davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
Mental Processes That Led
Him to Play Fast and Loose
with the North Pole.

Il has been the experience Of few men &c
be the target for such Notwithstanding
salyos Of applause. such roseate wreaths
Of eulogy as Dr. Frederick A Cook. was
receiving a handful of months ago, and
fewer men still have heard the applause
change so quickly TO Kisses and derision, or
seen the roses turn 10 jayelins- A BRIEF
year or so ago. after acclaim as the one
who had first Of all mankind set foot at
the North Pole. he disappeared, laden with
the opprobrium OF having been first in
new field Of chicanery and with much
money. Cleaned chiefly in lecturing on his
alleged experience 'farthest north"
Since November, 1888, DR.. Cook has been
reported from almost every quarter of the
glehe, but now for the first time, in 'Hamp-
tons Magazine for January, he ventures
nie print with a defence" It is, in part.
|as follows:
I have been called the greatest liar in
the world, the most monumental impostor
IN history Ny claim to the discovery OF
the North Pole has been adjudged Will
f1l preme5itated and brazen fraud, and L
f cheat who hoaxed an entire world for
gain. 1 believe that, in a very undesirable
say, / stand unique, the object of such sus-
Acioa and vitUperation as have assaliea
FEW men. My own actions, / admit, seemed
70 confirm even the worst suspicious; my
Silence turned suspicion TO conviction
Did get TO the North Pole? Perhaps L
made a mistake n thinking that / did; per-
haps did not make mistake. After ma
i iure thought, confess that 1 do not know
absolutely whether 1 reached the pole or
| not This may come as an amazing state
Isnt; but am willing 10 startle the world,
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
WAS SURE HE REACHED POLE.

.IInouestionably | believed that on April
81 1908. we had reached the pole.
And now. here, I want you 10 CONSIDER
carefully with me one thing which made
me feel sure that we had reached the pole.
This is the subject of shadows-eur own
shadows on the snow-covered ice
LAS we travelled on there was notable
change in our shadows. The night shad-
ow lengthened the day shadow by COM
harrison shortened. Later on in our journey
there was no longer any difference in
length. color, or sharpness of outline be-
tween the shadow of the day or night.
.'At the North Pole a mans shadow Is
of equal length during the entire twenty
four hours since the sun moves about the
heavens at the same apparent height above
the horizon.
Here then l felt was an important OBJ
servation placing with fair accuracy
at the pole, and unlike all other observa-
tions ii was not based on that impossible
dream of absolutely accurate time
"A man who wants to be convinced, he
who sees and feels and hreathes the
strange air of this other-world environ
ment. would naturally find here satisfy
ing conviction. Now admit that 1 wanted
to be convinced. and this brought the throb
of self-conviction
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
NO FIXED" BOOKS HERE.

Now If for some reason the company
should traverse protracted period of dull
ness every employee holding stock could
dend was due to natural causes, not to any
dishonest fixing of the books. The report
contains everything which a stockholder
has right to know. Every investment
every disbursement is faithfully recorded.
You can find there the acreage of land the
company owns in Russia and photograph
of its latest thrashing machine, moneys
paid out for taxes as well as list OF agen-
cies; every item is checked annually by
public accountants. This is real. perfect
partnership"
DO you consider the international Har-
vester Company as the ideal type of d profit
sharing company" pursued the inter-
viewer.
II only mentioned it because its report
happened to be on my desk right now," ex-
planned Mr. Perkins, but many are the
concerns which have adopted the profit
sharing system and are developing it
gradually. 1t is in itself a tremendous
problem. There should be no sentimental
philanthropy about this great question. 1t
is purely a business question. Profit shar-
ing pensions, and the like, from a pecun-
larry standpoint, are profitable for a busi-
ness and also for its la bor. No American,
worthy of being called a man, wants some
thing for nothing.
What share of the profits should labor
receive besides the usual Wages?'
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
ANTIDOTE FOR SOCIALISM.

