South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-11-12
DIR. FREDERICK \. COOK.

DR.. Frederick a. cox. self-alleged
explorer Of the north pole. has come
and gone again The man against
whom all the powers tha- be" appear
10 have conspired 10 rob him OF an
honor which ne claims Co be his due.
has told the people OF South Bend his
story. and told il with his own tongue.
lie may be humbug or he may not
De. We are inclined 20 believe that
he is possibly not; this not from his
say so. but from what memory re-
calls Of the days when the Peary Cook
controversy was at its height. CommO-
dore Peary had too much force back
Of him.-official, financial, and alleged
scientific the force was alto
gether too ruthless in its method OF
pushing DIR. Cook aside without what
seemed 20 the pubic at least, fair
hearing; too ruthless. we say, 10 COM
pei the commodore being taken ultra
seriously even though the doctor
might bear some OF the ear-marks Of
a fraud.
However. Commodore Peary is en-
joying a nice fat pension in return for
his alleged service. and in that the
public in interested. After the navy
department had encouraged him in his
dash for the north pole, probably in
the hope that he would freeze to
death and never get back.-that the
department should want some of the
credit for the discovery. IL discovery
there was 10 be. is only natural. Be
sides there was the further question
Of keeping the commodore out of the
way, and 10 pension him for some
thing or other, and retire him with il
at the expense of the public. became
a matter OF political eXpediency. That
the socalled National Geographical So
ciety is distinctively a thumb-print OF
the navy department is proven as con-
clusively as necessary from the man
ner IN which it rushed to the navy
departments support.
But those Copenhagen scientists.
AYE, there's the rub" Ready to re-
ceive Cook on his return with open
arms, and so receiving him, they let
him go I'm mighty short order and just
as though he were poison. They de-
clare that his data proved nothing
and that his story as related then. told
less. And these Copenhagenites are
regarded the world over as SCIENTISTS
scientists for the sake of science. They
never positively asserted that Cook
had not discovered the pole. They
merely declared themselves from
Missouri and that they would have
10 be shown. Cook had failed. in their
Judgment 10 make out even a prima
fscie cease. Peary under the training
Of the United States navy was more
adept in the keeping of exhaustive
and scientific records. He may not
have gotten any farther than Cook
did but he made better report OF it.
And there the verdict OF Copenhagen
stands
Whereupon the explorer doctor
dropped out OF sight for a time. His
story is that he retraced a portion OF
his steps In search for some missing
documents which he claims Peary
must have stolen. Some plot this;
really 4 near-romance for 50 cold
country. All that is needed Is an
Esquimo squaw 20 center the rivalry,
upon and the sitting is complete-but
II is not the purpose here To go into
tho essentials. Maybe the controversy
never will be settled. 1t is enough 10
say that DR.. Cook Is doing his best 10
win back lost hope.
And in his lectures he is furnishing
the American people with a lot OF en-
tertainment and much seemingly val
liable information.-infOrm which
10 US. at least, appears quite as rei-
able as any that Commodore Peary
mas furnished in any Of his works.
notwithstanding the force that the
government geographical society, and
even the Copenhagen scientists. lend
him. IL is not impossible that both
men reached the north pole. We had
a reporter on our stan once who wit
messed murder. but was SO short on
details that one would have doubted
his being there. while another report
er present at the same time was SO
full OF details that he wrote everything
that happened and lot OF things that
didn't