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\ * X PAGE TWO THE CLINTON CHRONICLE, CLINTON, S. C. AMERICA’S GREATEST BLUFFER STARTS SERVING PRISON TERM Oil Fields the <Final Waterloo For Man Who Claimed First Scaling of Mt. McKinley and Then Discovery of North Pole. Written for The Chronicle By ROBERT FULLER (Through Autocaster Service) I eavenworth, Kan. April 15.—Dr. Freder'kk A. Cook has returned to the practice of medicine. It was apainst his will, but nevettheless for the, next twelve or fourteen years, should his health permit, medicine will be his profession. His services are free. He is ministerinp to the ills of his fellow- corn icts in the Federal prison here. He* is No. 23,118.. . So opens one of the late chapters in the career of America’s greatest bluffer. Should he live to serve but his term of 12 to 14 years, he will be 72 years old when he again steps into the sunshine of freedom. He was born in Sullivan county, N. Y., June 10, 1865. “Doc” Cook, the man who has bluff ed in a big way all through life, has never yet put one of them across. But he is still trying. Only last week in Fort Worth, Texas, he attempted a bold and grand bluff—of how he had refused to join a jail delivery. This was just before his transfer to the government prison here. Wardens Biddle and Zerbst, of this institution, will perhaps have many such bluffs | and brainstorms of the famous doctor to deal with before he says good bye. If the reader is of the younger familiar with the doings of Doc Cook, familiar with the doins of Doc Cook. Here are some of his bluffs—one of which he cashed in on—but was caught. Doc Cook claimed to have been the was endowed with a rare personality, a beaming smile and affability that won the confidence of strangers. He started life well enough—but he never could control the desire to «bluff. DIVIDENS FROM IMPROVED ROADS [ Doc Cook \ OA«tAi1 “In his prison cell he sits—may be thinking of his beloved North Pole — his greatest hoax on the world. It was “oil” this time and it landed Dr. Frederick A. Cook in the U. S. Prison at Leavenworth, Kansas. first man to scale Mt. McKinley. He was given a seat in the hall of fame Leaving the home place up state in beside such explorers as Agassiz and New York he went to Brooklyn where Herschel. Later his claim was dis-1 he drove a milk wagon until he had approved. This was in 1906. learned enough money to start through In 1909 he returned from the North,|medical college. ( less than two weeks ahead of Admiral i vvas a member of Admiral V (From S. C. Highway Bulletin) ^American motorists cash in a yearly dividend of ten per cent on the capital investec^hrough Federal Aid in the improvea highways.of the country, ac cording to a statement issued from the national headquarters of the American Automobile association. This dividend actually goes into the pockets of the motorists and repre sents the difference between the cost of motor vehicle opertaion over unim proved and improved highways. The differential, which is conservative, is based on extensive engineering tests of motor vehicle operation costs made in different sections of the Country and for different types of roads. A recent survey made in Kentucky shows that there is on the average, a saving of two and a half cents a mile in the cost of operation over improved feads and highways. Sometime ago a similar investigation conducted in Iowa indicated approximately the same saving. It has been estimated many times that the average car runs approxi mately 6,000 miles a year. A saviqg of two' am} a half cepts a mile for 6,000 miles amounts to $150 a year. For seventeen million automobiles, this would mean a saving of $2,500,000,000 a year on gasoline, tires, parts, up keep, renewals and all phases of operation. This would be the total saving if every mile over which an automobile traveled was improved. But of course only 60,000 miles of highway have been improved by Federal Aid. Thi* 60,000 miles represents slightly more than two per cent of the total highway system which amounts to* approxi mately two and a half million miles. Two per cent of $2,500,000,000 gives $51,000,000 which can be legitimately credited to Federal Afd. The total capital expenditure for Federal Aid was $500,000,000 which yields $51,- 000,000 a year, or ten per cent in sav ing to the user of improved highways. Unde John The first of all flim-flam merchant’s jokes, is to wink , at the crowd, an’ call it “folks.’’ Of course, we rem ember an earlier day, when “foltfk” was the proper word to say—when human kinship was everything was everywhere, and, most of our dealin’s was on the square—Away back yon der where memory dims, when “folks” and “friendship” was synonyms; when hearts was as staunch as the towerin’ oaks, O, them was the days when folks waa folks. But, here of late, it occurs to me. that “folks” ain’t the term that it used to be—I can’t figger out but one re sult—it’s vulgar an’ coarse when it ain’t insult! The shell-game fakir and three-card sport—and the tin-horn gambler are all of a sort,—You can look in their eyes, an’ detect the hoax, as they mount their goods-box an’ call ye—“folks.” The snide promoter is fair to see, but he can’t put nothin’ acrost on me—He may yapper an’ spiel till the day he croaks—but the stuff’s all off, when he calls me “folks.” STATEMENT Of the Ownership, Management, etc., Required by the Act of Congress of August 24th, 1912. THE CLINTON CHRONICLE Publisher, Chronicle Publishing Co. Editor, W. W. Harris, Clinton, S. C. Managing editor, business manager, hone. Owner, W. W. Harris, Clinton, S. C. Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or hold ing 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securi ties: none. W. W. HARRIS, Owner. Sworn to and subscribed before .me The study made by the Iowa State this 14th day of April, 1925. W. H. SIMPSON, Notary Public. (My commission expires at the College, the Iowa Highway Commis- 1 sion and the Bureau of Public Roads Perry, the real discoverer, claiming; Perry’s party on one of the earlier i . , . tv. >■ . , » . that h. ha,I reached the North Pole. • explorationa-but had been mi M ta*t* h#w * ,l . U “‘ . ,he C0,, “ med »" pleaSUre ° f the He returned by way of Denmark— i f or some years when he came from a paved road was only approximately j one-half the gasoline consumed on a which country officially honored him.! the north wjth hig announce m e nt ofiTV . V New York gave him the freedom of . having reached the pole. Even after dently ^ investigation developed that the gasoline consumed per unit the city” and hung garlands of roses about his neck. Perry’s sudden return with authentic data and proofs of he himself having reached the pole was the bomb which explored all of Doc Cook's claims—and the praise and honor he so gloried in was quickly turned to ridicule and scorn. The nation’s scorn was so great that Doctor Cook left the country, going to Borneo. There is no record of his bluffs on the wild folks of the East Indies, but that there were some, there is no doubt. No sooner had the “famous” explor- ei returned to the United States, than he was busy again “stringing” suck ers. His ideas were along new ave nues, however, for, whereas he always had specialized on scientists, royalty and a trusting general public, he now turned his attention to widows, or phans and poor folks who wanted to get rich quick by the oil-well route— and he strung them to the tune ofj some $4,000,000. It would seem that his idea of a t ut-.ving reached the pole all of his claims were disapproved he maintained his stand and even went forth on the lecture platform to carry out his bluff. However his pictures were old, his diaries falsified and in no way had he data which would stand inspection. Ho ‘made the gum-drdp candy fam ous—by claiming .that by feeding the Eskimos these colorful! sweets, they braved the intenso^coldland lead him to the pole. of traffic can be taken as an index of the other costs of motor vehicle It showed in fact that there is a definite relation existing between the gasoline consumption per unit of traf fic and other, items of cost in vehicle operation. F. R. White, chief engi neer of the Iowa Highway Commis sion, estimated that through improve ment of road surface the ‘gasoline If in the prison library here there 1 consumption is cut in two, the cost of h a “Who’s Who,” Doc Cook will like-j tires is cut in two, the same applying ly gleam a bit of satisfaction, because to other items, including depreciation GRAND OPERA Atlanta, Ga. April 20-25, 1925 there amongst the great is his name. HOTEL TO FEATURE SUNDAY DINNERS Mrs. A. T. Wilson of the Hotel Clin- and repairs For the first time these studies make it*possible to present in terms of dollars and cents the difference in I cost to thfe motorist and the public in general between improved and unim- ,proved roads. ton, announces that