The dirigible Norge has successfully crossed the North Pole and is approaching Alaska, marking a historic achievement in polar exploration. Commander Roald Amundsen (Norwegian), Lincoln Ellsworth (American), and Commander Nobile (Italian) departed Kings Bay, Spitzbergen on Tuesday morning and radioed at 1 a.m. yesterday that they had crossed the North Pole. After losing contact for hours, the airship's radio was picked up near midnight by a naval station at St. Paul, Alaska, with the crew asking "Does any one hear us?" The Norge is expected to reach Nome sometime today, where the town has prepared a gala reception. Meanwhile, Washington faces its own drama as Marshal Joseph Pilsudski's revolutionary troops have seized control of Warsaw, demanding he be made premier. Pilsudski has occupied the city's barracks and public buildings while government members have retreated to the presidential palace. Back home, a corruption scandal is unfolding as Auditor Davis recommends that Commissioner Penning return thousands of dollars in commissions from bonds he wrote as guardian for nearly 100 insane World War veterans at St. Elizabeths Hospital.

This front page captures America at a pivotal moment in the Roaring Twenties when technology was shrinking the world and traditional power structures were cracking. The Norge expedition represents the era's fascination with aviation and polar exploration—just five days after Commander Byrd claimed to have reached the North Pole by airplane, creating a friendly rivalry that captivated the public. The corruption scandal involving war veterans' estates reflects growing concerns about government accountability in the aftermath of the Teapot Dome scandal that had rocked the Harding administration. The Polish revolution adds to the sense of global instability that would eventually challenge American isolationism. These stories collectively show an America watching dramatic changes unfold both in cutting-edge exploration and the messy realities of governing in a rapidly modernizing world.

• A 12-year-old girl named Jeannette Riddell spent an entire night alone in a cemetery at her brother's grave in Saco, Maine, because 'she had loved her brother'—searchers found her the next morning
• The government has spent a staggering $150,000 trying to convict Ziang Sun Wan in three separate murder trials related to deaths at the Chinese Educational Mission in 1919
• Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon's daughter Ailsa will marry in the tiny Bethlehem Chapel at the National Cathedral on May 29th, with only 200 guests—making her 'Washington's richest bride-elect'
• Commissioner Penning serves as guardian for 'nearly 100 insane World War veterans in St. Elizabeths Hospital alone,' collecting commissions on bonds he wrote for himself
• The entire newspaper cost just one cent, and classified ads could be placed by simply calling 'Main 6040' between 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

• Commander Byrd, mentioned as standing by for rescue duty, had claimed to reach the North Pole just days earlier—but modern analysis suggests he never actually made it, making the Norge expedition the true first crossing
• The dying John T. King was indicted alongside Harry Daugherty, the former Attorney General who would become synonymous with the corruption of the Harding era—this was the scandal-plagued aftermath still playing out
• St. Elizabeths Hospital, where nearly 100 veterans were under Penning's questionable guardianship, had been founded during the Civil War and would later house famous patients including Ezra Pound and John Hinckley Jr.
• Marshal Pilsudski's coup in Poland was actually successful—he would rule Poland as a strongman until his death in 1935, making him one of the era's 'democratic dictators'
• Otto Gessler, appointed German Chancellor on this very day, would last only two weeks in the job—the Weimar Republic was collapsing into the political chaos that would eventually enable Hitler's rise