Established 1899
HIM HUB
Worldwide Controversy
Over Discovery of North
Pole Will Probably Con
tinue For Years—Await
Cook's Book J* J+
By FREDERICK R. TOOMBS.
SMALL wonder that the discovery
of the north pole should have
precipitated a war among the
mapmakers of the earth. The
sensational circumstances attending the
revealing of the exploits of the Cook
and the Peary expeditions made cer
tain a long series of disputes, differ
ences of opinion, rival claims and rival
charges.
Each man's announcement that he
reached the pole must in the light of
subsequent events be accepted as true
until proved false. One thing seeuis
certain—that the arrival in the United
States of both intrepid conquerors of
the arctic drift will not bring a quick
solution of the intricate points involv
ed, nor will it end the controversy that
Is spreading and flaming like a prairie
fire. Their arrival on these shores
will, on the contrary, fan the sparks
still higher, and no man can foresee
what the ultimate outcome will be.
Feary is expected in New York iu a
few days, and Dr. Cook announces
that he will arrive there about Sept. 21.
That the discussion as to who really
discovered the pole will extend over a
number of years appears certain. Dr.
Cook states that the most convincing
proof of bis claims will not be given
r- * —-7
COMMANDER PEARY IN ARCTIC COSTUME
out until his new bock appears, and as
a result the publication of the work is
awaited with keen interest on all sides.
Peary's Claim That He Was First.
Most of the acrimony given the dis
cussion, particularly during the last
few days, was caused by the publica
tion of a statement by Reuter's News
agency, which said that Commander
Peary lairned that, he was the first
mau to reach the pole. This report
gave still another dramatic turn to the
situation, and the many supporters of
Dr. Cook expressed heated indignation
at such action by Peary before he
had had a chance to look into a detailed
account of his rival's trip. Also as an
indication of the fairness of Dr. Cook
toward Peary the' former's friends
point to the message sent from Copen
hagen in which the doctor said: "I am
glad to hear of Peary's success. If he
says he reached the pole I know he got
there."
, An unpleasant turn was given the
situation, again, by the dispatch sent
from Greenland stating that Dr. Cook
had taken for hi 3 own use dogs raised
especially for Peary and food held in
reserve for him. Dr. Cook's reply to
this charge is as follows:
"I understand that a rumor is cur
rent about my having taken some of
Peary's food and dogs at Etah. ThiS
Is founded on Eskimo gossip and mis
understanding. I desire no controver
sy. I simply say in reply to any such
assertion, 'No.' Commander -Peary Is
a friend of mine."
THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT
BE SUB II
The Commander Is a
Man of Wealth Owns
Sixteen Islands on Maine
Coast Mrs. Feary's
Record Trip J*
Navy's Support of Peary.
Commander Feary has more sup
porters in (he United States as re
gards his claims than has Dr. Cook.
His friends in the navy department
have stocd by every word he has sent
thus far and are not endeavoring to
convince the public of the responsibil
ity of Fr. Cook's assertions. This at
titude is probably a natural one. owing
to the fact that Peary is a popular
navy man and one who has spent
considerable time in cultivating friend
ships in otiicial circles iu Washington.
In European circles, however. Dr.
Cook is credited as much as Peary,
and in Denmark his story is accepted
as absolutely true by the leading geo
griiphical authorities. The fact that
the Royal Geographical society of Den
mark presented him with a gold medal
and that the council of the University
of Copenhagen by a vote of 10 to 1
resolved to confer on Cook the degree
of doctor of philosophy (honoris causa)
is an indication of the force with
which his story impressed the hard'
headed, ur.exeitable experts of the
Danish nation. It is probable that the
Danes are better qualified to judge the
merits or demerits of a north pole dis
covery story than any other nation.
That vital differences as to veracity
should arise between two world heroes
of the caliber of Cook and Peary is a
matter of poignant regret. Both men
are of spartan mold, fearless, deter
mined, enduring and patriotic. Each
has performed a feat that will fix his
name securely in the history of his
country and his time. Therefore if
either Is attacked in the interest of
the other an injustice of no small pro
portions 13 done.
