New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-24
D D+ Trck Racing with Its Toll of LIVES Tend to Perfect Auto
ac Makers of Cars Defend Such Speed Tests but the
Majority Condemn Them and Believe Their knel
VIII Be Sounded Soon and Effectively.

The first day Marcel Basic shot through
the clouds of dust into the outlaw fence
and within an hour was dead An inexperi-
enced driver. with no recommendation ex-
cept 81 license to sustain HIS claim Of
eligibility TO clutter up the scenery at IN
dlanapolis, last May was tho cause OF ths
worst accident OF the meet. aside from
those in which death resulted. This par
ticular person became lost. He was trav-
cling faster than a mile a minute but ha
didn't know here he was. He had hls
license from the association, for which n,
bad paid s.. but what he needed was a
compass or a superintendent OF grounds n
act as bellwether The experienced driyers
present saw his predicament. but wha.
could they do? Making hairpln turns at A
mile a minute, they had no time. much "a
they should liked to have done so from tho
viewpoint Of their own safety. 20 take him
by the hand and lead him TO green knoll
and urge him to take n milk route and
let his fellows live long and happily. No,
he had to extricate himself from his pre-.
dicament He snorted straight into a col-
lision that might have resulted In tbs
death Of a dozen men
Oldneld declares that Of the forty par-
Elephants I'm the Indianapolis meet noe
more than half possessed other qualfca-
tions for admittance than that e license
from the association. Los Angeles autos
mobilists. enthusiastic supporters OF speed,
easily procured one Of these cheap licenses
for an armless cripple. who didn't know
carburetor from a horseshoe. IL Is said
in n ars
of any one TO enter tho cripple in a race,
but the point is offered that he would hays
been iust as successful and considerably
less dangerous than many Of the enthusi-
astic though ignorant entrants in the Indi-
annapolis sweepstakes, and. according "a
Oldfeld, in nearly every other recent race.
Oldheld has quit the game cold" Good
drivers. he believes, will DO likewise. Ha
means before they are cold in death
When a champion racer has gone through
twenty races without losing any feature
Of his anatomy he has the rest Of his
life in which 20 congratulate himself, ac-
cording to OldHeld-that is, II he has sense
enough to recognize the unusual solicituds
, Fate has betrayed in his case, and win re-
sign to the less dangerous business os
Juggling with sticks OF dynamite. Tho
game he says. is not worth the candle.
The dignity Of motor racing is gone"
he says. "It has been permitted 20 de-
generate 20 the rank OF prizehghting, with-
out any Of pugilism's redeeming virtues;
II has ceased 10 be racing and has become
merely a morbid and underwriting spectacle.
II is run for money alone. It's profits ara
blood money"
And yet the opinion OF the men who in.
sist that dirt tracks will DO sanctioned.
even in face OF the various high geared
criticism that is now being aimed az them,
is that only one thing Will stop such racing
orgies That one thing will be, they say,
for the manufacturers 20 get sick Of It
But this won't happen" said one Of
these men a few days ago, 80 long as ths
public patronize the races TO the extent
of 1900 and 10000 a day"