Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-02-02
REPLY TO THE REPuallcAu

new York Times.-t grieves us to
note that the Springfield Republican
refuses to accept as adequate our ex-
PLANTATION of the similarity that
marked Commander Peary's descr,n.
ZION OF polar conditions and the guess
at them made by DIR. Cook. 1t in
sists that the commander was BY no
means as nearly sure as we said that
ne would find only water and ice at
the pole. Did he not, it asks, spend
not little of his time while at the
pole IN scanning the horizon with his
Telescope to see If he could see any
signs OF land, and did he not burden
hlnself IN mis- northward Journey
with weight and line for taking
soundings? He did, he did. but in his
narrative ne spoke of possible land. "
hot OF land expected or probable. ana
We are obstinate enough to think that
the sounding line supports our con.
tention as to the safety of DR.. Cooks
assumption, rather than the Republi.
cans as to its danger.
But, insists the Republican. il
wasn't only as to the absence of land
at the pole that DR.. Cook agreed with
commander Peary; both of them
also said that as the pole was an
preached the road grew smoother ana
that on reaching their destination
they found rather warm weather for
that part of the world. So there were
three strange condolences" instead
of one
Again we see the coincidence, but
not the strangeness. Every traveller
on the polar ice cap has noted the
easily applicable smoothing of his
road, not as he drew near the pole.
but as he went farther and farther
from the land, where the disturbance
Of the ice would naturally be greatest,
owing to interference with its drift.
AS for the mlldness of the polar tenn
perature, there was not the slightest
reason why anybody should expect
the weather at the pole to be worse
than or different from the weather
elsewhere on the ice cap-and the
season was advancing. the sun get
ting higher. What the one man
feared and the other had to keep in
mind was the difficulty caused by
open leads. not special chill in the
air at spot different from other spots
in that region only in that the geog-
raphers. in mapping it, make lot of
i'm a OF hOf
90 with temperature converge there.
Or. Cook didn't know very much,
but he knew that in all probability
there was deep water at the pole,
that the ice was better there than
just off the coast, and that as a rule
the weather in the northern heml-
sphere is warmer in April than IN
March. So do all three of the Repub-
lican's strange condolences" lose the
quality that keeps it from frankly
and humbly admitting that it was
wrong for once.
Chicago Post.--As a self-appointed
recorder of the post-season game in
the Cook-Peary league, now being
played between the Springfield Repub-
lican and the New York Times, it is
our duty to present elsewhere upon
this page today the answer of the
Times to the Republicans demand for
further information upon the Cook
story. In our judgment it is an an
swer that does not answer. It does
not justify the sweeping generalities
with which the Times originally at
tackled the Republicans case, nor
does it at all explain how Cook man
aged to make three such extraordi-
narily correct statements as to polar
conditions. The Times win have to
put in better pitcher of facts before
it can hope to clean up the Repubn-
can and claim the pennant.