Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-10
CLEAN RACING
IS DEMANDED
PROMOTERS HUNT SPORT BY
ADVERTISING METHODS
Harroun Not Personally Object of At
tack, but Only Taken as Ex-
ample--LocaI Driv-
ers to Shine
ID. w. sEMPLE

ID. w. sEMPLE
The criticism of The Herald on the
affairs at Ascot park last Saturday and
Sunday were In the spirit of general
welfare of the racing portion of the
automobile business. and not with in
tent to be carping or fault finding; for
the readers of these columns viii bear
testimony to the fact that it was The
Herald which early last fall took up
the matter of racing with automo-
biles, advocated the racing as q feature
of benefit to the dealers as we'll as en-
tertainlng to the public. This success
fully assisted in bringing about that
public interest which carried into the
grand stand for the management the
immense throngs which went two days
to see the liking of the circular track"
Barney Oldfeld-and a number of
times placed thousands of the same
grand stand to see the local drivers of
local cars, until they became as great
favorltes as were the horses which
drew crowds every day at this same
park.
What is intended Is that the racing
part of the automobile game shall be
kept right and clean as il has been In
the past, and no advertising under false
colors made to bring money to the box
office.
A better instance of just what hap
pened was the meet of last Saturday,
Followed by that of Sunday. The Her
aid has no quarrel with Mr. Harroun.
No paper would be more generous in
its treatment of anything he might
perform which would call for the glad
q nd tn flan fnf nF loNI a m
than The Herald. but Harroun was
overadyertised. This may not have
been his fault. But he suffered the con-
sequences of that oVeradvertising. Had
Harroun been announced as an at
traction having made most excellent
trials on eastern speedways, the public
would have been glad to have seen the
driver who had made for himself that
reputation. Instead he was brought
here and widely and prominently
spread before the public as the worlds
champion" automobile driver. No other
name appeared, and Harroun went on
the track with his splendid Marmon
car and was most ANONYMOUSLY de-
feated-slipping clutch or no slipping
clutch.
The public is not interested in Slip
ping clutches. The fact remains un-
answerable that on Saturday Harroun
was severely beaten in the 25-mile race
with car fifteen horsepower less than
his own, his motor being 5X51a-inch
bore, as against the Corbin 4Ax41k
inch bore. His big yellow machine is
undoubtedly a splendid piece of ma
chinery, and won many compliments
on the race track from those who act
ually know cars, but Harroun himself
lost the race with 1t because he was
driven off his feet by u more fearless
driver, who went in to beat him and
did it,
Afraid of Dust
No slipping clutch excuses can wipe
out the apparent horror of Harroun OF
diving into the Corbin's dust, while
his opponent simply wallowed in it
without a murmur. Harroun himself
said to a companion at the pits after
the second race: Il don't see how
Livingstone can run into my trail and
take the dust L am giving him" That's
just the point, Mr.. Harroun.
The same thing was repeated the
following day, and in precisely the
same manner, at precisely the same
spot, and. mind you, also, that Matson,
who was driving the little Marmon,
was giving Harroun, his driving part
ner, all the best of ii by so timing the
stretches that Harroun would pass him
there. All this while he kept Living
stone passing his car on the turns,
side of the course, which cost valuable
seconds because il is farther to travel
and the track is softer out from the
pole than on the line. But when Har-
roun was mixed In the dust OF the
slower cars he was tapping his fear of
dirt and sand killed his nerve, and
there Livingstone eXcelled and repeat
ed the dose of Saturday on Sunday.
The coming meet will probably be
worse than ever for Harroun, unless
he Is prepared to take more dirt than
ever. With more daring drivers on the
track alongside of him should be the
Palmer-Si and the Buick white
streak be entered dust will fly, be-
cause neither Siefert, who handles the
Palmer, nor Nikrent, the Buick pilot,
has any more regard for a dirt track
than for a parlor floor.
If the Marmon is credited with being
the dirt stirrer, 1t is nothing to the
Palmer, with it's enormous tires, and a
driver absolutely without fear of any
kind. That big siX-cylinder car can
sure ramble some. Nikrent and his
watch charm" must be reckoned with.
This little white midget sings like a
bird and is the fastest car to get away
in the country, and Niltrent, with his
Phoenix experience, will not care much
about how much dirt there is on the
track.
The Herald recognizes, therefore,
with the uncertainty of what entries
the park management may have, that
il is difficult to announce cars and
drivers locally on account of the pre-
Vailing conditions among the dealers;
but in the future, when there are at
fractions from the cast, it will be we'll
to give the public Just what it may
expect. That is what has made the
attendancein the past large and profit
able, because the public got what 1t
went to see and was always ready to
go again. Let it be otherwise, and the
people will soon forget the way to
Ascot park.