The Lake County times., 1908-07-10
ENTHUSIASTIC OVER
LAKE COUNTY ROADS
Permission Of County Authorities Has
Not Yet Been Secured, However,
and May Cause Hitch In Proceed
ings If the Farmers Make Any OBJ
jections.

Crown Point, Ind, July 1O-( Specially
Again Lake county and it's fine
stretches of roads come into prOmi-
nence, as an ideal course for automobile
racing, and If the plans and desires of
members of the Chicago Automobile
Club and local enthusiasts carried
out, Lake county residents and peO-
pie for hundreds of miles around may
witness an event of national import
ance such as would be received In
other countries by hundreds of thOus-
ands, as the most thrilling and dau-
gerOus of all sports. National import
ance is putting it mildly, for the con-
test will be international affair sim
liar to the one that has just been fin
fshed in France this week in which
two drivers were killed and the cOun-
tries of the Old World We'd with each
other to send their representative cars
across the line for first place and first
time.
Chicago AutoIsts Are Winners.
Similar races have been run in the
Old Country from time to time, and the
different county's men have have won,
but this event in itself will be the
first international affair in the line of
automobile racing that has ever taken
place in this country. so it's interest
will be manifold. Chicago and St
Louis have been the bidders for the af-
fair, with Chicago being selected as
the lucky city to land the great event
Consequently. the prime movers, in
the international race, appointed a
committee in Chicago to make the nee
essary arrangements as to the time
and place to hold the great event.
/ Gac
of road in and around Chicago, but
they are crossed from time to time by
steam and electric roads, and in some
instances street car tracks run their
entire length making it practically
impossible to hold race in that To-
cality where such terrific speed has to
| be attained.
Eyes Turn to Lake County.
Therefore the managers of the affair
| began to look around in the near vi
| cinity of Chicago, and as Lake county's S
roads are a by-word in Chicago for
/ their excellence trip was made out
| here yesterday in an effort to select a
place to hold the great races. The
place and course has been selected and
| now all that remains is to get the
| consent of the proper authorities, and
| interview the farmers along the pro-
posed course. to keep all distractions,
in the way of cattle. horses and dogs,
off the course. while the race is being
run. Traffic will have to be suspended
along the entire way and the course
turned over to the racers for the entire
day.
Mr. c. Gunther, one of the most
prominent men in the Chicago auto
mobile world, with a party of repre-
sentative automobile enthusiasts,
toured to Crown Point yesterday and
were met by Harold H Wheeler. who
piloted them over the course from
Cedar Lake to Lowell. then to Orch
ard Grove and back to town, a dis
tance of twenty-five miles, without
crossing a railroad. and the roads
comparatively level and ideal for rae
ing purposes.
Prospect Created Enthusiasm.
The men were enthusiastic in their
praises Of the course. saying that no
where within a hundred miles of Chi
cago could such a ideal course have
been found The track will have to
be covered over fifteen times to run
the required distances.
The affair while yet in embryo, was
given a good start yesterday and all
il will take, will be the co-operation
| of the merchants. farmers and officials
TO land one of the greatest events in
the sporting world that was ever pull
ed in America, an event that will bring
thousands upon thousands of people to
the county.