R. E. Peary Nearest the Pole

Annotation

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The Address of President Roosevelt on his presentation of the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society to Commander Robert E. Peary, at the annual banquet of the Society, December 1 5, 1906. I count myself fortunate in having been asked to be present this evening at such a gathering and on behalf of such a society to pay a tribute of honour to an American who emphatically deserves well of the commonwealth. Civilised people usually live under conditions of life so easy that there is a certain tendency to atrophy of the hardier virtues. And it is a relief to pay signal honour to a man who by his achievements makes it evident that in some of the race, at least, there has been no loss of hardy virtue.