Captain C. T. Hansen, chief of the
nautical department of the Danish Me
teorological institute, declares that he
believes firmly Peary duplicated Cook's
achievement by following the western
route for the greater part of his path
north.
Captain Sverdrup, who commanded
Nansen's boat, the Fram, says that the
last telegrams received from Peary are
much more convincing to him than the
first, which he was inclined to doubt.
But Sverdrup says he is convinced
absolutely that Cook reached the pole.
Peary Tells of Hardships. -
Commander Peary related the fol
lowing at a reunion of the Washing
ton alumni of Bowdoin college:
"To note briefly one of my arctic ex
periences, on the 6th of January, 1899,
after a sledge journey in the very mid
night of the great arctic night, a jour
ney over an unknown frozen road of
such roughness as you can scarcely
imagine, reduced to a diet of raw dog.
I stumbled into Fort Conger, the aban
doned headquarters of the Lady Frank
lin bay expedition, with both_feet serl
HICKORY, N.C., THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 16, 1909.
ously frozen. For six weeks I lay
there on my back, a helpless cripple,
through the utter darkness, living prin
cipally upon cornmeal and molasses,
my companions trying te iuiect a lit
tle warmth into the deadly -cold by
burning empty boxes and barrels, until
the faint rays of returning daylight in
the latter part of February permitted
an attempt to reach my ship, 250 miles
to the south. Lashed down to a sledge,
my feet and legs wrapped In a musk
ox skin, that journey of 250 miles was
made fn eleven marches of from twelve
to eighteen hours each, bumping and
pounding over the broken Ice of the
Arctic sea. The mean minimum daily
temperature during that march was
53% degrees below zero. The temper
ature the day we reached the ship was
65 degrees below zero."
Mrs. Peary, who has all along insist
ed that her husband would reach the
pole, holds the record for the woman
who has lived farthest north. She
siient a year on the northern edge of
Greenland with the commander when
he made the first detailed explorations
there.
The long winter night and the hard
ships inevitable uuder the circum
stances produced no unfavorable ef
fects upon Mrs. Peary, who battled
through the dreary season of darkness
with all the energy shown by the men
of the party. To her doubtless the
party owed much of the comparative
comfort which relieved the monotony
of the winter season. No white wo
man had been so far north by several
hundreds of miles as Mrs. Peary at
that time (1S02). A Danish -woman
lived for a loug time at Tessuisak.
about forty miles above Upernavik.
This is hundreds of miles south of
the place where Mrs. Peary spent a
year. The Eskimo women were par
ticularly interested in the white wo
man who had come among them, and
Mrs. Peary was of much service to her
husband in the pursuit of his ethno
logical researches.
Laughs at Auto and Airship Plan.
The explorer ho? never hf d any sym
pathy with' the various schemes ad
vanced to invade the ice locked polar
regious with airships or automobiles.
When Dr. Cook proposed a few years
ago to dash for the south pole in an
auto Commander Peary scoffed at the
idea. lie said: "The roughness of the
Ice would prevent any such plan from
working out successfully. Then, too.
the stretches of open water could not
be overcome."
lie also deprecated the Idea of going
to the north pole in an airship In the
following werds:
*'l don't feel like criticising those
who try the airship method of naviga
tion. I don't care for a balloon. Let
me put it iu this way: I don't beiieve
that the airship In its present state of
development can successfully combat
the conditions which will be met with
In an attempt to reach the pole. When
an airship has been constructed which
can navigate the air independent of
storms and behave In the air as one of
the big liners dees at sea in any kind
of weather, then it Is time enough to
talk abcut reaching the pole by means
of an airship, but rot before. My ex
periences have not impaired by belief
In my own method, which is in making
a dash over the ice by means of sleds."
"My Most Important Work."
Commander Peary has long main
tained that the discovery of the pole
would not prove the most important
result of arctic exploration. He states
his views on the subject in the follow
ing words:
"The gain to the scientific world by
the results of my work in the arctic
regions is of far more actual value
than the discovery of the north pole.
