Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-29
BUFFOONERY IS
NOT MOTOR MEET
EXCELLENT PROGRAM MARRIED
BY POOR MANAGEMENT
Time Board a Faree-DeIays Between
Races lrksome and Unnecessary.
Announcing Becomes
Joke

1t is a great pity that so excellent
q program as was printed for the mo-
torcycle races OF yesterday at the Coli
scum should have been so badly marred
by buffoonery and tactics that be-
long to the circus rather than to the
advertised entertainment published for
the benefit of the public, and for which
the motorcycle people took the en-
trance fees of those present.
The delays between each of the
events were eXasperating, and If the
motorcycle people expect to have their
entertainments and meets patronized
at all in the future, there will have
to be a mighty change made in the
manner in which such events are car
ried out over those of yesterday. On
every hand, to the right and to the
left and all around, were loud COM
plants of these delays. An event
riders and a track full of stragglers
with no object in the world for being
there but to occupy the room they
could we'll have been excused from,
and the audience present compelled to
wait for one or two machines to be
brought out and fifhed about with
jockeys till patience ceased to be a
virtue. OF course it is a most pleas
ant view to see a multitude of young
goggles on, and numbers on one or
two, and none on the riders, but
there are many other pleasant ways of
spending a Sunday afternoon also,
other than there.
There was an alleged announcing of
the races, and there would be no libel
suit fall to any one to say that there
was no announcing whatever. True
there was a megaphone present with
some circus jokes directed to friends
in the audience, but that was all there
was to it, save that when the motor
cycle promoters have an entertainment
of funny stuff' to hand to the pub
lie, ii would be we'll to make the pub
licity matter conform to the program.
Nobody cares about how many people
the announcer has in the audience with
whom he is acquainted. The business
of the announcer is to give to the
audience what they should know. not
an exhibition of rare wit or pretended
jokes.
And what a farce is the time board
of the track! Races run and two in
dividuals with chalk putting up the
number OF the rider and the spot
marked "Time" as vacant as the CEN
ter of the cipher with the ring around
it. Is the track time board worked for
the benefit of the program "butchers?"
Or what is it there for anyway?
There has been considerable talk
about De Roster, and his cold feet,
ETC., but there is one thing everlast
ingly to the credit of De Roster as
seen yesterday, and that is that he
was about the only man that was not
in self evidence, unless he was doing
something never done before on a
race track. Quiet, unassuming. avoid
ing personal thrusting of his PERSONAL
ity upon the people, this fast rider
tore off his own half mile record 1-5
seconds.
In the race between De Roster and
Lingendfelder, the latter won. Out
side of this and the fact that Lingen-
fielder met with a spill in practice,
the rest has been told of the motor
cycle races of Sunday November 2S.
AS a farcical buffoon performance in
most particulars it was a bowling sue
cess, so much so that many left the
Coliseum disgusted to the feet. AS a
motorcycle meet of any class it was a
tiresome bore and fizzle. About an
other such meet as yesterday and
about all there will be present will
be the "l1ids" on the gasoline bikes.