New-York tribune., 1910-09-25
By c, a. Emise.

BY c. A. Emise.
"All the world loves a winner is the
paraphrase of a saying that will ring as
true as the original as long as red blood
runs in the veins of mankind. To win
the approbation of the multitude the
ancient gladiator braved death in the
arena, counting not the cost, could he but
win the applause of the populace. From
the dayS of ancient Rome and Greece down
10 the present time the all powerful "Vox
populi'' has been the incentive which has
spurred the combatant on to glorious VIC
tory or ignominious defeat.
In modern times commercialism in sport,
as well as in other lines of every day life,
must of necessity have it's bearing, but
L prefer TO believe that in these days,
when sport and trade are frequently close
ly allied, the prompting spirit behind mod
ern contests is the desire for popular ap-
proval rather than a striving for gold or
commercial ends.
This is undoubtedly true of one of the
most popular of our athletic games, base
ball. The diamonds are filled with brainy
athletes able to win honors in various pro-
fessions and to whom the salary Of the
ball player is a pittance, but who continue
in the game through their desire to win
Most of the celebrated "airmen' of to-
day are men of Independent means. yet
they are daily Drawing death for the love
of sport and to win public applause.
Millionaires spend fortunes to demon
strate their superior knowledge of horses
and the breeding of turf favorites, and
the proudest moment of their lives is
that in which their favorite horse and
40 a1r
shoe and proclaimed kings of the turf.
The cash or plate which accompa-
MES these victories are incidental The
horse jockey. the shippers of the cloud
scraping yachts and the driver of the win
ming automobile in the Vanderbilt Cup
race all gladly accept their purse or fee.
but the most valued prize is the coveted
title of the winner"
The motives which prompt the manufact-
urer of an automobile to try the mettle
of his car I'm great competitions the
same that have governed contestants in
other lines from time immemorial. Fort
unately, great direct and pecuniary bene-
fits accrue to the builder of a car success
full in racing and endurance contests, and
IT is this fact which enables a manufact-
urer to continue his efforts until victory
pense entailed be great.
Aside from the personal qualification af-
forded by the knowledge that mis- car has
proven itself the greatest car Of endurance
and speed. he knows that the result of win
ming a great trophy is direct and far
reaching. Such car attains worldwide
reputation, and If similar victories follow
sales are wonderfully increased. Even the
ola r.,l,a In ty,a
his big touring car, all bundled up in
robes, choker and ulster, and who never
travels faster than twenty miles an hour.
| unconsciously feels a touch of pride to
know that he owns a car capable of win
ming a championship.
The owner of a car who is never able to
make a hundred-mile trip over the road
without mechanical trouble is forcibly i'm
pressed with the desirability of owning a
car capable of going through twenty
four-hour race at express train speed
without a stop or an adjustment, or which
can stand the terrific strain OF a two or
three hundred mile race on country roads
without sign OF mechanical trouble. Such
car is the car he will eventually buy.
II is significant fact that the most sue
oessful automobile manufacturers of the
cessful i'm racing. II is true that several
of the largest makers are not at the pres
ent time actively engaged in contests. but
their success was primarily due to their
road and track achievements i'm the early
days of the game. The impetus given to
their business at that time has carried
them on to their present success.
One OF the greatest benefits accruing TO
the industry as a direct result of these
gruellng contests is the knowledge of cor
rect mechanical construction which the de-
signer and builder are able tn obtain. Any
experienced builder viii tell you that one
hard long distance race will develop more
points of weakness than thousands of
miles of touring. The most cruel abuse to
which a car can be subjected is to drive
II TO the limit of its speed for hours at a
time without cessation and without mercy