The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-03-27
GOVERNOR BROWN y
DISCUSSES PEiRY
Explains Why He Refused te
Introduce Explorer
A PARALLEL rs DRAWN
Peary Told Identical Stories md
If One liz Faker So Also
Is the Other

Atlanta, March 26-(Special )-Followine
the comment which was aroused by his
refusal to introduce Commander Peary
when he delivered his lecture on polar
exploration at the Auditorium several
nights ago, Governor Joseph M. Brown
yesterday issued statement in which
he goes into detail in explaining the pro-
cess of reasoning whereby he arrives at
the conclusion that if DR.. Cook is a faker
and fraud. Commander Peary must
necessarily be similarly branded
The stories told by Cook and Peary
are Identical says the governor, land
If one is false, the other must also be
false"
The governor confesses to a tendency
to accept Cook as the logical discoverer
of the north pole because he told the
story of discovery first.
He says:
| Notable If True
Geographically speaking, the most
notable event of the present century was
the discovery of the north pole-if it be
true that 1t has been discovered. Two
Americans lay claim to this discovery,
viz; DR.. Frederick Cook and Commander
| r. e. Peary
How shall we judge of their rival
claims? ont by their astronomical obser-
| claims? Not by their astronomical obser-
| yations), for the skill which can forefell
to the second the time and to almost a
square rod the place of future eclipse of
| 10 ho,
ical observations of latitude and long-
tude reported by each claimant And we
cannot judge by the testimony of wit
nesses, for Cook went alone; and as he
neared the pole, Peary sent back every
English-speaking man save his negro
| Hence We have only his word for his
| case.
Therefore, we are brought to the mar
rative of this journey as written by each
| am led to this test by the fact that
my own reading of records of explora-
tions for years ha taught me that this
| is the true test.
Il have in my library more than 100
volumes of the records of the Royal
Geographical society of London. dating
from 1882 to 1900 inclusive. For hundreds
of hours after supper during the last
ten years 1 have pored over these records
of the worlds explorers in South Amer
lea, Africa, Asia, the islands of the Pa
cific ocean, the Arctice regions, etc.
Student of Geography
II have read as If 1t were yesterday,
the first sailing of Sir John Franklin
for the regions adjoining the north pole.
So Wy IN ~ 1ae rfr
with the expectation of his compeers that
he would penetrate the northwest pas
sage. Then, as the years passed, l fol-
lowed the expeditions in search of him
and his crews. ending with McClntocks
discovery of his fate.
Then came DR.. Nsnsen's observation
that a current from the Pacific flowed
northward through Behring strait into
the Arctic ocean, and that a current
flowed southwark into the North At
lantio ocean around the northern end OF
Greenland, and his theory that these
were the same currents. and his PROPOSE
ton to fit up ship, go northward
through Behring strait to get into the
ice pack and drift with 1t to the open
sea at the upper end of Greenland. This
he did and within about three years
came out as he predicted. But the cur
rent of ice went to the left of the north
pole. as we would view 1t, and he lacked
100 miles or more of reaching the pole
Cook and Penry
Now as to Cook and Peary. DR.. Cook
came upon the scene some months ago
with the statement that he had been to
the north pole. He described In detail
the incidents of his expedition. the voyage
to the regions of ice, his Journey over
the land his entry upon the sea of ice.
the fantastic shapes the snow assumed,
| the riffs which forced him to make
lengthy detours to go around them. the
novel hues of the Ice, in some places daz-
zlingly yellow, In others blue. these being
before unhear d-of characteristics of
Arctic scenery, and finally his arrival at
the region of the pole, where he found
that, instead of land there was frozen
ocean. And there, on the top of the world
he saw the sun go around in an elliptic
| orbit instead of setting.
"Peary comes out of the Arctic regions
only a few days later and wires to us
| that Cook Is a liar, and that he~rhas
| handed the public a gold brick
| True. he had not read Cooks mar
ratfve, he had not had Cook under daily
surveillance; but 1t was necessary to
his own claim to the discovery of the
north pole that Cook should be liar,
| and so a liar Cook was, according TO
Feary.
| "Mr Peary comes home as fast IS the
Roosevelt can steam, and then, after q
few more choice remarks to the effect
that Cook is a liar and q faker, and has
handed us a gold brick, he gives us an
4 epitome of hts own trip to the north
pole, and lo 1t is simply a replica Of
Cooks story-the same snow, the same
riffs In the ice, the same colored Ice. the
same frozen ocean, the Same elliptic
course for the sun. At least this is how
the press quoted Mr.. Peary.
But there were some details of his
Tourney wherein Mr.. Peary sang louder
note than we had heard from Cook.
some Discrepancies
| For instance, Cook had asserted that
on one day he, with his Esquimaux and
dogs. had Travelled 26 miles over. the
frozen ocean, Peary ridiculed this as
being impossible, and then to prove that
Cook could not have done so asserted
that on more than one day he had tray
eled upward of 40 miles per day over the
frozen ocean.
ocean at the pole to a depth of 5000 feet.
| OF course, there was n convenient hole
In the thick icle for his sounding line to
slide through to reach the water. and
then. possibly. the mater must have
helped him and his negro and Esquimaux
Ito sustain the weights of nearly two miles
of sounding line with the snker as they
left II down-thls same line which hts
dogs had made such speed In dragging
| -,a. +ha Toe with all of his other ma