The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-31
DICKSON, MECHANIC
 OF AMPLEX, MINGLED
When Taken From Car, HarrOun, Victor in Greatest Race of the World, Asked
 For Food
By CRIT'TENDEN MARRIOTT Hudson Motor Car Company

O a Fiat, finished second One man was killed, seven severely injured and hVe oars wrecked is the record Of the great q est race that the world has ever known
 When the large number of cars en- tered, the tremendous speed attained and the terrific wear on the nerves ln- yolved in a 500-mile race are consld- cred. the marvel is not that so much but that so little ruin was wrought,
 Long before dawn it became evident that the immense speedway was to be taxed to It's utmost. One hundred thous- and motor-mad enthusiasts stormed the . portals and crowded every train and every car to the limit. When the start ing gun was fired thousands were still fast in the crowd unable to reach the scene which many of them had come hundreds of miles to reach and for which they had started hours before.
 Johnny Aitken, in National, led at the start and kept we'll to the front for a hundred miles after which he slipped slowly but steadily backward. Spencer Wfshart, in Mercedes. forged to the front early and kept among the leaders till the end. DePalma's s Amplex held either first. second or third place from start to finish. Bruce Brown held either first, second all through Harroun did not come to the front until about the 200th mile. when he forged into first place and was never headed eX- cept for a moment or two.
 Fatal Accident Early
 The first and only fatal accident came early in the dash when on the twelfth lap both rear tires of the Amplex, driven by Al Greiner. exploded, wrecking the car and seriously injuring Grciner and killing s. P. Dickson, his mechanic, Greiner is Chicago million aire. who volunteered to drive the car after it's first wreck several days ago when Joe Harroun was Injured.
 The sensational accident of the day came in the afternoon when four cars were wrecked almost n from of the grandslapa in view of thosuands of women and children. The trouble be- Il gan when the Case car, driven by Ja- " geTs-Burger broke steering knuckle and crashed Into the wall. and L. An derson either jumped or was thrown well out into the speedway. Harry Knight. In hIs Wcstcott was coming like a whirlwind close behind. He saw the helpless Case and the prostrate ma chinist and swerved sharply to dodge them. He did doge them but at a price.
 
 firil1 hold for his slkidding tires and he shot with broadside speed into Hearne's Fiat and Lyle's Apperson, which were changing tires. and the three collapsed To those In the grandstand 1t looked as if the slaughter, which all had been ! expecting, had come, but the cries of 1 horror that arose were hushed when 1 it was found that only Knight and his | mechanic, John Glover were hurt, and N Knight only slightly. All the cars were | wrecked.
 Another accident came from col lsion between the Losier. driven by | Tctzlaff, pride of the Pacific coast, and Disbrows Pope Hartford. Tetzlaff's me- chanic, David Lewis, suff cred a broken leg Both cars were wrecked. Harroun Was Hungry At 300 miles Harround was first Nut ford second and Bruce-Brown third. At 400 miles, at 450 miles and al the finish t stood; Harround, Mulford and Bruce Brown
 But in between these last points of the contest Bruce Brown and Mulford "see-sawed'' for second place until not even the judges were certain until the last lap who had taken it. r.
 Both Bruce-Brown and Mulford were at all stages of the race dangerous con- tenders for the lead and one delay of more than tire changing time by Har- round would have meant certain loss of the contest.
 Toward the latter part of the race the three leaders were little more than 30 sec onds apart. All three handled their cars in masterly fashion. Mulford lost con siderable valuable time through tire trou- ble and Bruce-Brown was off the track more times than Harroun.
 Finally when Harroun was sereneIy winning, shouts of encouragement for him rose in steady crescendo and when he swept in the homestrctch on his last lap and Starter Wagner waved the finish flag the speedway enclosure rang with applause.
 Harroun, followed by a delighted mob, drove into the infied and was surround ed by horde of photogra phers, who wanted his grimy and impressive face as 1t rose just over the edge of his steer ing wheel. mechanic, with tears streaming from his eyes, held one of Harroun's hands and it was necessary to lead him out of the focus of the cameras.
 Give me something to eat,' said Har- round, as he dragged his legs from un- der the steering gear of his Wasp
 Another scene was being enacted at the hospital while Harroun was being lion ized and the other drivers were finishing the race without the taste of victory in their mouths. Arthur Greiner with a bandaged arm. sat smoking cigar and reading an extra edition of newspaper which it was reported he had probably been fatally injured.
 "The rim was loose when the start was called" he said, and we had not time to tighten it. We went in anyhow and Dickson is dead.i'ee
 Eight Held Lead
 A close study of the complete score card for the race shows plainly that. not more than eight out of the forty entries were up In the lead at any stage of the long grind
 These eight entries included Ray Har- roun, Marmon; Ralph Mulford, Lozier; David Bruce Brown, Fiat; Spencer Wish art Mercedes; Ralph De Palma. Simplex Fred Belcher. KNOX John Atken, Ma tional, and Teddy Tetzlaff, Lozier.
 Of these eight Aitken and Tetzlan were forced to withdraw by accidents to their cars
 The race easily was between Harroun, kfulford and Bruce Brown. At the first fN miles Bruce Brown led, Mulford was second and Tetzlaff was third. At 150 ~~~
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