''Not in the least. Therein resides the
great antidote for socialism They demand
government ownership. 1 forestall their
plans by proposing government control
They attack giant corporations savaseiys
but giant corporations would be, not .
menace. but a great public benefit, IL man
aged under laws that would compel proper
pubIicity and punish officers for improper
methods How can this be done? For my
mart. out of the multitude OF suggestions
there seems to be only one possible course.
viz: National control, accompanied by
publicity
ION the other side, that control should Do
exerted by business men in businessike
wav: 4 large percentage of our lawmakers
have never been business men, scarcely
any of our business men have ever Desn
lawmakers. IL has been like two hostile
armies arrayed against each other. AS tne
lawmakers have been the speecnmakers'
their side of the case has been constantly
presented to the public The business men
have. not been speechmakers. with rare ex-
ceptiors. and only in the last Few years
has ANYTHING ON their side Of the case oeen
said And in this one-sided way the case
has gone before the public Nationa4
boards sitting in Washington could controS
the whole business of the country
Isn't this quite a large undertahlnss
fraupbt with many IangerS?"
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
PUBLICITY A SAFEGUARD.

Not at ALL Remember that for business
nurposes in this country the United states
government is a corporation. with nrty SUD
sidiary companies, and the sooner this IA
raa1ized the sooner we can get tho right
kind of supervision of semi-public business
ENTERPRISES. and in this way give the puoho
the nublicity and the protection to which
If is entitled in the conduct of business oy
corporations. In no other way can tho
public be protected from evils In corpora"
ton management
But 1 want to repeat what I said before.
T want specialists to sit on those boards;
do NOT want amateurs OF theorists In the
citv of Washington, on the side OF nr1eH
h,,ilding. in large letters. is the foiio"ihs
sign. Horses Shod by a Horsesnoer-
Many times, as I have noticed this slgn' y
80 said to myself: That's what America
needs to-day-horses shod by horsesnoerss
not by opticians or milliners
JEAN DE COULANGES- 4.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18

feel again that physical and mental sufleT-
Ing, I wonder whether any living man
would do this were he premeditating l1e-
THAT 1 did travel upward OF twenty-five
hundred miles, in some direction, even my
enemies credit. Some have described my
tourney as being in a semicircle others ad-
init my going pretty far north
whether | went directly north, or was
diverted at times does not, cannot, change
the facts of my experience. We were com
ne1led on our Journey TO go in various di-
rccttons to find q way We made VIDE
detours, at other times we had TO retreat
and find new passages Perhaps IN SO
doing. l did become confused and oVeresti-
mated my progress. If that is so, 1t is
fact neither / nor any one can settle now
Wherever / went, however, l maintain II
was northward and l did reach spot
which I believed to be - pole.
"One day was very like ->.other. Beyond
the SD parallel life is devoid of any plea
sure The intense objective impressions OF
cold and hunger assailing the body rob
the mind of inspiration and exhia'ation.
Even the hest day of sun and gentle wind
offers no balm
AT times il was impossible to perspire,
and the toxin of fatigue. generating un-
earthly weariness filled the brain with
fag. When perspiration oozed from our
pores 1t froze in the garments and the
warmer portions of our bodies were ringed
with snow Daily, unremittingly, this was
our agony.
MY boys had the advantage of sleep. |
envied them. Any one who has suffered
from insomnia may be able in a small de-
gree to gauge my condition when sleep be-
came possible. To reach the end OF my
tourney became the haunting, ever-present,
goadihg thought of my wakeful existence.
Despite physical lasstude and suffer-
ing which made 1t painful to move, took
observations in a regular. mechanical way.
AT tina time / did not doubt my figures.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
Notes from Wesfcbesfer County

from White Plains to Mount Vernon Ano
Yonkers.
Surrogate Frank V Millard. beginning
with the January term, will hold court az
White Plains on Friday The new CLERKS
of his court is Franz E. Clarke, trustees
of White Plains.
William Judson Clark. vice-president OF
the Westchester Lighting Company. OF
Mount Vernon, delivered an address before
the American Gas Institute recently.
Last year the Supreme Court abolished
the Saturday special motion days in Whfts
Plains making them instead on the nrse
and third Fridays of the month This ruio
will stand, and the Westchester court has
decided to follow the same procedure.
The Westchester County Bankers Asso-
cia tion has elected the following ofticerss
Former Congressman Cornelius A Pugs-
ley. of Peekskill, president; W b. Hen
dirk. vice-president; Henri J. Van Zeln,.
of New Rochelle, secretary: John Burlfng,
of White Plains, treasurer; COMMITTEES,
Clarence S. Mcclellan, OF Mount Vernon:
Bradford Rhodes. of Mamaroneck: H. NJ
Carpenter, W. w. Bissell, Arson Baldwin,
s. w. Cornell and George t. Buriins-
Justice Arthur S. Tompkins. of Nyack,
who holds court frequently at White Plains,
has filed an order confirming reports Of the
Commissioners of Appraisal in Sections
6 and Z of the Kensico reservoir.
Charles z. Long, County Clerk. has been
i'll at the Carlyon Arms Hotel, White
Plains.
The State Tax Commissioners, who havo
held several sessions at White Plains, ad"
journed their hearing until next Tuesday
when il is expected there Will b
some agreement.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
HIS FATAL INTROSPECTION.