beginning this, .. A , _ week a speciak Sunday dinner will beL According to the Iowa study, traf- offered at the price of S eventy-fiveF f,c 600 v f hicles per day over cents. The hotel has had a number of 9art ^ roads requires an annual ex- order | P en d lture from both private and public: SEABOARD announces fare and one half for the round trip, open to the public. For selling dates and limit see nearest SEABOARD Ticket Agent or write C. G. LaHatte, TPA, SAL, Atlanta, Ga. Fred Geissler, Asst. Passenger Traffic Manager, Atlanta, Ga. DON’T FORGET MOTHER’S DAY MAY 10TH SADLER-OWENS PHARMACY AT UNION STATION TEL. 400 Koinp concern was to consolidate some 1 r ^'' tS hou S e h wlvrs ell attendrne j fund8 of *25,600 per mile, while . d 7 y church services may be spared the Si™'*' amount of transportation over wells and make them into one big sol vent company with flowing wells. He “sold” the idea of the big company so well to the inexperienced and ignor ant, that he was rolling in millions when the government stepped in to investigate. Conviction was obvious from the first. He was sentenced to serve 14 years. To show the workings of Doc Cook’s brain—he sued a Fort Worth news paper for libel, claiming $1,000,000 damages—after he had been convict ed. Doc Cook had rare gifts, had'they been used in the right direction. He p. m. HANDKERCHIEF SALE FOR SATURDAY may be spared — x rush of preparing the mid-day meal, j a concrete surface costs $20,650 per The dining room opens from 1 to 2:30 m,le * This means that for a light traffic earth road ‘carrying 500 vehicles a day there would .be saved $4,950 per mile, per year, if the same traffic went over a paved road surface. As suming the cost of paving a dirt road to be $25,000 per mile, the saving in transportation coat would actually pay for the capital outlay in from four to six years. The difference between the cost of operation on a gravel r oad and a paved road would pay for the dif ference in the cost of construction in three years. A special handkerchief sale that is sure to appeal to the public is an nounced for Saturday only by the firm of Blakely Bros. Company. The s«de includes handkerchiefs for men, ladies and children, and promises to be quite an interesting feati^re at this store as their advertisement in today’s paper indicates. SWIM IN LAKE THOMAS RENT A CAR Drive Yourself OPEN AND CLOSED CARS DAY PHONE 357 NIGHT PHONE 156 Ellis Auto Livery THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1925 fi 1 » Permanent roads art a good investment "-not an expense AnExtra Gasoline Tax of from 6 to so Cents Per Gallon • f Your gasoline bills run into real money. But have you ever stopped to figure how much of this is in the form of an incredibly high gasoline tax? Let's see what happens when you leave the Concrete Highway and take to a gravel or a dirt road. Conclusive tests have proved that a gallon of gasoline will carry you only two thirds as far on a gravel road as on a Concrete Road. On a dirt road a gal* Ion of gasoline will carry you only half as far as on Concrete. With gasoline at twenty cents a gal lon, you would thus pay a gasoline tax of more than 6 cents per gallon on the gravel road and 20 cents a gallon on the dirt road. \ ' - ’ > v These are figures you can't get away from. You can prove them yourself. And remember that every time you travel on either a dirt or a gravel road you also increase wear and tear on tires and run up your general repair bills. Whyutontinue to j^ay these high taxes and get nothing in return but the dis comfort and inconvenience of unpaved roads and streets? Let your local officials know you want an adequate system of Concrete Roads and Streets. They are just as willing to build them as you are anxious to get them, But they must have your support PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION Hurt Btuldmg ATLANTA, (xX. <yf National Organization to Improve and Extend the Uses of Concrete f r‘ Oiiicea in 29 CitiM /, WHEN IN NEED OF JOB PRINTING THAT WILL BE NEATLY AND QUICKLY DONE CALL ON US. CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY Telephone Number 74 'h f < »< > 4 M > 4M ► M ► 4 M » 4 44 . 4 44 . .4 . 4 >4 . 4 4 4 4 Saturday 18 a Big One Day Opening Sale ■ ■ \ f In our new location next to Copeland-Stone Company. Values you never expected to see in Clinton. Sparks’ Ten Cent Store Clinton, South Carolina V M 4 4 M 4 4 >4 4 V 0 ’ i oooorooorrrerr err rear ♦♦ \ 4 Y...> tv