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Show PEARY SUIT IN COURT : ' Echo of the Controversy As to Discovery of the North Pole Berlin, June 28 The charges con-corning con-corning the disposition of the Arctic trophies left by blm at Etah, which Dr Frederick A. Cook- made against Commander Robert E. Peary during the height of the controversy over their claims of discovery of the forth pole, were aired In court todaj when the stilt Instituted against Peary by Rudolph Francke was opened. Francke. who was associated with Cook in Polar explorntlou, demands $10,000 In satisfaction of prizes of the hunt which he alleges Peary req. ired him to surrender in consideration of bringing hlni back to America. The defense sets up a general denial de-nial and further questions the Jurisdiction Juris-diction of the court on the grounds that the defendant Is an American citizen having no domicile In this country. After tiering the openlDg arguments, ar-guments, the court adourned to consider con-sider tho point of Jurisdiction. Commander Peary was served with papers In the sulf when he came here recently to fill a le:ture engagement. At the time he said he would be unable un-able to remain here for the trial, and that he had placed the matter in the hands of American Ambassador. Hill. Subsequently Commander Pear)' returned re-turned to the United States. Peary's Interests were looked after today by Attorney Jablonsmi, a pai t-ner t-ner of Victor Schneider, counBtl of the American embassy, while Herr Thlel represented Francke. The latter lat-ter was present, but was not called tc the witness stand. Tht proceedings were before three judges of the provincial court. In opening for the plaintiff, Thlel spoke for more than an hour, going over the whole story of the equipment of Cook's expedition, the building of tho supply station at Etah, on the northwest north-west coast of Greenland, the hunting In that vloinlty. Cook's deporture toward to-ward the polet Tranche's Ulnea. the arrival of Peary and Frnncke'a return home in the ppary relief ship Erik. The lawyer asserted that Peary had emised tho n'alntlff to turn over to hlra. certain blue fox skins, furs and narwhal tusks, as the only condition on which ho wculd take hlni from the Arctic, where, if deserted, he believed he would die. The attorney argued that the transaction trans-action was illegal In that it was con summated under strejs. He Bald pair of narwhal tusks then given un were later presented by Peary to Col. Roosevelt, .while, some of the blue fox skins were given to President and Mrs. Taft bv Mrs. Peary. ' Counsel claimed that the German courts had Jurisdiction in the matter, be-rause Francke. a German, was unable un-able to obtain redress in the United States. .. Replying for the defense, Herr. Jablonsmi Jab-lonsmi Insisted that the court had no jurisdiction - - because . Peary had neither prpperty nor home here. "We consented," be 60id, "to appear at the trial only t)ecaue our absence woold have been construed . unfavorably in tome quarters", . w Counsel denied .'the allegations oi Francke from beginning to end. and said they had the same foundation as did Cook's claim that be had been at the north piI? !.',", ' ". . .- ,.'.. |