The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-12-26
a REVIEW OF TIE YEAR OF 1909 SHOWS MANY
q OCCURRENCES WHICH MADE IT NOTABLE TWELVE MONTHS

and Zeppelin made his air tour along
the highly fortified Rhine provinces.
the feelings seemed to come home
TO military strateEists throughout the
world that an entirely new era In war
fare was approaching. England be-
came convinced that her splendid Is
had been terminated; both
France and Germany realized that all
their massive frontier preparations a.
gsinst each other might ultimately be
rendered futile; and the bird-liiee ease
with which Wilbur Wright took his ae-
roplane over the foreign warships. as
sembled In New York harbor for the
Hudson Fulton centenary. did not
lessen the thought that mans con-
quest OF the air is likely to change
his methods of warfare enormously.
Naturally. under such circumstances,
military men directed themselves with
some yigor to the discovery OF means
of destroying the aIrship and aero
plane while In the air. Various ma
tions including our own. conducted ex-
periments of shooting at captive bal
looms with large and small artilleryy
the Krupps invented gun especially
designed for airship destroying; but
up to the close of the year nothing
complished.
A Goal of Centuries Reached.
Thus. all through the year. the
world was thrilled from time to time
by performances, of noteworthy feats
in the air. But the excitement caused
by the Wrights, the Bleriots, the
Zeppelins. the Lathams. .paled into
comparative insignificance when, on
September l. came the startling an
nouncement that DR.. Frederick A.
Cook. of Brooklyn. had discovered the
North Pole on April rs. 1908. and five
days later Lieutenant Commander
Robert Z. Peary returned to the La
bradorean outposts OF civilization with
the news that ne had located the Pole
on April 6. l9os-adding that to him
accrued the honor OF being the first
man ever to stand on the tip of the
world, since he could prove that DR..
Cook was fabricating.
Instantly.th resulted that extraor-
binary controversy between the adfle-
rents of Peary and Cook which, set the
entire world by the ears and which Is
yet to be definitely settled one way
or the other in the cold courts of
science, Suffice 1t to say here that
Peary's statement that he has been to
the Pole has been o. KID by scientists
generally, he having had his polar re-
cords approved In October by COM
mittee appointed by the National Geo
graphic Society to examine them
while DR.. Cooks records are now be-
ing examined under the direction of
the University of Copenhagen authori-
ties. to whom DR.. Cook promised to
submit them when. on his return to
civilization by way OF Denmark. he
was acclaimed the Poles discoverer by
III -. -
and women generally.
Until the world was treated to the
truly unique situation of two Ameri-
cans returning from Attic Businesses
within a few days of each other and
asserting their right to immortal
fame as the Poles true discoverer, in
terest in exploration activities had
been conferred In the antarctic achieve.
ments of Lieutenant L. H. Setback
Teton, of the British Navy. On March
II came the startling announcement
that he had succeeded in penetrating
after a series OF most extraordinary
hardships, to within liz miles of the
South Poie--farthest south. Quite
naturally, the news of the actual dis
covery of the other end OF the world
dimmed considerably the glory Of thi.
wonderful feat of our British cousin
On the other hand, the mere fact thai
the, North Pole chad been aii discovered
by America awakened In England 1
strong desire to be accredited In his.
tory with the discovery of the South
Pole, and an. antarctic expedition
backed by British funds and made III
entirely of British subjects, is now
being equipped with the object Of
placing the Union Jack a.
the southern tip O
the world. Hence, IL this particula
expedition gains it's goal, the triumph
of human endurance over the element
at the South Pole will have resulte,
clearly from zest Of emulation horT
of an epochal event of the year jus
closing.
The biggest strike of the year, a
far as this country was concerned, be
gan on Dec. 1. when 10000 railroa
switchmen In the Northwest went o.
strike. completely tying up the move
ment of freight in that section an
causing numerous Industries. sueh a
the Minneapolis and st. Paul flour milli
to shut down for lack of raw products
The strike was inanugurated in an at
tempt to receive higher pay Abou
the middle of the year practically al
of Sweden was seriously incommode
for weeks by general strike of tn
labor unions, partly for higher pay
and partly as protest against genera
living conditions. The dead could no
be buried, a bread famine was threat
ened. and even milk for infants wa
most difficult to obtain. even with Ia
army performing all sorts of manua
work, such a running lighting plant
and making and delivering bread an
other necessaries of life.
The Downfall of Turkish AbsOlutlsm
Unlike most of the great earth dis
coverIes made since history began, the
conquest of the North Pole bids fai
never to be a cause of armed conten
ton between nations, since apparent
Iy, the Pole itself is set in the mids
of high seas, and, certainly. in tht
center of a most forbidding climate
Primarily, it's acquisition was one OF
peace-which is more than can be saiC
of the years epochal developments Ii
Turkey where the fate of an empir,
was apparently decided forever by one
of the most remarkable revolutions
known to modern history.
The year before the party of pro
gress in Turkey, known as the Young
Turks, had wrested constitution
from the Sultan Abdul Hamid. wine
had grudgingly, though smilingly
sworn fealty to it. But no sooner Dad
he done so. than 1t became evident tt
the Young Turks that he was plotting
for the overthrow of the constitution
and return of absolutism. and. when
all other means to show the Sultan
that he was "monkeying with a buzz
saw" had failed, the Young Turks OF
April 10. set the Third Army corp,
mobilized at Salonika, ON the march
against Constantinople. With admi
rable strategy. its commander, Chev
ket Pasha, proceeded to and invested
the capital Then, on the 23rd. he
captured STEAMBOAT, the old Turkish
nnartar of the city. Pera. the foreign