Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-10
VANDERBILT COURSE
DEDICATED TODAY
Thirty-Seven Autos to Start in
Parkway Sweepstakes.

cred from the base ball craze, New York.
ers looking for excitement found them
selves last night In the throes Of speed
madness. generated by the Motor Park
way sweepstakes. to be decided on Long
Island today. All over the city. and par
ticularly along Broadway from Herald
Square to the outer breastworks OF Auto
mobile row. preparations were under way
for the journey down to that part Of Long
Island made famous in the past by the
Vanderbilt Cup race, and notable now be-
cause Of the great automobile highway.
No one could estimate the number of
men and women who were intent on
reaching the course. To be certain of ar
irving on the ground in time. and mindful
OF previous experiences In the same line.
the early birds began to cross the ferries
and bridges shortly after noon yesterday.
Ordinary automobile traffic across the riv-
er was greatly increased in the afternoon
by dozens of we'll filled cars bound for
Garden City. The passengers in the ma
jority of cases intended to spend the
night at the racing headquarters. where
the scenes prior to a big contest are not
the least interesting features of these
events.
Many Of the cars, however carried over
flowing hampers in addition to the pas
sengers. Fur-coated or heavily wrapped.
their occupants cared little for the wealth
er. They were out for all the sights to
be seen, and viewed complacently the
prospect of waiting hours for the start of
the race.
In many ways the race of today had
worked up as much public interest as
Vanderbilt cup events of other years.
True, the cars were not high-powered like
those that will participate in the classic
race two weeks from today, but, on the
other hand. the event marked the dedica-
ton to racing of the Motor Parkway,
in which almost the entire world Is inter-
ested. Today's race Is to be the test or
the newest form of automobile highway,
and in a manner pretentious enough to
afford every opportunity of judging the
value of such an innovation.
An Impressive Scene.
It was the Motor parkway. the eleven
miles stretch Of concrete designed as an
exclusive thorougbfare for automobiles.
that had New Workers, so to speak, by
the ears" To see the long ribbon laid
across the Hampstead Plains. regardless
of railroads and country roads. jumping
over all obstacles by means of bridges,
would at any time prove of interest. The
added attraction of thirty-seven stripped
touring cars whirling over the course at
the greatest speed of which they were ca
pable makes a combination that count
less thousands cannot resist.
While reports from the center of dis
turbance on Long Island indicated last
night that the influx of visitors had be-
gun, the real rush to the course was not
scheduled until this morning. This was
for the reason that the starting time of
the race was set at o'clock. The long
distance contests of other years have been
set for daylight, necessitating for specta-
tors a start the night before. or at least
in the small hours of the morning.
Feeling the pulse of the Automobiles.
T,la nr1A
day for ten-minute schedule Of ferry
boats beginning at o'clock this morn
ing Two years ago the ferries were
swamped by midnight with cars headed
for the course. The rush vas expected to
be delayed on this occasion. It was an
ticipated. too, that majority Of those
getting away before o clock would cross
10 Long Island by the bridges.
For the ordinary sightseer great prep
arations had been made. The railroad
schedule showed thirty-two special trains
from the Long Island City and Flatbush
avenue depotS to accommodate the en-
thusiasts. Seventeen of these were to
leave from the former place, the first at
ten minutes before o'clock and the
others at short intervals thereafter. The
first lot of Brooklynites and those going
across from Manhattan in that direction
were to start at ten minutes after 5.
Many Touring Cars Out.
Down in the vicinity of the Motor park
way three hundred automobiles. loaded
down with passengers. were touring
throughout the afternoon. their. owners
and drivers looking for quarters In which
to park overnight. Rentals for small
pieces of land along the course had adj
vanced to famine prices. but the amounts
demanded for choice locations were being
eagerly paid. While many were DESTROYS
of seeing the contest along the Motor
parkway. they were willing to park along
the country road portion of the course In
places that appeared to offer q chance to
see exciting brushes or accidents If they
happened.
Along the twenty-flve-mile course dur
ing the morning hours drivers with the
cars entered. In today's race were out for
trial spins. and they tore around at speeds
indicating that the course Is all that Is
claimed for It, The little Buick car made
the circuit In thirty minutes under the
pilotage Of Easter, who will be at its
wheel today. That performance. however.
was dimmed by the work OF some of the
larger cars.
In the ITALIA. one Of the cars named for
the long distance section of the sweep
stake Lechleiter amazed the spectators
by going around In twenty-four and three
quarter minutes, q fraction better than q
mile a minute. Even more impressive
was the work Of the Simplex guided by
Lescault. With the big car In superb
condition. he made one round at exactly
a mile a minute. and came back a short
time afterward to hurl his machine the
twenty-five miles in twenty-four minutes.
The full route in around thirty minutes