Norwich bulletin., 1910-02-16
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
Just Why.


 valued paper that there is a plan afoot to confer upon Commander Peary 1 the exalted naval rank of rear admi- ral. Why? To. my understanding MT Peary Of the North pole, to give his | one consistent title (you know the | origin Dis simply an employe of the | government in the civil engineering or some other land lubber department, and his title has precisely the value of the governors staff colonel. He has been upon the roster of his depart ment approximately thirty years, in | elusive of fully ten years served (sfc) ! Ion leave"
 In the line of spectacular-ever | ar-achievement he has per- 1 formed or prepetrated a series of dashes for the pole, always with per- | feet equipment, and has endured the hardships accepted by sportsmen as | mere incidents of Arctic hunting He has -ipse dixit-nailed the flag | to the polel-(whether with fingernaiIs | toenails or the nails of commerce is
 still a matter of credence. the Copen--
 hagen tribunal not having as yet passed upon the claim.) He has inspired an epigram heard round the world.
 He has inaugurated perennial course of recitals anent the mailing, recital
 He has donated a $1o,ooo check from l interested if not interesting friends as | the nucleus of fund for his pur-
 posed dash for the south pole (God | forbid).
 Comes now, in the midst of his glory | (and grist?) the order of an unfeeling l navy department to report for duty | fcommand of a first class unarmored 1 draughting board CD. Cruel!-crueli and then some But admiring-or is it maudlin- friends will intervene and secure his retirement with the rank of rear ad- l miral and an annual stipend of $6,000 per.
 But why? The only replies I have elfcited to date are concentrated in an emphatic-not to say suplphuric-li!! Can it be that the government, real izing that it has gained more notoriety than fame in the outcome, would be
 rid of him at any cost? Even so. sure ly some way can be found without be- lfttlfng the honor, to the winning of which good men and true devote the
 best part of their lives-an honor sup
 posedly reserved for real naval officers who by meritorious promotion through
 minor grades have attained to a cap taincy.
 MT. Editor, tactless though it may
 appear-I wish to present. hypotheti-- l cally-another picture-with a point of view at least different to that gen orally taken.
 Given a man of high professional family, and, in short. with all that makes for a happy and contented life. He becomes Obsessed with desire for
 achievement in the field of discovery
 where many have tried and none has succeeded.
 In time he completes what he con- 1 ceives to be an infallible scheme to l this end He fits out an expedition
 and proceeds-to wreckage in transit total loss. Undaunted, he collects
 his sadly diminished resources and
 essays another feat oft tried but never 1 accomplished. His dismayed confreres
 the black night where he faces sit
 uation and temptation that may well
 have shattered the moral sense of
 who not? On one side, failure, money. family On the other side. an
 easily faked success with little fear of disprovaI and all it means. With his return to the normal, his
 he resolves to rehabilitate himself by a real achievement. Improbable? Why :? He was a gentleman.
 The North pole quest-redolent CD of dashes and continued in our nexts had been his original objective. and he will make one more do or die at tempt No spectacular departure is his, he slips away quietly in friends s yacht to the safe cruising limit, where he announces his purpose and hopes The friend generously aids him, to the
 extent of his power, and wishes him Godspeed.
 comes the LllQc W00n Ills cQuIp-
 ment, pitifullv inadequate at the start,
 has diminished to the limit for safe
 return. But he presses on, on frant-
 cally, desperately, striving against hopeless odds
 Months later, staggers into a native camp, the shadow of a man, physi- cal and mental-yes, mental wreck In his tortured brain IS the fixed be- lief that he reached the pole" He reaches civilization to be at once loaded with honors which few men could live up to. and incidentally commits himself to the submission of his claims to the worlds highest tribunal-a test which is yet to be successfully passed His return home is signalized by persecution so vindictive that he is forced into hiding even from his fam
 iIy. Under such inspiring CD condi- tions he complies his report for the
 supreme test.
 Was he mentally sound?
 WeII!-the conditions cited the en- pIovment of two self-confessed knaves in the arrangement of his records, the deIusfon that enemies sought to steal
 his report, the weird precautions talk
 en in it's transmission. the incoherence
 report, and his own cratic behaviour then and thereafter-should settle that question.
 His claim was rejected and he be- came a par;ah among his kind, ever moving on to avoid recognition and contumely-
 Blatant fakirs have won and risen he went down to defeat and ---. Now if he without sin - But pshawl What I would like to know is from what sane reasoning comes