"The discovery of the north pole Is
merely .a more or less spectacular fact,
but still one that had to be tried agaiu
and again until actually accomplished.
"I have traveled the most northerly
laud on the globe. The departments
of science which will be benefited by
my sojourn in the north are geology,
meteorology, anthropology and natural
history. The full result of my labors,
especially in the field of meteorology,
cannot be fully ascertained until the
observations I have taken have been
worked out by scientists.
"Perhaps the most important result
of my labor—l am not now speaking
from a scientific standpoint—is the
demonstrating most conclusively that
the right kind of a man can carry on
arctic exploration without great dan
ger or suffering exceptional hardships.
In fact, he can work in the far north
as well as in hl3 office iu New York.
"In natural history the work I have
done, I am vain enough to think, is
great. No expeditions ever had the
opportunity that we had of studying
the musk ox. I have sent home at
different times very complete speci
mens of this animal, and 1 have also
sent a young walrus. So far as I
know, no other specimens of these ani
mals are now living in captivity, and
scientists have unexcelled opportunity
to study them when alive.
Commar>der Peary is widely report
ed to be a poor man, one who has been
impoverished by his arctic trips. Such
Is not the case, however. Three years
ago he purchased a total of sixteen
islands along the Maine coast north of
Portland. which are held at high prices
owing to the demand for exclusive
sites for cottages along the coast. Sev
eral of the islands kre in Casco bay.
Eagle island, which he owns, has for
several years been Commander Peary's
stronghhold. his fortress, where he
could retire at will safe from the at
tacks o£. interviewers_and phcrtogra-
phers. ft Is an outside Island about
fifteen from Portland, partly
wooded, partly open, with vegetation
almost tropical in its density.
The commander also owns Basket
Island, iu Casco bay. an ideal seashore
resort. It is a small Island, probably
not more than a quarter of a mile long
and perhaps an eighth of a mile wide.
In fact, it is an ideal-location for a big
seashore hotel of the exclusive type,
and this. It Is said, is just the use to
which Commander Peary wi'l eventu
ally put it. He has purchased an island
off Freeport called "A Pound of Tea,"
and away down the middle bay, off
Freeport, is Shelter island, twenty
miles from Portland and about the
same size as Basket. This is one of
the explorer's purchases.
Within a radius of five miles from
Eagle island are Great Mark, Upper
Flag and iforse islands. All these
have been acquired by him within
three years, and all are desirable.
Education In Russia.
The Russische Correspondenz has an
article on the decline of education in
Russia, in which the writer says: "Our
government is not remarkable only as
an executioner; it kills learning also.
It is now much easier to establish an
ultra Russian dramshop than a public
reading room. The following figures
as to popular lectures on agriculture
in one district tell a tale as to which
there need be no comment: Lectures
delivered in 1900, 250; 1901, 417; 1902,
543; 1903. 731; 1904, 512: 1905, 249;
190t», 35G; 1907, 174, and 1908, none."
HYPNOTISM CURES
NERVOUS DISEASES
How Philadelphia Lawyer Recov
ered From Asthma.
PHYSICIAN WRITES A REPORT
Man M£de 111, In Doctor's Opinion, by
"Auto Suggestion"—Must Have the
Patient's Consent In Order to Effect
Relief Through Mental Suggestion.
Used In Hysteria and Neurasthenia.
That hypnotism has been used suc
cessfully for several years in the treat
ment of many cases of uervous disor
ders, though never without the knowl
edge and consent both of the patient
and of the members of his family. Lias
become known publication iu
the Journal of Psychology of a report
presented by I)r. Charles D. Fox ot
212U Pine street, Philadelphia.
The particular case witb which Dr
report dealt wr.s that of a law
yer, designated only as Mr. X., who.
Dr. Fox said, had been cured of asth
ma by hypnotism, but Dr. Fox admits
that the science of mental suggestion
is used frequently and effectively in
many cases that come to the uervous
dej*irtment of the Hahnemann hospi
tal, Philadelphia, with which he is con
nected.
