the strands of human en- durance to scientific limits. If you reach the pole there is no other way. For our simple needs. MT. Bradley fur nished sufficient funds. We were not oVcTDuTucuSu Witu tno usudl diue '" measure and comfort but did not start for that purpose
 Has Given Good Account.
 Nov. as to the excitement of the press to force things of their own picking from important records into print: In reply to this. I have taken the stand that have already given tangible account of our journey. It Is as complete as the preliminary re-
 A data the observations. the records are of exactly the same character. Here tofore. such evidence has been taken with faith and the complete record was not expected to appear for years Whereas. We agree to deliver all with in a. few months.
 Now, gentlemen. about the pole: We arrived April q. 1908. We dis covered new land along the 1o2nd me- ridian between the eighty-fourth and eighty-fifth parallel. Beyond this. there was absolutely no life and no land. The ice was in large. heavy fields with few pressure lines. The drift was south of east. the wind was south of east. Clear weather gave good regular obervations nearly every day. These observations combined with those at the pole on the 21st and :2nd of April are sufficient to guaran-
 
 general record you do not require this. can see this But this and all other records will come to you in due course of events.
 'I cannot sit down without ack- nowledEing to you and to the living Arctic explorers my debt of gratitude for their valuable assistance. The re- port of this polar success has come with sudden force. but in the pres- ent enthusiasm. we must not forget the fathers of the art of polar travel. There Is glory enough for all. There is enough to go to the graves of the dead and to the heads of the living.
 Many are here tonight. The names are too numerous to mention. Speciai mention for honors must be made to Greedy. Schley. Melville, Peary, Fiala Nansen. Abruzzi. Cagni. Sverdrup Am undsen. Nordensujold and a number of English and other explorers,"