The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-25
George Robertson Is Winner of
 Vanderbilt Cup
MANY START, FEW FINISH
Quarter of Million People See the Exciting Races and Several seri- ous Accidents Occur, But
 No One Is Killed.
By SAM w. SMALL, JR.

New York, October 2A-(Special.) )--The Vanderbilt cup race today, the greatest contest of speed controlled by human agency, the world has ever known, was brought to a close with heart-stirring and hair-breadth finish in which an American car driven by an American boy, won through the unparralled daring driver and the comet like speed of the car in which he rode.
 George Robertson won the race with Locomobile No. IS, 12O horsepower car designed by A. L. Riker, an American mechanical engineer.
 It was the first victory that an Ameri- can car or an American driver ever won in an international contest. When the United States flag was run up on the main taiff of the grandstand the chorus of cheers that started with the thous- ands there swelled until the 200, GOO specta- tors lined about the course sang the triumphant anthem of American victory.
 Dreadful Climax.
 But at the finish of the race, we'll run and well won. came the anti-climax- the dreaded sequel to the contests where life is made an incident of speed. The crowd of enthusiasts in celebration of the victory crowded upon the course di- reetly in front of the grandstand. But two cars had finished the race, and two other cars, still contestants, although reckoned as minutes behind the two lead CTS were swirling about the course at frghtful sped to win even the last place of honor. Even the soldiers whose duty it was to keep the course clear, seemed to have forgotten. Motor cars packed alongside the parkway where the finish line was drawn, had been warned to not take the course until the race was official ly announced as finished. Two cars fol- lowing the throngs, took the course and fell behind the solid ranks of more than 100 spectators who had started a tri- umphal march up the course when Rob- ertson won.
 From seats elevated above the crowd on the course, the 50,OOO men and wom- en in the. grandstand and 1000 in the official and press stand, saw a cloud of dust approaching more than mile distant at the speed of a whirlwind. The usual warning of "car coming" was shouted but no one paid the slight est heed.
 Car Brushes People.
 With the yells of the thousands of voices of those who perceived the dan ger and the bedlam of shouting, laugh ing, crying and dancing men and wom- en on the parkway directly in front of the grandstand, out from the fast fly ing cloud of dust on the rise of the hill half a mile away shot the locomo- bile car No l, driven by Jimmy Florida. The car was coming for every ounce of power that was in it, for Jimmy Florida peculiarly attended by bad luck in the race, was driving for an honor position with a sob in his throat and his life in the nerveless hands that gripped the wheel.
 His car seemed to drop down that steep incline and with trail of smoke puffs, was skimming the cement path at the rate of 60 miles an hour when vision flashed across his smoked goggles. Directly in his path, after the crowd had spread were two auto mobiles, both touring cars and freighted with men and women.
 Jimmy damned down his brake tight and kept his car straight To go to the right an inch or the left an inch or two meant to plough into the banks of solidly packed humanity which had opened this narrow path into cul-de- sac for him. tie took the path direct upon the touring automobiles and when
 
 to cover his eyes and fell forward upon the hot hood of his car heart broken.
 Men Thrown Out.
 The impact threw Florida and Leonard Travis. his mechanician, from the car and they rolled upon the parkway. The racing car which had caromed from one of the touring cars to the other, crumpled and stopped. The two touring cars ca reened and settled upon their wheels, the whitefaced men and women holding on breathlessly.
 Jimmy Florida was picked up, still holding his hands to his eyes. 1t was believed that his eyes had been hurt. A doctor pulled his hands away and before Florida there lay the prostrate form of a man white with the seeming pallor of death. Jimmy Florida looked at him but an instant, glanced at his wrecked car and then at the finish line only a few yards away and staggered over to the grandstand where he was sur rounded and lost in the crowd.
 About the wrecked cars and the pros- trate man, a spectator, a great crowd sembled. Again from the grand stand came the cry of lear coming.' Again it fell upon deaf ears If ever company courted death this mob crowd ing in front of the grandstand did so. The men stationed in the supply pits, working desperately, moved the wrecked car off Florida and the two disabled touring cars from the path of the racing car, the Mercedes No 5, driven by Walter Luttgen. At full speed Luttgen shot through the crowd with his powerful car, snaked his way through so close that the hot breath of his exhaust pipes singed their faces and left no one touched or injured in his wake. With sigh of re- lief the crowd accepted the miracle they had witnessed and uttered a prayer of thanks.
 Robertson, who was driving his first race in Vanderbilt cup, is but 23 years and his conduct of his race today proved that he not only possessed skill and dar- ing, but great coolness as well. It was 6 oclock this morning when the course was cleared, From pilot cars that had been sent out on the course came the word that the rain had made the course dangerous and that non-skid tires should be used. When the start came all cars were equipped with the non-skid tires, and it was known that record breaking speed could not be looked forward to.
 Jimmy Florida in the kocomobile was first called to line and' promptly dis patched He was the pioneer of the dangerous courIe and proved such an eff cient one that he set a pace that made the race what it proved to be.
 Until the fourth lap the race was very close. the Isotta, the Chadwick, the Loco mobile No. 16, md the Mercedes, driven by Strickler, being but a few seconds apart.
 After some trouble in the second lap Robertson drove 70 miles in 61 minutes and "a In he third