"It should be understood," said Dr.
Fox, "that hypnotism is used only in
selected cases where there appears to
be no pathological condition to account
for the illness and which therefore of
fer n® opportunity for the employment
of ordinary methods of treatment. It
has proved especially valuable in treat
ing various forms of hysteria and neu
rasthenia and in curbing and curing
alcoholism and morphinism.
Must Have Person's Consent.
Questioned as to the extent to which
hypnotic influence should dominate an
other's will, Dr. Fox emphatically laid
down the proposition that it is impos
sible to put a person in the hypnotic
state without that person's consent.
He intimated that in his opinion any
plea that a crime had been committed
under hypnotic suggestion was absurd
unless the person hypnotized had de
liberately submitted his will at the
outset to the control of another, but in
his account of his treatment of his pa
tient, "Mr. X.," he gave remarkable
instances of the extent to which sug
gestiohs made while the patient was
in a hypnotic state had been carried
out after the patient bad returned to
his normal condition.
On one occasion It was suggested to
X. while under the hypnotic influence
that' exactly 870 minutes later he
should look at his watch and write
down the time as if for reference.
Just 873 minutes after the suggestion
was made 8., who at that time was in
a perfectly normal condition, yielding
to a sudden and uncontrollable/ im
pulse. took out his watch and recorded
the time. The difference of three min
utes, Dr. Fox thought, might have
been due to a difference in the time of
the different watches. On another oc
casion X., having been told while in
the hypnotic state that he would be
alone in the room, absolutely failed to
recognize the presence of another phy
sician, Dr. Kulp, though Dr. Kulp,
after X. had beeu restored to his nor
mal condition, spoke to him repeatedly
and even took him by the hand.
11l Through Auto Suggestion.
Mr. X. f the lawyer, is described as
thirty-eight years old. For several
years he had suffered from asthma,
and since 1906 the Coughing attacks,
which usually came on at night, were
lucceede&Jjy. a condition Ukg that of
somnambulism. Tbe patient', while ap
parently rational and iu full posses
sion of his senses and. for instance, as
was proved by experiment, able to
play an excellent game of chess, be
came unusually loquacious, discussing
his private affairs most freely, but
after an interval in which he regained
his normal balance he remembered
nothing of what he had said or done.
Dr. Fox became convinced that the
coughing attacks and the somnambu
listic periods that followed them were
due to auto suggestion superinduced by
the fumes of asthma powders which
it was learned, the patient frequently
had inhaled until he fell asleep.
"The experience of falling asleep
having occurred many times." says Dr.
Fox in his report, "a psychic short cut
became established, and the more high
ly elaborated auto hypnotic or somnam
bulistic condition began to appear fol
lowing a severe cough, even without
the asthma powder having been used.
The consequence was the result of as
sociation of ideas. The beneficial re
sults of suggestion during the hyp
notic state became apparent imme
diately following his first treatment.
On his second visit the patient said he
liad slept deeply three nights out of
five without having been awakened by
an attack of asthma. While under
hypnosis the second time the sugges
tion was made that paroxysms of
coughing and somnambulistic attacks
would never occur again.
"Since Mr. X. came unde* my care,"
the report goes on, "he has been hyp
notized only eight At present
he sleeps well without being awakened
by asthmatic attacks, and Instead of
having paroxysms of coughiug when
he arises In the morning only a few
coughs occur. In fact, he now has no
paroxysms whatever, and since the
first treatment he has not had a single
one of any of liis various somnambu
listic attacks."
WOULD REVIVE CRINOLINE.
French Designers Trying to Restore
Old Time Fashion.
There is talk once more in Paris of
reviving the crinoline. French fashion
designers are seriously planning to
force the crinoline in the same sen
sational way which marked the wear
ing of the first sheath gown at the
Longchamps races last year.
If these designers took history as a
guide they would not tough the crin
oline, for, apart from being an absurd
article, it has a poor record. The Em
press Eugenie first tried seriously to
take a hand in French politics immedi
ately after she had revived the crin
oline. Eugenie did not realize any
political ambition. Instead she was
forced to step down from the throne,
and, always superstitious, she grew to
dislike the crinolines.
