Arizona republican., 1911-04-24
.MENDAC|OUS
ACCUSATIONS
Doctor Cook Declares He
Reached North Pole
WILL PROVE HIS CLAIMS
Says He Is More Sinned
Against Than Shining,
Promises to Prove Him
self the Victim of a Con-
spiracy.
WILL PROVE HIS CLAIMS

l viii assert that l reached the
North Pole. and if l succeed in
bringing about an investigation Of
the methods Peary and other enc
mics of mine have used To- discredit
me with scientists and with the gen
eral public, / Will prove it to the
world"
Leaning back in a comfortable
chair in his room at the hotel Ven
dome yesterday afternoon DR.. Fred
crick a. Cook, the arctic explorer,
who has come to Phoenix TO lecture
during the Cnatauqua, spoke To a
representative OF The Republican Of
his expeditions in search Of the
north pole. He displayed a perfect
willingness To go into detail on the
matters which have furnished ma
terial for one of the greatest scien-
tific controversies that has stirred
the world for centuries. and spoke
without embarrassment Of the charges
Of mendacity which have been
brought against him since the So
called exposure" Of the inaccuracy
OF his observations led to the refusal
'l lll~ Asaltt d. lul lltSlAlllB al dulutllLlG
narrative OF polar discovery.
As though unconscious OF the
notoriety given him by the press,
magazines and disputants in the
question Of his or Commodore Robert
+. Peary's right to claim the dis
cOvery Of the pole, DR.. Cook spoke
in q quiet manner Of the expeditions
which had proceeded the final dash
for the frozen seas, describing the
events which had led him to volun-
teer for Peary's first expedition in
1891. and of the subsequent eXpedi-
tions in which he served either as
subordinate or commander. Attired
in a long lOunging robe Of figured
silk. and being in the humor for a
chat on the widely discussed and
still unsettled question of the valid
ity Of his reports he devoted several
hours of the afternoon to recounting
his experiences and narratng his
adventures. speaking without heat or
excitement. even in that part of the
conversation which concerned the
charges brought against him.
He was asked to give his reason
for taking his long trip Immediately
after the press broke out in reports
Of contradictory nature to the
story he had told in Copenhagen, and
in America Immediately after his re-
turn from the north, and replied:
Il went abroad with. me wife and
family because l needed a rest. but
1 had another reason. When | found
that my enemies were STOPPING to
bribery. gross Misrepresentation. sand
in,
my story untrue. l made up my
mind that there was no use in in
creasing the agitation of the public
by entering into a controversy at
that time. I went away because |
felt that the campaign Of abuse
waged against me was unfair. and
l thought that by going abroad for
few weeks the public agitation
would subside during my absence
people would get a more normal per
spective, and my enemies could fire
off all their ammunition. There was
no great secret about my going, ex-
cept that | did not take the press
into my confidence During the time
of my absence | spent several weeks
in Europe, and afterward took a Sc
ries OF long ocean voyages. went
back to Europe, and then home to
America. being gone about year
although at the time | left the
country | had expected to be gone
but a week or two. | want To say
that during all that time the many
hundreds Of press reports starting
out to give my location and where
abouts were all untrue with one ex-
ception. and that was the report from
Chill. My long trip did me a great
deal Of good and 1 enjoyed the free
dom from the public excitement very
much. l was not used to it. and
needed the relaxation"
During the afternoon DR.. Cook re-
ferred to the articles published by
Hampton's magazine under the title
Confessions Of DIR. Cook and he
spoke of the action of the editor of
the monthly in publishing the ar
ticle under such a head as unjusti-
fable and altogether unwarranted.
Magazine, writer's, he said. were not
allowed to choose their own heads
for articles. or to determine the title
they should have upon publication.
but the idea conveyed by the title
given his story by Hamptons. created.
he said. an altogether wrong i'm
preston, and gave the public the
idea that he was retracting some of
his former statements and was en-
deavoring to cover up his tracks. Con-
cerning this matter he said:
Il wrote a series of articles which