The Washington times., 1910-09-07
CONTEST DRIVERS
CUT BIG FIGURE
Their Wcrk Brought Out in
MunSey Historic Tour.
Automobile Comment.
By HARRY WARD.

| 1t has aptly been said the human
7 equation can rarely be eliminated from
any form Of contest. This is particularly
| true OF automobile contests, where the
driver frequently plays % per cent Of
/ the test. leaving the car to bear the >
per cent burden
/ This large personal factor was par
/ ticularly noticeable in the Munsey His
toric Tour, where roads Of varying con-
/ ditions were encountered and where the
! care given the cars counted vast
( deal An authority points out that
( the driver with experience viii save his
/ car at every turn. The spring broken
/ by running into a hidden hole in the
road can be saved, and Will be saved.
/ by the experienced driver who, no mat
/ ter how good the road appears. viii not
take any chances by driving faster than
/ Is safe on such a road The good driver
lis more watchfJII Of road conditions than
/ the poor driver, and this factor helps
materially in winning endurance con
tests.
It has been accepted BY many OF the
/ big manufacturers that nothing tests =
car so well as a long tour over varied
road conditions II is variety which
gives 10 tours their premier position as
real tests Of automobile worth
After devOting several columns 10 the
AIUnsey Historic Tour. The Automobile.
! one Of the leading authorities Of the
c"Intry, had the following TO say, edi-
/ torialIy OF the tour:
/ ''Nunsey Historic Tour IS over: the
/ veterans OF the long trek are returning
10 their respective homes, and glad Of
/ the chance Perhaps it IS not too much
10 say that the tour Is historic IN
more ways than one; the section OF
{ country actually covered Is rich IN his
/ to-lcal events but the tour Itself Will
20 down IN history. Among the points
OF unusual interest lies the perfection
I that attended the mana cement ef the
great event; II just goes 10 show that
| large undertaking can be handled
properly when the captain on the
bridge has his ounce of stamina Then
there Is the record: the sum total Of
result not merely the noticing here and
4 there Of this or that car as having a
[ clean score. such matters viii be given
proper weight, 20 be sure Automobiles
taking them as a whole stand uD 10
/ the gruellng test OF long and siren
( uous run so perfectly that, while penal
ties may be exacted. the fact remains
that they are for happenings that are
well within the ability Of the average
autoist on a basis Of making a roadside
repair AutOists owe much 10 the Nun
sey build OF enterprise il has broad
j utility for its foundation. The makers
Of automobiles that went into the run
must also recognize the fact that a
showdown such as this carries convic-
tiOn-iI is mark Of merit 10 be IN such
company even II q penalty is suffered: il
is the penalty that comes when a man =
fight Is being waged with such vfgOr
that a few scratches are the least TO be
expected"
Interesting news is in store for over
land owners II Washington It is 20 the
effect that r G Smith. one OF the best
known automobile men in the country,
has secured the Overland agency for the
District Of Columbia Virginia, West
Virginia the Eastern Shore Of Mary
land, and part Of Ohio He has Sc
cured quarters in the store OF Lester D.
s Moore. IT, SO Fourteenth street north
west. where he IS now displaying sew
eral Of the 1911 models. Mr.. Smith In
tends to give the Overland a strong rep
tresentatiOn IN Washington, and is now
planning TO make his new quarters
l among the most attractive III the city
He has just returned from a trip over
his territory. which was productive Of
a number OF fine orders for 1911 Over
Lands Mr smith has been Connected
with the automobile industry since It's
inc pCiOn IN TINS country, during which
Der OF the leading companies Lately
he has been located in Atlanta. where he
placed the Overland on an enviable foot
ing in that progressive auto center
7. B. Spence. president Of the Pope
Automobile Company, received word
this morning that B. G Fincke. who
! has entered a POpe-Hartford in the
Vanderbilt Cup race, to be run OctO-
! Der 1. has secured the services Of
Bert DingIey to drive his car Ding
lev competed in the 1905 Vanderbilt
with a Pope-ToledO racer. He com
r pIeted five of the ten laps, but ran
into a telegraph pole In the sixth
round. and broke a wheel, which lIi
} he has driven some fine races, and IS
regarded az an important factor II
! this years Vanderbilt h Il Holt,
entrant OF the other Po2e-Harttord
t for the Vanderbilt Cup. has obtained
r. the services of Jack Fleming as driver
Of his car Fleming is a new Western
driver, and last year won two classes
: In the -PoTtOla race at san Francisco.
) This years Vanderbilt Will mark his
; first appearance in the East
Ralph Milford, who won the Elgin
? Trophy race last week in a Lozier, is
} now en- route for Ne wHork with his
, winning car He Will take a leisurely
e drive TO that city, stopping at Defro1i
= and other places along the route G
y. Emise. racing manager of the Lo-
zier Company is accompanying him
Milford states the car finished the
/ race in perfect condition, and Il left
: for New York on the same tires with
which it started the race, and with nc
- intends to defend the stock cham
piOHship at Elsin next year. and if i'm
IprOvemenJs III the course are carried
III ou1LLf ~ - u - OpllL,oA t.4e-e ~
= enty miles an hour The winning Lo-
, zier has been entered in the Wander
I biIt Cup race, and Milford will com
y mence his practice as soon as the
= course IS ready
I Big dOings tonight at the country
Z home of the Automobile Club OF
I Washington The cups offered a
= prizes for the winners of the several
5 events in the clubs first hill clint
! last week viii be awarded, and there
= VIII be a general JOIli1cation over the
success attending this important
event in Washington motordom- One
I Of the prizes to be presented is the
cup donated by The Washington Times
HUSTON FAVORITE
IN POOL TOURNEY