The only unbecoming gowns Queen
Elizabeth wore were crinolines. Eliz
abeth and Catherine de' Medici had a
weakness for crinolines and wore them
80 extreme that the effect was to make
both women seem deformed. Cather
ine the Great of Russia also had a
weakness for the crinoline, and the
women of the court were too much
afraid of the Imperious amazou to tell
her that the crinoline gave her a com
ical aspect.
ROOSEVELT ANSWERS CRITICS
Every Animal Shot For Benefit of Sci
ence or For Food.
Evidently ex-President Roosevelt has
beard something—or It may be much—
of the criticism which he has received
at home from those whom his shooting
exploits in Africa have offended or
grieved, and evidently he resents this
criticism as unjust, in so far as it is
based upon facts, and Ignorant when
its foundation has been nothing except
exaggerated or imagined reports of
what he has been doing to the beasts
and birds. This is shown by an ex
tract from a private letter received in
the Outlook office. After referring to
"fake stories of my hunting" the ex
president says:
"As a matter of fact every animal 1
have shot, with the exception of, say,
six or eight shot when we had to have
food, has been carefully preserved for
the National museum. I can be con
demned only if the existence of the
National museum, the American Mu
seum of Natural History and all simi
lar zoological collections are to be con
demned."
John D. Scares Sunday School Soholar.
"We should try to help each other
not only* in Sunday school, but in our
daily life," said John D. Rockefeller
at the close of the services at the
Euclid Sunday school in Cleveland on
a recent Sunday. "We should not be
like the nagging mother who always
kept saying 'Don't!' to her little boy
till he really did not know what to
do. Nor should we be like the Sun
day school teacher who asked his class,
'Who made the world?'" „
Mr. Rockefeller descended from the
platform and shook his finger in the
faces of the surprised boys in imita
tion of the teacher he was telling
about. One youngster, scared at Mr.
Rockefeller's gesture, cried out, "Please,
sir, I won't do it again!" .
A very good remedy and one that
we can highly recommend in all cases
of Kidney trouble, is Pineules, the new
kidney remedy. They are especially
good in all cases of rheumatic pains,
weak back or backache, urinary disor
ders and weak kidneys. Sold by W.
S. Martin.
Democrat and Press, Consolidated r905
pow HONEY GROWS*!
t ====== |
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- 1 "V -- -v • * •
—FROM ——
Claremont to Asheville
Thursday, Sept. 23rd.
Train leaves Claremont 7 a. m., and: arrives at Asheville 11
a. m. Returns the same day.
This positively will be the only Excursion this season
Now is your chance.
/
A great chance to visit Biltmore Estate, Sunset Mountain,
Connelly's Heights, Ostrich Farm, Etc. The view from the
cars in crossing the Blue Ridge, Round Knob, with the
highest natural fountain in the world, Royal George, Etc. is
the finest scenery in the world. Electric Street Cars will
meet the train at Asheville and carry you Anywhere in the
City for Only Fve Cents.
4
TAKE A DAY OFF AND HAVE A GOOD TIME WITH US
We go, rain or shine. Remember the Date
Thursday, September 23rd, 1909
Special policemen will be provided for the train.
Schedule and Fare:
Train Leaves Fare Train Leaves Fare
7:00 a. m. Claremont $2.00 7;50 a. m. Connelly Springs $2.00
7:15 " Newton 2.00 7;55 " Valdese 1.75
7:20 44 Conover 2.00 8;0S 44 Drexel 1.75
7:25 " Oyama 2.00 8; 10 44 Morganton s 1.75
7:35 " Hickory 2.00 8;23 " Glen Alpine 1.75
7: 40 44 Hildebran 2.00 8;30 44 Bridgewater 1.75
John A. Isenhower, Conover, N. C.
J. W. SETZER, Claremont, N. C.
Managers.
Try an Ad. in The Democrat.