THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH POLE. culmination of a quest of centuries, beginning with attempts to find a short water route from Europe to the Indies. Previous to the Nineteenth century, Americans had done little or nothing in the Arctic regions; but, with the search for Sir John Franklin in 1850, American explorations in the North were unremitting and brilliant. Dr. E. K. Kane, chief surgeon of the Franklin rescue party, organized an expedition of his own in 1853, reaching north latitude 80°35'. He was followed in 1860 by Dr. I. I. Hayes; Charles F. Hall's three expeditions from 1860 to 1871; the Jeannette expedition in 1879, fitted out by the New York Herald and under the command of G. W. Delong, who perished after the Jeannette was crushed in the ice; and the Greeley expedition of 1881, which, in spite of poor equipment, reached north latitude 83°24′, but endured terrible suffering, the few survivors being rescued by Captain W. S. Schley in 1884. Then began Lieutenant Peary's great attempts, to which he gave the best years of his life. His first expedition was made in 1886, and was little more than tentative. His next voyage was in 1891, when he crossed Greenland, and three other expeditions followed in 1894–96. The remaining voyages were undertaken under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club, organized in 1898, and those of Lieutenant Peary, backed by ample proofs, have been fully substantiated, and the world has "officially" accepted him as the actual discoverer of the North Pole. VOL. X-20 299 were thoroughly equipped with all Other notable happenings were the celebration at New York in 1909the latter in double commemoration of Hudson's discovery of the river that bears his name and Fulton's trip on the first steamship, the Clermont. The Administration's third year, 1912, was crowded with events. The Titanic was lost on her maiden voyage, on April 15, with 1,595 persons, many of international reputation; only 745 persons were saved. Floods in the Mississippi Valley covered a total area of 250 square miles, made 30,000 people homeless, and entailed an estimated loss of $10,000,000. The remains of the martyred battle ship Maine, having been raised from the mud of Havana harbor where they had lain for fourteen years, were towed out to sea and buried with all the naval honors of war, while twentyone bodies of her sailors were interred with highest honors at Arlington. The Olympic games at Stockholm in July were won by the American contestants, who gained 128 points; Sweden was second with 104 points; and Great Britain came in third with 66 points. He It was natural that President Taft, realizing that many of his most important policies were in an incomplete state, should desire a reëlection. laid his plans to this end with long foresight, and, early in 1912, had succeeded in having most of the Southern States call their conventions for the purpose of choosing delegates to the National convention. As time went on, a few other delegates favoring the President's reëlection were selected by the new system of Presidential primaries in vogue in many States-a plan designed to give voters of every party an opportunity to send to the National convention delegates who should support for nomination the man designated by the majority of the respective party voters in the State. But the " preference primary " system did not always work out to the President's liking, and it is necessary to go back a little to find the reason. As soon as ex-President Roosevelt landed in this country on June 18, 1910, after his African and European travels, although he disavowed all intention of reëntering politics, the public shrewdly forecast his homecoming as a "return from Elba." Curiosity and interest had not long to wait, for in October he made a tour of the country advocating the "New Nationalism," by which he meant increased concentration of power in the Federal Government and the hand of the Executive; and in the elections of that year, especially in New York State, he took an active part. During the succeeding year and the first part of 1912 he formulated many doctrines, more or less radical, under New Nationalism in his "Osawatomie speech," the culmination of his progressivism appearing in the "Columbus speech" before the Ohio Constitutional Convention in February of 1912, where he openly advocated the "recall of judges" and other startling innovations. It was evident from the first that he intended to take advantage of the Progressive movement in the Republican party to become its sponsor and leader. He had long ago broken with the President as too conservative and "reactionary," charging him with having proved false to "Roosevelt policies"; and when, about the time of the Columbus speech, the governors of seven States addressed him in a joint letter asking if he would allow his name to be used as a candidate for the Presidency, he expressed his entire willingness to do so. Then came THE ELECTION OF 1912. the Presidential primaries, and for many weeks both President Taft and Mr. Roosevelt toured the States in which such primaries were held, making pleas for instructed delegates to the National convention. The exPresident had decidedly the best of these pre-convention contests and secured many delegates, while the President added to his strength by many adherents elected in the regular State conventions. The Republican convention was opened at Chicago on June 18, 1912. The machinery was entirely in the hands of the Administration. Nearly all contested cases were decided in favor of the Taft delegates, and, when the balloting began, 344 of the Roosevelt faction declined to vote. President Taft and Vice-President Sherman were then renominated without further opposition steamby roller" methods, the Progressive element asserted, by "theft" Mr. Roosevelt charged. The disaffected faction withdrew after the balloting, and, meeting in Orchestra Hall, proclaimed Theodore Roosevelt as their choice for President of the United States. In August the new Progressive party met in Chicago and formally nominated Theodore Roosevelt as its candidate for President and Governor Hiram Johnson, of California, for Vice-President. On June 25 the Democrats held their National convention at Baltimore and, with the Progressive element finally in control, nominated Governor Woodrow Wilson, of New 301 Jersey, for President, and Governor Thomas R. Marshall, of Indiana, for Vice-President, on the 46th ballot. The nominations of other parties were as follows: The Prohibition party, Eugene W. Chafin, President, and Aaron S. Watkins, Vice-President; the Socialist party, Eugene V. Debs, President, and Emil Seidel, Vice-President; the Socialist Labor party, Arthur E. Reimer, President, and August Gillhaus, Vice-President. President Taft made his campaign "on his record," pointing to evidences of present prosperity as a reason for continuing the Republican party in power, and renewing the platform promises of 1908 for tariff revision. Mr. Roosevelt said less about the tariff that is a subject which has never interested him- but gave "regulation of the trusts" a prominent place, as also "social justice under which head he included a vast number of social, economic, political, financial and judicial reforms. He bitterly assailed President Taft and many other public men who would not follow him in leaving the Republicans and forming the Progressive party. Governor Wilson conducted his campaign on entirely different lines, avoiding personalities and discussing the issues of the day in a thoughtful and forceful way. He advocated a reduction in the tariff that should so readjust the schedules as to meet actual business conditions, to the end that the tariff" shall cease to be the wellspring of oppression, monopoly, and covert taxation of the many for |