Arizona republican., 1909-12-10
COOKS CASE TANGLED UP Explorers Attorney Forced
 to Abandon Him AN IRRESPONSIBLE CLIENT
AS to New York Times Ali fidavits Scientists Declare They Are Based Upon Fiction and Ignorance of Location of Stars

l New York. Dec. 9.-Dr Frederick i Cooks personal lawyer. Henry Wack
 has severed his relations with his client Wack refused tonight to con- firm or deny the story of his with ' drawal. but it may be affirmed on competent authority that after a con- sultation with his partners. Wack ! wrote Cook on November go that he must beg him to seek legal advice elsewhere
 T have not the remotest idea" said ' Wack tonight where Cook is keep | ing himself, or why he persists in seclusion. when his presence is vital to his own interests. and that Of his friends. l have read that he is in Brooklyn. in sanitarium. in Maine and in Philadelphia, but personally 1 incline to the belief that he is abroad. One thing. however. is certain: There is an agreement tonight for the first time among those who have always believed that Cook discovered the north pole. those who never believed it and those who have been waiting To be informed by a disinterested authority. His partisans and skep- tics alike concede certain cardinal facts which admit of no argument, namely. that Cook has sent his rec ords to the University of Copenhagen for inspection by commission Two men. one a broker. who says he acted as Il go-between. and one skilled navigator have sworn that they sup Plied the doctor with a complete set of fabricated observations. covering his trip northward step by step to the pole. in agreement with his mar rative as originally published These sworn statements carry within them selves their own proof. that is, dis proof
 That is to say. if the papers now in the hands of the University of Copenhagen contain considerable portion of the boreal observations which Captain August Loose says he worked out by the reverse route no farther north than Gramatan Inn Bronxville. x. Y. the deduction is that Cook felt no confidence in the adequacy of his own proofs If. on the contrary, the Copenhagen records show that Cook made no evident use of the calculations Captain Loose says he supplied. it will be fair to assume that he accepted them only as checks on his own data The in- quiry will then revert to the first status: Are the original observations of Cook sufficient"
 Asked flatly if he had or had not withdrawn from Cooks affairs. Wack said: This is not the time for an an rta.saf .asaf ,s.rl.t ..I had deserted Cook in need He may be. delirious in a sanitarium, or on the ocean, unable to defend himself" '"
 close friend of Wack reiterated. however. that Wack had long ago de- cided to close his dealings with his client. who did not keep his counsel informed of his intentions and move ments. To this phase of the situa- tion Wack made this contribution:
 Cook disappeared of his own vo- lition, not by the persuasion of his friends. I last heard from him by telephone on November g had seen him personally two days before Last night Cooks friend. Charles Wake. confessed to me that he had not the faintest idea where the doc tor is: that he had not heard from him since November 23 Urgent let ters to the doctor remained unan- swered. although they demanded reply from any man solicitous of his own affairs
 Wack received a letter from Mrs Cook on December 6, asking him to discontinue all expenses on the~doc- tors account, and to forward certain papers which Wack understood to be affidavits bearing on the doctors dis puted ascent of Mount Mckinley. These affidavits the doctor originally intended to take to Europe. where they would be available for the Uni versity of Copenhagen. if desired.
 Others of Cooks friends granted tonight that Captain Loose had con suited freely with Cook and even had occupied rooms adjoining him at Gramatan Inn. Whether this propin- quity served as an opportunity for co-operation merely. or collision. is a point on .which not even Captain Loose cares to pronounce positively. The captain. however. went freely into his own motives this afternoon.
 'I went to Cook" he said. think ing I could help him. A short talk convinced me that he was ignorant Of some essentials of navigation. My task enlarged. but there was no ques- ton for me to debate so long as I was paid Now that the payments have ceased. and the doctor has dis appeared. I speak out. I supplied the figures. They were gratefully re-