922 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



the fact that Commander Peary had been 

 waiting since his return to submit his 

 records to a scientific commission in the 

 United States, the National Geographic 

 Society believed it should receive his 

 papers now in order that his claim of 

 having reached the pole may be passed 

 upon without further delay. 



The Society is ready to make a similar 

 examination of Dr Cook's original obser- 

 vations and field notes, but as he prom- 

 ised to send them to the University of 

 Copenhagen, and the Society will not 

 have an opportunity of seeing them for 

 probably some months, it did not seem 

 fair to defer action on Commander 

 Peary's observations until Dr Cook's 

 papers were received by the Society. The 

 only question now to be decided by the 

 Society is whether or not Commander 

 Peary reached the pole on April 6, 1909. 



The following cablegram has been re- 

 ceived by the Society from the University 

 of Copenhagen, in reply to the Society's 

 request that the University of Copen- 

 hagen waive its first claim to Dr Cook's 

 records, in order that the records might 

 be immediately examined in the United 

 States and considerable delay avoided: 



"October 20, 1909. 

 National Geographic Society, 

 Washington. 

 University regrets not able comply with 

 your request. ^ „ 



Mr Henry Gannett, Chairman of the 

 Committee which will report on Com- 

 mander Peary's observations, has been 

 Chief Geographer of the U. S. GeologicaL 

 Survey since 1882; he is the author of 

 "Manual of Topographic Surveying," 

 "Statistical Atlases of the Tenth and 

 Eleventh Censuses," "Dictionary of Alti- 

 tudes," "Magnetic Declination in the 

 United States," Stanford's "Compendium 

 of Geography," and of manv government 

 reports. Mr Gannett is Vice-President 

 of the National Geographic Society, and 

 was one of the founders of the Society 

 in 1888. 



Rear Admiral Colby M. Chester, U. S. 

 Navy, was graduated from the U. S. 

 Naval Academy in 1863. He has held 

 practically every important command 

 under the Navy Department, including 

 Superintendent of the U. S. Naval Obser- 

 vatory, Commander-in-Chief Atlantic 

 Squadron, Superintendent of the U. S. 

 Naval Academy, Chief of Hydrographic 

 Division, U. S. Navy. Admiral Chester 

 has been known for many years as one of 

 the best and most particular navigators in 

 the service. 



O. H. Tittmann has been Superintend- 

 ent of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Sur- 

 vey since 1900. He is the member for 

 the United States of the Alaskan Bound- 

 ary Commission, and was one of the 

 founders of the National Geographic 

 Society. 



THE TEMPLES OF INDIA 



From Photographs by W. M. Zumbro 



THE home of the Y. M. C. A. in 

 Bombay (picture number 1) is 

 one of the many splendid build- 

 ings in that city of magnificent European 

 structures,- an adaptation of Indo-Sara- 

 cenic to modern municipal architecture. 

 Its size shows the scale on which the work 

 is carried on and the support it has in the 

 western capital and metropolis of India. 

 2. Nasick, mentioned by Ptolemy, is 

 one of the sacred centers of India, sit- 



uated on the banks of the sacred river, 

 the Godavari, which is there bordered 

 with temples and terraced stairways, as 

 at Benares, and where also the pilgrims- 

 battle by tens of thousands at every sun- 

 rise. Its ghati, or stairways, are always 

 picturesque with Hindus from every part 

 of the peninsula — priests, nobles, fakirs, 

 and beggars. A large Christian mission 

 station is appropriately placed in its. 

 suburbs. 