Remember that, with the exception Of
Francke and tribe of wild people, l was
alone during an entire Arctic winter. / be-
busy building sledges, cutting meat, L
was planning this journey, struggling men
tally over the frozen fields of ice, meeting
difficulties and conquering them.
II want you to understand this thing was
10 casual jaunt with me. All my life
hinged about it, my hopes were bent upon
it, the doing of it was part Of me, and in
stead of mere physical journey it be-
came a psychic experience, a nightmare.
in going from the frozen Atlantic wat
ers at Flagler Bay overland into Bay
F,jord we passed beyond the haunts of men
into a realm of an undisturbed Eden of
boreal creatures. Musk oxen, bears, wolves
and smaller game made life easy for us We
lived like kings, in palaces of snow, eating
literally the fat of the land. This food gave
us a savage ferocity which impaired just
the tone of endurance and daredevil resolu-
ton that we required
1.-THE temperature ranged from so degrees
10 s. degrees Fahrenheit below zero, stead
iIv about 100 degrees below the freezing
point during much Of this journey. This
temperature of So degrees below zero Fab
renheit was the lowest encountered. l have
heen held RESPONSIBLE and widely criticised
for citing a temperature OF minus SO Cent?
grade which was the misquotation of a re-
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
DISCOUNTS CALCULATIONS.

MY conviction that I reached the pole
never was based solely upon observations,
figures or mathematical calculations. l
did take these, of course. Sometimes | took
them hastily, again working them out with
most painstaking accuracy. Sometimes my
mind was clear as crystal, again / was
dazed with hunger thirst, and cold. These
figures did not serve to convince me CT
my achievement. They only corroborated
my inner conviction of progress They
were important in working a plan of action
over a trackless waste; but as proof of
the conquest they must always be insuffi-
cient.
Was my inner conviction that L at
tained the pole insane? This has been
asked, and suggested. Perhaps. Which
raises the whole problem of the border
lines of insanity. | was, l feel, more
insane than any man who frantically pur-
sues an ideal-an ideal which may seem
harebrained to the practical-and who
finally to himself, if to no other, is satisfied
that he has accomplished his desire. My
conviction may be beyond the bounds of
reason Sometimes now l feel that it is.
Again l Go not l do not know. l merely
know, and describe, through what 1 passed.
Moreover. and especially since 1 have
viewed men from peculiarly duSpIclouS
though unenviable angle of late, l have
been impressed with the instability, the
illogicality of all human reason.
From the early days of our journey, as
/ want TO show, everything centred about
the idea OF the pole. Then. to bewilder
one, to set one laughing with silly amuse-
ment or to fill one with a sense of awe,
there early began a procession of mirages
and optical illusions. The mental effect
l find il difficult to analyZe- Sometimes
these exaggerated transformations had the
effect of bringing far off objects apparently
near to us. This often caused confusion
in estimating distances.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
IN AN UNCHARTED REGION.

