The Washington herald., 1911-09-17
AUTO RACING GAME is DEAD,
LEAVING BLOODY TRAIL BEHIND

track. Lost In the hurricane Of speed, he
blundered into a collision which might
have resulted in death to a dozen men.
OF the forty participants in the race, 1t
may be safely said that not more than
half possessed other qualifications for
admittance than a s. license from the
association.
To show the immense difficulty which
attends the acquisition of one Of these
licenses, a crowd of Los Angeles auto
mobilists easily procured one for an
armless cripple, who didn't know a steer
ing wheel from a carburetor. While
they had no intention of entering him
in a race, the fact remains that he would
have been just as successful as and a
good deal less dangerous than many of
the enthusiastic, though ignorant, en-
trants In the indianapolis sweepstakes,
and. for that matter, in nearly every
other recent race. Some of these am
bilious young license holders had never
been In track race before which fact
initiated against them not in the least,
as no examination whatever is required
by the aSSOCia ton.
They are the terror Of the experienced
drivers. There IS never any telling what
they Will do. Many Of them have the
most reckless disregard for their lives
and the lives of Others-CoupIed with a
confidence as profound as their ignor-
ance. They watch the big drivers for
While, and conclude that all it takes Is
nerve Fine. They have nerve to spare.
The possibility that motor racing also
requires at least a minimum quota of
brains never occurs to them
l never speak Of these enthusiasts
without thinking of poor fellow named
Ned Crane, who was killed in Kansas
City a few months ago He had the
most illimitable confidence I ever be-
held in my life. He raced a hundred
times and never won a race. One morn
ing while he was praCticing out at Elm
Ridge, his car turned turtle When told
that he had only few minutes to 1.-Two
ha raised himself on an elbow. and.
summoning all the breath that was left
in his body. exclaimed with a conviction
as impressive as 1t was pitiable:
Tell them that the greatest racer OF
them all is dead"' They were the last
words he spoke.
HarrOun Has Retired.
Like the other evidences of official
and public indifference, it has aided in
bringing about the end of motor rae
ing The good drivers are unwilling
to take the chances. The Indianapolis
Fatalities are becoming too frequent.
HarrOUn is going into the engineering
business. where he can make money
with less danger. Other good drivers
are retiring.
What is the exact future of the rae
ing game If IT is to continue at all? 1
don't know. l believe that in few
years the men responsible for track
deaths will be prosecuted for man
slaughter, and whenever that becomes
effective speedways and dirt tracks will
have to GO Whatever future there is
apparently lies IN the board track. AL
though many meets have been held on
the one mile circular board track built
by Jack Prince, the old-time cyclist,
in Los Angeles, there has not been
single accident, and many worlds rec
ords have been made, too, 1t is the
only sign of hope. There is an abso-
lutte anti-racing bill pending in the
Texas legislature now. and 1 would not
be surprised to see Illinois come
with another this fall