Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-29
LONDON AWAITING DATA
Peary's kilograms Causing Reaction
in Sentiment.
JUDGMENT UNDER SUSPENSION
Meanwhile British Humorist Is Get
ting on the Funny Side Of
the Quarrel.
Foreign Correspondence Of The Star.

IVitlsH Correspondence Oh ne
LONDON, September 16, 1909.
The Cook-Peary controversy is be-
ginning to grow much less prominent.
To the end of last week Peary. no
doubt, had things pretty much all his
own way here and Cooks friends were
few and far between. But already the
style and tone of Peary's kilograms were
causing a feeling Of reaction, which
has been growing steadily ever since.
Cooks reticence. which at first was
counted strongly against him. is now
generally considered preferable to
Peary's vituperation. The idea now
coming to the front is that it may be
we'll to suspend final Judgment until
the two protagonists have given their
complete data to the world.
Meanwhile the Britisher is extracting
what fun he can from the whole af-
fair. He would not be sorry If the YER
dict of the scientists were eventually
to throw both men over He would
then feel himself justified of his hrst
disbelief in Cook and his present dis
approval of Peary. There are plenty
who are beginning to think that both
explorers have made a mistake in
claiming to have found the pole, and
one OF the most frequent remarks one
hears where men are gathered together
is:
Thank God that neither Of them is
an Englishman."
Text for the School Children.
During the last week hundreds of
school children in London and the prov
inces have listened with eager delight
to the story Of the discovery and have
q he
few examples:
discovery of the north pole" begins q
girl Of ten. DIR. Cook was supposed to
have reached 1t, but when he got there
Capt. Peary came up over the side and
told Mr.: Cook the pole belonged to
and waved the Stars and Stripes. out
presently agreed to leave 1t In the
hands of the President of America
says another: "A lot Of people have
been trying to find the north pole. but
their bones were found by DR.. Cook
and Capt. Peary. The reason whv Or.
Cook and Capt. Peary did not die was
because they were Americans"
Again another essayist aff1rms that
Capt. Peary reached the north pole on,
Dreadnought. He adds: The reason
why he went by sea was because #
was cheaper than going by train. rhe
discovery of the north pole is a good
thing, because 1t is the end of the
world"
In Paris Toy Show.
Parisans. of course. turn everythinR
into fun. and so 1t is not surprising to
find that a game called "DiscoverinR the
North Pole" Is the feature OF the present
annual Paris toy show. This particular
toy shows the top of the earth painted
white. with an explorer on either side
of the pole. one dressed in white bear
skin and the other in black bearskin.
They have the names Of Peary and Cook
painted on them. The explorers each
hold large nag, the staff Of which has
10 nort slnR Ro, into socket representing the
the figures the fagstans move up and
down until one Of the two figures has
succeeded In fixing the stan in the
socket.
The Germans are severely practical
as ever. The name Of "Dr Cook brandy:
has been given to a home-dlstilled prod
uct which, In accordance with the new
law. may not be described as "cosnac
brandy"
Recalls Another Dispute.
Apropos Of the controversy the Man
chester Guardian recalls the great dis.
pute between Burton and Spoke about
the discovery Of the sources of the Nile.
Spoke virtually discovered the source In
Lake Victoria Nyanza in his 1s57-59 ex.
petition. He had gone on to the lake
alone. leaving Burton behind, sick. Few
people believed Spoke. and Burton was
not one Of them.
In 1858. Spoke. accompanied by Grant,
discovered tue source beyond dispute.
but still Burton denied the possibility.
Then 1t was arranged that Speke and
Burton should hold a public disputation
on the subject before the British Associa.
ton at Bath in 1894. On the morning OF
the meeting Spoke was found dead in q