Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-30
WAKE UP, YOU
SLEEPY QUAKER
PHILADELPHIAN THINKS SIXTY
MILES AN HOUR FAST
LOCAL CARS CAN NEGOTIATE a
MILE IN LESS THAN as
"Noted Amateur Driver" of East IL
Requested to Buy Ticket to-
Los Angeles and Learn
Something
BY ID. w. sENrPLE

Way down in the effete east-yes,
and in that rushing city of Philadel-
phia, where funerals are taken for
professions of business men on their
way to their offices, there is a gentle
man named Louis J. Bergdoll, who Is
president of the Bergdoll Motor Car
company, and in one of the most promi-
nent dailies of the city of Quakers that
expert on automobile racing tracks
expounds the most novel and best form
for racing tracks He proceeds to tell
how, if the track was scientifically
constructed, automobiles might be
made to go at the rate of SIXTY
MILES AN HOUR!
Just think of it, Sixty miles an
hour! Evidently Mr.. Bergdoll is not
familiar with the achievements of a
Los Angeles dirt track, and not the
best in the world by a very long mark,
where miles have been hit in the turn
at the rate of seventy-five miles an
hour and eighty have been made in the
stretches And Mr. Bergdol is pro-
claimed as "Philadelphia's daring anna
teur automobile racer!"
And Mr.. Bergdoll suggests track
100 feet wide. paved with wooden
| blocks, or vitrified brick, etc. If Mr..
Bergdoll will spend about say 5000 for
round trip ticket to Los Angeles
about thirty days hence, The Herald
promises to show him how to make
miles on a circular track in thirty Sec
onds-maybe better; hit the turns
without ever shutting off the throttle
a notch, and agree to show him local
stock car that can make 1T in less than
forty-five seconds, and then Mr.. Berg
doll can figure out the miles an hour
he will be travelling when going at
that clip.
Sixty miles an hour, with the alb
sence of curves as Mr. Bergdoll states,
shows either that the daring amateur
racer" has not driven faster than the
| Chestnut street gait of the good old
staid city of Philadelphia, with a stop
at the Continental at Ninth and
| Chestnut.
Less Than 81
Los Angeles has never been partic-
ularIy noted for it's extremely fast
circular track racing cars, but for the
| benefit of Mr.. Bergdoll he may be in
| formed that there is a local car here
today which can make a circular track
dirt course in less than fifty-seven sec
onds for the mile, so what's the use
having vitrified brick?
Quaker on Coach Time
The article of Mr.. Bergdoll is repro
duced here to show that Philadelphia
is still plodding along on coach time,
as to wit:
~COnSlu6TlNS lHe 1dCL IHdL dulOlIAopilo
racing in this country has so far been
conducted on such makeshift tracks as
unprepared beach surfaces, ordinary
public roads or unbanked clay horse
racing tracks, the sport has been Won
derfully successful. 1 believe that
automobile racing is only in its in
fancy. and if handled properly by the
right sort of men it is sure to become
as popular with the sporting public as
horse racing, baseball or college foot
ball. while if conducted under proper
conditions | do not think that automo-
bile racing is any more dangerous to
life and limb than any other form of
sport. There is always present an ele-
ment of danger which keeps the pa
irons on edge for the unexpected.
1.-THE history Of the two big auto
races conducted in Fairmount park.
this city, under the auspices of the
Quaker City Motor club, which have
been practically free from accident.
prove the truth of the assertion that
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