Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-03-18
GOV. BROWN BRANDS
PEARY AS A FRAUD
AND AN IMPOSTOR
Declines to Introduce the Dis
tinuuiShed Explorer to an At
Ianta Audience on the 0cca-
sion of His Lecture

Commander Robert f, Peary. who
claims to have reached the north
pole and who is to lecture
at the auditorium-armory Wednes-
day night is getting his on all sides just
at present.
Governor Brown who was to have intro
duced the distinguished explorer has de-
clined to perform that function giving as
his reason the fact that he did not con-
slider the claims put forward by Peary 10
be trustworthy. In crude English, Gov
,ernor Brown regards Peary as a fakir,
and he gives his reasons at some length.
When II was learned that Governor
Brown would not consent to introduce
Commander Peary, one of the gentlemen
interested i'm the lecture called on Mayor
Maddox and made the request that he
fill the role of official introducer to the
people of Atlanta.
MAYOR MADDOX DECLINES.
Mayor Maddox also declined He gave
several reasons IN substance he said
that Commander Peary was coming to
Atlanta as private citizen on money
making proposition, and was in no sense
the guest of the city of Atlanta; that he
was very busy and did not feel called
, upon to introduce him to an Atlanta
audience. Speaking afterward to a re-
porter he said he understood congress
and that UP to this time the explorer
had not produced sufficient proofs to
the investigating committee Of congress
to substantiate his claims.
Finally r. l.. Seeley was asked to
present Commander Peary to the citizens
of Atlanta and he consented.
GOVERNOR BROWNS STATEMENT.
Governor Brown has the following to
say of Peary:
story, makes the mistake of supposing
Peary's true, yet Pearys story is the
same as Cooks. What is the best proof
that Cooks story is correct? 1t is that
Peary's story conforms to Cooks, thus
! confirming it.
Ibid Peary fake his astronomical fig
ures in the Roosevelt? He went alone
to the pole. Why?
What proof does Peary bring save
his own word? Cook brings the same
and as good. Where was Cook? Did
he spend the time in q snow house with
his dogs, ETC.? If he stayed at one
place for months, it would have gotten
out.
"Peary, to destroy the value of Cooks
narrative, must first discover the VAL
ue Of his own. Two horns of a dilem-
ma. If Cook has handed US a gold brick,
4 cary has HANDED us q paste diamond,
VI IOI d SIlNCl pAdllSIs mas 5lfOh AS q
basin maze of very cheap grade of pew
ter. 1t is up to- Peary to explain how
Cooks story can be false and his iden-
/ teal story can be true. The American
people will not accept his smile proof
, that he is not as great a fakir as he
! charges Cook to be-
! Fantastic snowshoes, rlILs in the ice,
colored ice, the sun going in circle,
not setting, ice-covered sea, as described
by Peary are almost Identical with SIM
liar descriptions from Cooks narrative.
, tine Mount Mckinley ascension story
! has no bearing on the identical story OF
the north pole A man may tell us a
thousand lies yet tell one great truth.
! Even If Cook were to assert that his
story was a fake, it would not make it
false, unless we are forced to con-
-ass that was false: Aor Ine two sto-
ries are the same, and ike the Siamese
twins, they must live together or die
! together. Aou might as well say that
! Chang was Chinese and Eng was an
! Englishman as to say that Cooks story
is false and Peary's true.
AN uNGENEROUS WINNER
"The world loves a good loser. 1t
/ condemns an ungenerous winner. But
give it time, and it OIscerns between a
winner and a pseudo-winner.
81 have no interest in the controversy,
save the right to have the truth; bur
when Peary asks me to believe the same
story false from Cook and true from
him. 1 respectfully decline to consider so
easy
It'll Representative Macon's expose or
Peary, I believed that the stories of both
were true, but that If either were false
both were false. were fakes Both were
heroes. or both were champion liars. They
1 are generally linked together, though 1t
now appears that Peary copied Cooks
story.
"Barnum said that the people like to
be humbugged. But if | am to be hum
plugged I would prefer to be taken in by
the original humbug, than by the coun-
terfeit humbug. They are both the same
| in appearance, but Cooks is the orig
linal
TRANSCENDENT FRAUD.
| ST say these words in the interest or
the truth l say them with that pride
! in the American government which pro-
tests against putting it's seal upon "a
transparent fraud-a fraud In that, while
Idenouncing Cooks first told story as
fake. II asks us to stamp Peary's after
ward told identical story as the truth. a
fraud which brands Cook and lauds and
, proposes to reward Peary for the per-
| Torrance OF the same act"
|