The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-08-13
PULLMAN DITCHED,,
RECORD SPOILED
Accident Near Hartford
Wrecks Car, But Tolman
and Walker Unhurt.
By THOMAS S. RICE.

Alas for the great attempt to break
the Washington Boston auto record Of
twenty-eight hours!
John r. Thomas and G. s. Walker in
their Pullman. which started so blithe-
" yesterday were ditched two miles
outside Of Hartford. Conn, which town
they reached at $50 this morning
Neither traveller was burt, but the ma
chine was so badly mussed up that
they had to send to the Pullman fac
tory at York, Pa, for new parts. In
the meantime, Messrs. Thomas and
Walker have progressed to Boston by
train.
This is indeed a doleful ending 10 a
promising venture. Guy TOlman, form
erly of the Thomas & Tolman firm.
made me present washington Boston
record of twenty-eight hours and was
held up by just such a bloodless acct
dent, from all accounts, as that of this
morning.
Why anybody should be so anxious
10 reach Boston that he would risk
breaking his neck TO get there, is a
mystery.
Boston in a Hurry.
But It takes all sorts of people to
make a world, and Guy Tolman. for
merly OF Thomas & Tolman, Washing
ton, agents for the Pullman and other
autos. and G. s. Walker, of Philadel-
phia, an agent for the Morgan & Wright
tires. are among the sort eager to land
in the Hub in a hurry.
They left The Times office yesterday
at exactly noon for Boston in 20
horsepower Pullman stock roadster. aud
hoped to reach the office of the Boston |
Journal in Reantown today before the
whistle blew for lunch, thereby max
Ing the trip in twenty-fOur hours. and
thereby breaking the record, which is
tWenty-eight hours. After taking a lit
tie something besides faith cure for
their WEAKNESS and bruises they will
return leIsurely over the roads, branch
ing of 10 Atlantic City, Bar Harbor,
and other places
Mired Near Laurel.
It's a far cry from here 10 Boston,
and the cry came near ending in a
Rurgle because of the bad roads which
have made Maryland a joke on drivers
and crime against autos The pill
ETims were pilOted out of Washington
by a MathesOn car driven by T. j..
Spence. and containing Arthur New
myer, Frank NOISE, the Times pho
tographer and, fortunately, some real
money. All went well until the thTiv-
ing town OF Laurel-on-the-bOu boulevard |
Neutrality-suspicious. was in the
nea= distance. There they had a curl
Gus experience which should make the
authorities proud that they are alive
that they have escaped vengeance so |
long.
At this spot in the road the Mathe- |
son, which was IN the lead. ran peli /
NELL into a family group of hay
wagons which were stalled in mud up 1
10 their axles. Filled with vain-gIory
at having climbed mountains and I
plowed through sloughs, the Mathe- |
son charged the mUcSy waste and |
stopped. The Pullman was tagged, |
and did not get mired. A thorough in |
specuon OF the road showed no place
that the American car which won the /
rourd-the-worid race through Siberia /
and Russia could have gone through.
A Rural John D.
Strategy was in order. and the high
browed passengers in the Matheson be |
gan TO give of thought waves that
were sadly blurred by the stream of |
harsh talk directed at all in charge of
the county roads. The only solution
was 10 go around the bad spot, and a |
farmer who lived near by was an
preached on the subject OF allowing
the autos to go through his yard and
along his fence 10 where the public |
road was fairly decent. The farmer
man is thought to have been John D. |
or Captain Kidd in disguise. He had |
monopoly, and said he would let the
travellers down light by charging them |
only five dollars to use his pathway |
This unheralded bucOlic knight of the |
Eet-lt-quick order received the greatest |
line OF talk he ever heard of in his life |
ana finally put himself out of the John
d. class by reducing his charge To a |
dollar. This was furnished for the
Pullman, but the pilots refused To he |
Stung. fearing that If they went further
they might have 10 pawn the machine |
10 cover the remaining mud holes.
Mules to Rescue.
After escaping the grasp Of the nigh
financier the Pullman proceeded without /
special adventure to a hole near Relay.
where 1t took a rest of fifteen minutes /
until four mules could be hired to pull /
IL out
Thence into Baltimore, at 9l5 u. m
where II was met by j. r Shaffer the
Baltimore agent for the Pullman.
The pilgrims were due in PHILADELPHIA
at 3 p. m, but got there an hour ahead
or Tune. despite their delays and took
the road for the North without stop
ping.