The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-07
one AND ONE-THIRD FARE FROM
ALL POINTS TO SAVANNAH.
OLDFIELD AND PARTY
EXPECTED HERE TO-DAY,
HAUsEMAN DID NOT GET 900 TUNED
Up IN TIME FOR SPEED TRIAL.

GREAT Racing Machine Was Viewed
by Large Numbers Yesterday.
Great Danger of Driving Fast Au-
tos-999 Has Already Killed Two
Men When Ford Broke the
worlds Record on the Ice He
said the Car Jumped so Feet NJ
the Time Before 1t Finally Settleo
Down to Work.
The railroads running into Savan-
nah have changed their decision and
will give excursion rates to Savannah
from all points in Georgia, and nearby
points in South Carolina and Florida,
on Feb. 1S on account Of the automo-
bile races that will be run at the Sa-
vannah track.
The rates agreed on by the railroads
Is one and one-third fare for the round
trip, and this insures crowds of visit
ors from all points. Yesterday all of
the roads commenced the work of ad-
vertising the rates, and the event for
which they are given.
Barney Oldfeld, Tom Cooper, Charles
Graham and H. c. Ford are expected
in Savannah to-day or tomorrow, and
will bring with them the two Winton
racers, one of which will be used in
the contest against the great 999.
Driver Hauseman failed to get the
es9 tuned up yesterday in time to go
out to the track and try the turns at
a 5O-second clip. The machine is now
at Bryson's place, and large crowds
have viewed the speed marvel. Mr..
Hauseman says he will have 1t in
shape by Monday afternoon, when he
will go to the track and do few fast
turns.
Has Killed Two Men.
The great car 1899" has been the
rounds in the racing business, and has
been through some very interesting ex-
periences. 1t was the first machine
to ever go a mile a minute, and is
known as one of the fastest machines
in the world.
Already in it's wild dashes it has kill
ed two men. and it may be said to be
just in the prime of life. How many
more it will kill is only a matter of
conjecture, but it can be readily I'M
derstood that it will yet have more to
its credit if it continues the phenomenal
runs it has made in the past. And
yet it's drivers continue to try and chop
off a second every time they take it in
a race.
What great dangers the drivers who
enter races for worlds championships
invite is more readily comprehended
after hearing of Mr.. Ford's expert
ences when he drove the 1899" at De-
troit on the ice, going the mile in SO 2-J
seconds. when I thought that we
were near the starting point" said Mr.
Ford after the race, Il let the ma
chine out at full speed, the car seemed
to bound along instead of running.
They tell me that the car leaped
fully thirty feet as it passed the timers
at the starting point. 1t seemed to me
that we sometimes leaped fully fifty
yards. The course appeared like a long
black thread stretching in the distance
/ could see nothing but this stretch OF
black, and the form of Mr.. Huff cling
ing to the water tank.
After the start / made out a long
black object about two hundred yards
in front Of us. and for the first time, !
almost lost my nerve. l realized al
once that the black object was q
wreck. We were still flying along al
too great rate of speed to make an
abrupt turn, so / changed our course
gradually. We could not see how close
we came to the wreck, but we found out
afterwards that we had cleared it only
thirty feet"