The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, April 16, 1925, Image 2
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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
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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
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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
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Saturday 18
a
Big One Day Opening Sale
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In our new location next to Copeland-Stone Company. Values you
never expected to see in Clinton.
Sparks’ Ten Cent Store
Clinton, South Carolina
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