The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1910-08-19
LESS Than / DAYS
USEDFOR JOURNEY
L. L. Whitman in REQ Lowers
His Own Mark of Is Days
Set in 1906

man and an automobile with a
worlds record reached San Francisco
yesterday. The man, L. L. Whitman,
the veteran transcontinental automo
bile speed burner, brought into this city
a four cylinder REQ in 10 days Is hours
II minutes and 1 second, lowering his
own previous record, made in 1906. of
Is days hours and 3 minutes, which
means that he has lowered the mark
days 10 hours SO minutes and 50 sec
onds. To this, however, three hours
must be added to the difference in time
between the time in New York and
San Francisco.
This is wonderful performance
when one stops and soberly considers
the distance travelled, the road condi-
lions and the elements that must have
been met in such a journey. The fact
that the human mind can devise ma
chinery that will withstand such
trying ordeal has been proved in this
REQ car. But there is another factor
in all such great contests and that is
the master hand of physical endurance
as displayed by Whitman and his CO.
workers, who made this magnificent
budding days of aerial navigation, the
public is wont to pass up the motor
car, yet a lesson was taught yesterday
that even with the destruction of rail
roads it would be possible for the gov
eminent to handle its troops with the
assistance of the motor car.
The motor heroes were given a fit
ting California welcome. A delegation
from the city motored up the road as
far as Pinole, and there awaited their
coming. After greeting and Saluta-
tions, which occupied but a minute or
two, the automobiles were headed bay
ward, and with Captain F. w. Cole of
the Pacific motor car company and rep
resentatives of the REQ at the wheel
of the pilot car, the last triumphant leg
of the journey started for this, the
queen city of the Pacific. Through
Oakland, down the mole. which in itself
was fitting finish, as it was a race of
seconds to catch the boat, Whitman
and his REQ with the escort sped. Sue
cess, as in the whole journey, crowned
the last dash, and Whitman entered
San Francisco a boat earlier than he
was scheduled To show how true to
program the whole event was carried
out, Whitman started on an II day
schedule, and finished about nine hours
ahead of it.
At the ferry the successful REQ was
met with brass band in a motor sight
seeing car and large number of en-
thusiastic owners, whose numbers were
augmented as the procession went up
Market street to Van Ness and Golden
Gate avenues, and thence down to Lar
kin to the home of the Pacific motor
car company. Here there were more
music and congratulations.
Whitman and
the accredited drivers on the trip, were
the center of attraction
Whitman, in speaking of the trip,
said:
I'VE had exceedingly good weather.
Out of the 1000 miles which we covered,
we had only two spells of rain, lasting,
one distance of 100 miles and the
other of IS miles. Through the east,
where we encountered showers and
light mud, we ran with chains Near
Evanston, we struck some nasty alkali
mud holes, where we had to use our
mud fianges. In making sharp turn
near Valparaiso Ind, we ditched and
wrecked one of our wheels, which. how
ever, we were able to patch up for the
run into Cedar Rapids, and we lost
little over an hour for repairs and new
wheel.
The worst roads are the desert roads
between Laramie and Reno. Here, we
struck washouts, some of them deeper
than the height of the car. and some of
them only three or four feet down
These washouts had sharp edges, and
after going off them, we would have
to take a shovel and make a runway
to get up on the other side
Our average mileage was between 80
and IS, and the first four days we COW.
cred an average of 500 miles per day.
After that we were getting well into.
the west and our total mileage de-
creased until we struck the Green river
and Bitter creek district, where we
struck 20 miles of road that was con-
tinually washed out. At night, our
average speed was Is to Is miles per
hour as we never took chances in tna