Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1909-09-15
AUTOMOBILE RACE
Effect of National Highway on
Residents of RockbridQe

= TossUM HOLLOW, Oept. III, I9l
Y MR.GAZErTE:-Much has been sa
in Lexington and Rockbridge coul
- ty OF late about the scout cars G
% path finders, as some Of our aristt
= cratic city newspapers call thes
evil-smelling machines, and whs
20 Rockbridge county is to contribut
~ in order to have the great automc
:, bile race from New York to Atlant
to pass through our county in tn
latter days of October.
From the reading of your paper
= as well as the County News, yol
are both very much in favor of tn,
= main thoroughfare of our county
G being turned over to these city
r sports for the mad rush that is t.
be made. Neither of our Lexington
papers has passed any criticism
! whatever upon the perpetrators o.
serious automobile accidents that
have lately occurred right in our
midst.
Now, as an old farmer, chock full
of old fogy notions but able to give
reason for every notion of the
} kind, l wish to have a chat with the
editor OF THE GAZETTE.
In the first place, what is Rock
bridge county to gain by having
this great automobile race pass
through our county, The distance
over the road to be travelled from
county line to county line is nearly
fifty miles. Under our Virginia
statute the speed limit is fifteen
miles an hour,so with ordinary con-
ditions these machines will pass
through Rockbridge county in three
hours. 1t is true that they will
probably halt long enough to buy
some post cards and write short
hand notes to their city friends and
tell particularly of the beautiful
runaway in which the little child
rem were dropped out OF the buggy
like ears of corn, but the lady, poor
thing, was pitched against the barb
ed wire fence"
II the machine has been delayed
or broken the owner will spend a
few cents for gasoline or repairs
aud literally this is all that our
county will gain for making COM
plete surrender of our main county
road for full week to these pleas
ure seekers. 1t is also true that we
will have the privilege OF coming or
going in sight of this road and stand
a cape with our mouths and eyes as
these nabobs of the earth pass by.
Just to think OF the unwarranta-
BILE impudence on the part of these
rascals sending out instructions to
the people in the counties through
which they will pass to get busy
and fix the roads for their coming"l
Mr.. Editor, have you heard OF any
Of these people contributing even
one cent to our road Improvement?
When you reflect that the United
States as nation is to celebrate
during the same month an event
hat occurred a hundred aud thirty
i've years ago, that was the very be- )
ginning of our existence as nation,
he beginning Of our civil and re
igious liberty, and that the people 7
Who lived in what is now Rock
bridge county did more to accomp- 6
ish that great event than the peo-
lie of any other county in any State \
f the United States, then to think r
hat we, the true heirs of such free !
ON. are to be talked to and written
bout by such? q
The great county OF Rockbridge :,
anks as the fourth agricultural
ounty of the State of Virginia; G
he country people are entirely de- D
endent upon the horse; the horse
J the farmers friend; a farmer of y.
ockbridge county could not live M
,r day without his horse. The q
orse does all the farm work, in ad- p
ition all the hauling to and from
le railroad. In the country all So ";
al intercourse is dependent on the or
orse. The worship at our country
lurches is entirely dependent on n,
70 horse. Now is this blessing, -,
'nvenience and pleasure derived cb
ON the farm horse to be sacrificed
order to crafty the ambition of do
me foolish man or woman who a.
ishes to be above and different d,
ON their neighbors?
If the farm horse has an enemy To
earth it is the automobile. An be
binary staid old farm horse, per-
city safe for lady and children tbi
drive anywhere. when he meets ba
automobile becomes a crazed
vii and unless a strong man has
Id Of him, who has strength
ough to seize him by the bit and !