.I have been quoted as declaring that l
had discovered and traversed 10000 square
miles of new land. What / did report, ana
believe. was that in my journey / had
nassed through an area wherein IL was
nossfhle TO declare 10000 square miies-a
terrestrial unknown of water ana ice
cleared from the blank Of our charts. CID
discover what / believed 10 be land on the
goth Of March, 1855.
AZ have been quoted describing this
as paradise for hunters, and CRITICISED
on the ground that animal life does not
avist so far north. Whether animal hie
.visted there, | do not know, for the I'M
ra.,,s of NV quest left no desire or time 10
Investigate L passed the last game a'
-r;Larc Land That | may have made
,,,ictake i'm estimating the attainment Oh
tic Pole and that ] may have mace ei
-, In observations, ] am willing TO ad-
Ii, b,,t i'm fairness to myself do deny the
iestatements wrongly attributed 10 me
..I doubt If any men ever suHered i''i'
,,,,,ger so Intensely as we did ana hVeu-
,.ea.t, was on our journey northward ana
soi,fhward, grim, persistent coihp"'iio,
-, oolv the love of life, most deep-seateo
,,,p,an instincts, kept us ffofa sue
o.,n,bing to utter despair
az st,ail not give in this story my scleht-
a,,serva ations. They have been puoiished
NJ ...ien,ific authorities have rejected
a"o ac inadeauate j accept the decision.
,.s,,x that as you read my story you "iii
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18

be sweeping out the Office, shoveling coal.
or presiding over great commercial COM
pany In short, it should mean real CO.
operation between stockholders, managers
and employees.
Let me give you. as concrete example.
the United States Steel Corporations profit
sharing plan. During the first five years
more than 100000 900 was actually distrib-
uted to the organization under the various
provisions of the plan. That is a large
sum of money, but it has gone to large
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
BRONXVllCE.

The week before Christmas Is always an
eventful one in the social life of West
chester County. The heavy fall of snow
has made sleighing delightful pastime.
and the home coming of the junior men,
bers from various schools and colleges
has added to the gayety of the outdoor
life both on the skating ponds and coast
ing hills of the various clubhouses. AT
the Hotel iramatan, the annual Christ
mas Eve ball viii be given, for which five
hundred invitations have been issued.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18

suits Nothing has been found to take the
place Of a mans ability and no such sub
stitllte ever will be found. 1t is, therefore,
of tbe utmost Importance to American bust
ness interests of to-day and tomorrow that
every man in any given concern be so
associated with that concern that he will
give the best there is in him to the per-
forrnance of the duties assigned to him.
There is a vast difference between the work
that a human being performs in perfume
tory machine-like manner and the work
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
MISSED THE PROvlDER.

Senator "Bob'' Taylor, of Tennessee, tells
a story of how, when he was "Fiddling
Bob" Governor of that state, an old ne
gress came to him and said:
..Massa Guv'na, we's mighty po' this win
ter, and All wish you would pardon nah
Old man. He's a fiddler. same as you is,
and he's in the pen'tentry."
What was he put in for?" asked the
Governor.
"'Stead OF worilin' fo' it, that good TO-
notbin' niger done stole some bacon"
IF he is good for nothing what do you
want him back for
well, yo' see, we's all out of bacon
ag'in." said the old negress iInocenny.-
Cosmopolitan
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18

that he performs with keen, loyal in
terest in what he is doing; and in just this
difference does success come to the indi-
vidual and come to a large concern, II 1t
be so fortunate as to have a force of indl-
viduals who are working with this spirit.
'If profit sharing means anything, if pro-
yiding for old age means anything, IL
caring for those who become i'll or injured
while In the service means anything, 1t
should mean the fostering of the interest
of men in their work. whether that work
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
The Confession of Dr.. Cook

If, by SO doing, can get an opportunity to
present my case BY my case l mean not
my case as a geographical discoverer, but
my case as a man. Much as the attain
ment of the North Pole once meant to me,
the sympathy and confidence of my fellow
men mean more.
Il am told that many people who dis
credit my original story Of my experience
believe in my good faith. This moves me
more than I can tell. If L did believe
in myself. honestly and sincerely, if L felt
convinced of my claim when L reached
Copenhagen and later New York. is it just
to call me the worlds most intrepid fakir,
common, deliberate swindler?
''Unconsciously L may have made state
ments which / myself now question. That
is inexcusable. But most emphatcally and
positively l am not a thief; most certainly
there was no plan to hoax the world TO my
own financial profit
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
IMAGINATION RUNS WILD.

Just after Heiberg Land had become a
dull haze behind US these fantastic un-
realities of the North began to manifest
themselves most Peaks of snow were
transformed snto volcanoes, belching
smoke out of the pearly mist rose mar
vellous cities with fairy castles; huge crea-
lures, msshapen and grotesque, writhed
along the horizon.
These spectral denizens of the North
accompanied Us during the entire journey.
and when, tagged of brain and sapped of
bodily strength l felt my mind swimming
in a sea of half consciousness, they filed
me almost with horror, impressing me as
the monsters one sees in a nightmare.
When / recall the many hairbreadth es-
capes from death. the hazards we took and
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
COMPETITION A BACK NUMBER.

