The evening world., 1908-12-08
Smoke Ddzed, Tired Out
Spectators at Six Day
Race Wake Only When
Some One YellS Sprint! ="
Then Go Back TO Sleep.

n then more Of the same for
= about a hundred and eighty
pages! That's the Six-Day Race
Just that and nothing more.
The riders go around and around
and around. and after awhile your
bead goes around with them. You
get dizzy-too dizzy to go home. So
you sit there, wishing you were in
bed, but lacking the energy to get
up and start.
1t Is the most curious spectacle New
York las to offer-tnis race The spec.
tacle isn't on the track It's in the seats
1.-THE gelleries-the boxes. Thousands
ands thousands of people sit stolidly
watching and waiting for something 10
happen. They stare and stare. The rid
ers come along in a draw out 'ingle
hle. They go past. After. a moment
the8 come araund again They go past.
They come around again and go past.
And again-and again. until time seems
to slip away into eternity. And all the
while there is nothing interesting. Every
CIRCUIT Is just like the last. Everybody is
nearly asIeep-thinkinG of gong home,
but putting off the effort of getting up
and waking 10 the street. 1t is deadly
dull. stupid. enervatins. The air is heavy
with stale tobacco smoke. In the In
closure the crowd without seats tIamps
miserably up and down. raising 4 cloud
Af,d dust. From the stables under the
Garden. the stables where the animals
are kept when the circus is here, arises
q menagerie of smells.
....;i@'tThen a Sprint Starts. I
Then, when everybody is half asleep,
some rider speeds up a little, shoots out
In front. twenty or thirty feet, and
gSlnHs along for lap or two with the
rest Of the bunch trailing along and
cutting down the lead. Thirsting for
some excitement. the crowd yells madly
an6 cranes its neCks. In few mo-
ments the squirt is over. The riders set
tie down into the long nightmare again
around, around. around. The crowd
sits back and waits for another squirt.
or a fall. or something to break the
monotony. Now and then the announcer
yells, "Umpty-umpty hours-a mile and
lap ahead Of the record" and then
everybody cheers feebly and looks in
terested. Around. around. around go
the six-day men, in their sweaty wool
ems, looking quite bored. When every
thing is quiet and the bunch is lolllns
along easily some rider let's his front
wheel slip. tumbles to the board track
and slides or rolls down 10 the floor
level. Now and then he brings another
rider with him and wheel rim is dam
aged. The spectators jump to their feet
and look for gore. There's great ex-
element for moment until the riders
get up and walk back to their stations
for a drink or a new wheel A gong
rings. That means that nobody is to be
credited with gam Until the he fallen fallen
Body loafs until the gong rings again.
And the Smells, Whew
Around and around and around they
the menagere OF smells arises IOm the
lover regions of the Garden to mingle
with the thick, fet.d odor of stale to-
hacco smoke and halt-consumed cigar
Butts, and the smell OF sweaty wooden
bike suits, and other smells too numer-
Gus to mention. And the crowd SITS
through. 1t all, hypnotized by that SLOW
aWlrl of sweatered figures around the
8aek down In front. II sits there and
yawns But It never goes home. You
can always see people gong INTO the
Garden. but somehow you never see
anyone coming out.
TOM LONGBOAT may yet race
Dorando He has an eNplana-
ton to give for Its defeat In
philadelphia Saturday night 1t APP
pears that he made the mistake Of
wearing shoes that We're too big for
him. The race was run on a small
indoor track with square corners At
every. turn Longboats feet slipped. and
before he could save himself they slid
into the toes Of his shoes This bistered
his pedals, and, after running seven
miles and fYs laps he told Tom Eek
that his feet were bleeding, 80 Mr.. Eek
tdE hiI1 lie needn't hurry. Up TO that
tiffIe he had the lead, and II he mad pos
sesseu enough presence of mind TO put
both feet into one shoe he might have
WOO the race.
Ipngboats Instructions were TO run
behind Sm8llWoOd for five miles out OF
the ten, In running behind him all The
way, he exceeded Instructions
MIR. Eek says the time gwen out was
incorrect; that the race Was really run
Tin % minutes ~ % seconds instead NJ
g. minutes 10 20 seconds, or an average
of i.3l instead Of on.
Moreover, Longboat ran his Boston
Marathon, IN mud, az AN average elm
OF minutes 81 seconds 10 the mile
(95 niles, while purdDlO's run aEaIas.
Hayes was al the rate Of g minutes
ls LIS seconds Wherefore. says Sir
Eek, LoEk BOAT vlU trim DUranlJ a.
ne Queens taste
EsThe Indian e. having a pair OF shoes
made 10 replace Tie 1rusaus lie y 0r,
81 Philadelphia.