Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-18


bile and the StearnsS for $50 miles at
Ascot park March 2S for a side bet of
$4,000 each with amateur drivers, under
the auspices and control of the local b.
p. o. e. lodge No. 80. is the agree
ment entered into late yesterday after
noon between Ralph, j. Leayitt and
Huntly l.. Gordon, on behalf of the re-
spective cars named.
With the signing of the formal
memoranda of agreement, of which the
above is an outline, there was culmin-
ated yesterday q controversy which
was first preached exclusively In the
columns of The Herald four weeks ago
AMI which has riveted the attention of
the entire automobiling public ever
since.
For e. time it has looked as If the two
cars would never be brought together,
Leavitt and Gordon insisting upon con-
ditions so widely separated that com
promise looked impossible. Last sun
day, however, The Herald was able to
publish facts which, 1t pointed out,
were of such significance as to make a
compromise between the. two parties
$4,000 Bet Waived
One of the chief points of contention
originally was that Leavitt insisted on
a $4,000 bet, while Gordon would not
agree to wager more than $1,000. LeaVltt
then put UP a certified check for $50OO,
and then took down, without its having
been covered. He then expressed his
willingness to race the Stearns Tor
nothing and give the gate receipts to
the local Elks' lodge to swell the enter
tainment fund which will be used this
summer at the Elks' convention in TINS
city. Leavitt was met squarely by Cor
don, who had conceived the same idea.
1t was upon the waving of the wager
consideration and the injection OF the
Elks' lodge into the situation that LED
The Herald last Sunday to express the
belief that the other differences be-
tween the two managers of the TWO
cars had been made susceptible to COM
promise. And in this view The Herald
was justified yesterday by the signing
of the memoranda of agreement, fol-
lowing a discussion between LeaVitt
and Gordon and their respective adj
visers, which lasted the entire after
noon.
Elks Turn the Trick
The conference and agreement yes
terday was brought about by a COM
mittee from the local Elks' lodge, COLI
sisting of Ed Maier and Harry Har--
rington, who were much encouraged
Sunday by what they had seen in The
Herald regarding the new turn affairs
had taken looking to race.
Maier and Harrington first called on
Mr.. Leavitt and prevailed upon him TO
retreat from his insistence upon 500
mfle race. Leavitt finally consented to
this, and $50 miles was tentatively
agreed to as the minimum at which he
would race his car.
Gordon was then called up, and Fred
Latham was asked to join the con-
ference in Mr.. Leavitt's office to rep
resent the Stearns in further negotia-
lions.
There then being nothing between the
two managers, once the distance had
been agreed upon, except the question
of professional or amateur drivers, IL
began to look as If the agreement
would be entered into in few mo-
ments after Latham appeared on the
scene. This hope, however, was doomed,
as the question of driver was the one
point upon which the Stearns had al
ways laid the greatest stress. From
the very inception of the negotiations
between Leavitt and Gordon, the latter
has insisted that Soules must drive his
StearnS car or there would be no race.
So, while Latham was prepared to COM
NIT Gordon to practically every other
detail of the race, when he realized
that Leavitt would not recede from his
1nsistence on amateur drivers he eX-
order that he might talk the matter
over further with Gordon. Upon his
return he brought Gordon with him,
also J. c. Murray, Pacific coast repre-
sentative of the Stearns, with head
quarters in San Francisco, who CHANGED
to be visiting at the Stearns garage.
Gordon and Leavitt Meet
Gordon and Leavitt. had never met
during the entire controversy that has
been waged through the press, and 1t
was amusing to those present when
the two men clasped hands and "sized
each other up" Incidentally, when, a
couple of hours later, the agreement
had been signed, the two men ex-
marks regarding the fair dealing of
the other.
Gordon stifl persisted in retaining
Soules as a driver, and tried to entice
Leavitt to accept Barney Oldfeld Tor
the Locomobile, but the latter contend
ed that Oldf1eld did not know the Lo-
comobile well enough to race it against
Soules.
Counter Propositions Numerous
Then followed proposition and coun-
ter proposition, LeaVitt refusing to en-
tertain Soules and pointing out that
he had made all the concessions in
receding from a 500-mile race.
Gordon, on the other hand, pointed
out that Bert Latham had never driv-
en- a Stearns car and did not begin to
know the car as Murray Page, who
will drive for Leavitt, knows the Lo-
comobile.
Committeeman Maier and Harring
ton meanwhile had been doing all in
their power to bring the two sides to-
gether without going so far as to com
NIT a breach of strict neutrality, but
for a time Gordon and Leavitt showed
no inclination to yield.
SouIes as Mechanic
Gordon finally suggested that La
than drive the Stearns, but have
Soules as a mechanic to ride with the
car during the race. Mr.. Murray add
ed his voice to this plan, pointing out
that Latham, however skillful as a
driver he might me, could not be so
quick to detect the little defects of the
engine under the high pressure that
it would be running as would Soules,
whose ear had been trained to under
stand the language of the Stearns en-
CINE.
Leavitt, however, met this PROPOSE
ton with the statement that if the
Stearns would race 500 miles they
could put Soules or any driver on
earth back of the wheel, but on 150-
mile race he would insist on amateur
drivers and would not consent to
Soules being in the car, even as a
mechanic.
Then followed more whispered con-
ferences between Gordon, Latham and
Murray, and finally they consented to