..-o,,,e+jtion." Mr.. Perkins repeated,
ao.,,-,etf-ion Is no longer the life of trade:
.bis has come 10 be the fact as applied to
,he old unreasoning and unreasonable COM
,,efition because of the conditions of our
aay. The spirit Of cooperation is upon us
II must, OF necessity, be the next great
form Of business development and progress.
AZ this moment many people are looking
as5ance upon the change, still believing
.n tha old doctrine. They hold TO IT for
several reasons First, because they have
inherited the belief; second. because they
think that competition means lower prices
for commodities to the public, and, third,
because they think il provides the best in
centfve 70 make men work. This may have
heen the best known method at one time,
hut il is not and cannot be true in the
mechanical, electrical age in which we live
.'The highly developed competitive sys-
TEN gave ruinously low prices at one
and unwarrantedly high prices at ant
lime When the low prices prevailed laaJi
was cruelty hurt: when the high prices
prevailed the public paid the bills.
prom every point of view the cooper
alive principle is TO he preferred. 1t is
more humane, more uplifting, and, with
proper supervision, must provide more
erderly conduct Of business-freer from
failure and abuse, guaranteeing better
Fages and more steady employment TO
labor, with more favorable average price
10 the consumer-one on which he can de-
pend III calculating his living expenses or
making his business plans.
IF, as many of us have come to believe,
cooperation in business is taking and
should take the place Of ruthless competi-
ton, if this new order Of things is better
for capital and better fer the consumer,
then in order to succeed permanently 1t
must demonstrate that it is better for the
laborers; and if profit sharing. pensions, in
surance and the like mean anything they
must mean cooperation between capital
and labor-co-operation in the broadest,
r1os- belrfflI and enduring form
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18

see why it impossible for me to secure
observations which would be accepted as
adequate. 1t may seem a curious thing,
as SO much is made of figures-which can
be manufactured by the ream-for me to
say that figures of instrumental observa-
tiens are only self-convincing. But L am
telling the truth, as / see it, frankly.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
Competition No LONGER Life Trade, Says g. t Perkins

number OF men. and has been one of tho
factors that nave helped TO forr, an orgaas
ization which, for loyalty and efficiency, 10
perhaps unequalled in the industrial world
to-day-an organization where the officers
of Company A are only too glad to pass on
to Company any new ideas or better
methods that they develop; an organize
that has demonstrated that co-opeTatien
can win success. and. best Of all, success
for everybody; an organization where. In
place of a raer1DhandfuI OF partners, there
are approximately fifty thousand such
partners. each one of whom IS a worker In
the cause.
I'm these results" queried Mr. Perkins,
'.is there not a form OF socialism Of the
highest, hest and most ideal sort-a social
ism that makes real partners OF employer
and employe. and yet preserves the risho
of private property retaining the capitai-
lists incentive to enterprise while giving
the worker new inspiration for enort-
humanizing a vast organization, promouh0
good will and Industrial peace?
Are you not afraid that some peopis
will characterize your plans as socialisdeF'
asked the reporter.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18

.y-ompe,ition is no longer the lie OF
The competitive system
=. ,bo,;ehed The interviewer
-.tbes his ewes. looked at the clock .
INST then the Trinity chimes chanted the
so,- of IL Oh a. m, of course). No; that
.oo.,onless. expressionless. nerveless person
Gray herringbone suit was not a
socialist speaker. The words were uttered
), q tremendously businesslike tone ana
,ben ]. p. Morgan's partner would nor con-
descend 20 stupefy mere journalist.
thus spake George W Perkins seated
9, his ultra-simple fiat desk in the office
Zip Morgan & Co. at Broad and wall
streets They go in for simplicity there,
the only luxury being seven-foot giant
Who towers inquiringly over unfamiliar
caIlers And the seven-foot superman does
rer even wear a uniform.
New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
INDIVIDUAL INCENTIVE.

II cannot answer that question, but one
thing 1 can say, profit sharing will make
labor's share larger from day to day,
for individual incentive works wonders
Nothing has been found to take the place
of individual incentive to accomplish re-