The Washington herald., 1912-06-23

Entry blanks for both the Vanderbilt
Cup and Grand Prize races which are
TO be held in Milwaukee, Wis, the lat
ter part OF September, viii be ready for
distribution next week Bart ]. Ruddle.
who is managing the races for the Nil
waukee Automobile Dealers Association,
spent several days in New York Jnis
week, perfecting the preliminary details
for the classics, and upon returning to
Milwaukee on Wednesday, stated that the
printing Of the blanks viii be rushed.
Although the date for the Vanderbilt
Cup race has been oficially assigned, the
sanction for the race has not been
granted as yet by the A. A. A. contest
board. AS soon as details for patrolling
the course have been arranged-and every
precaution is to be taken to safeguard
spectators and contestants afike-the con-
test board, upon being satisfied, viii is
sue the formal sanction.
The revised dates for the events are
as follows: The Grand Prize race on
Tuesday, September II; the Wisconsin
Challenge Trophy and Pabst Trophy
races for light cars, Friday, September
%, and the Vanderbilt Cup race Satur-
day, September q. Thus a new precedent
viii be established in making the Inter
national Grand Prize race the curtain
raiser and holding the Vanderbilt Cup
up. All events will take place on the
Greenfield course, which is an S7-l0 miles
circuit.
With a fund Of $4,000 at its disposal,
the racing committee will not endeavor
to slzimp any in the matter Of making
the course the finest possible. 1t has
been decided to leave the turns fiat. but
In places where there is any danger Of
this becoming rutted or torn up by the
cars swinging around corners, the turn
will be made of concrete.
As yet the location of the grand stand
has not been determined, but II has been
arranged to have its capacity at least
1900 seats. As is customary, the re-
pair pits will be situated directly in
front Of the grand stand. Persons who
witnessed the Fsirmount Park race last
year made universal comment on the pit
work feature, in comparing ii with other
races. At Fairmount Park the pits were
at the extreme ends of the grand stand
so that the bulk Of the spectators were
unable to watch the rapid tire changes
and work on cars-one of the most in
teresting features Of a road race.
with the vacation season here, thou
sands Of automobilists are busy planning
motor tours to seashore, mountain, and
lake resorts.
A decided innovation in the form of
touring information is announced by the
Touring Club OF America in the placing
Of detour signs at points upon the main
thOroughfares where It is necessary for
tourists to avoid roads that have been
closed for repairs or reconstruction.
Great interest has been aroused in this
country, as well as abroad, in the recent
opening, in the fashionable West End
Of London, of the permanent Motor Mu-
scum founded by the English automobile
journal Motor" 1t is intended that in
time the museum shall be a treasure
house of historical motor cars, motor
cycles and accessories; and a good start
in this direction has already been made
The wonderful progress of the auto
mobile industry could not be better il
lustrated than II is in this British COL
lection-unless some one should found a
similar American Museum as enthusi-
ssts have suggested should be done
Such an American collection might, in
deed, put the British exhibit in second
place. For the most notable relic the
LOndoners have is the Blue Belle.
steamer, which is hardly a motor car
at all in the modern sense, and a French
car of 1881 is the oldest specimen Of the |
present-day type of automobile-spoken
Of by English writers as the oldest in !
tic "Oll1T AllDuSu llltEt Is sdlu 10 De |
in the Smithsonian Institutions coIlec- !
ton in Washington an American car |
dating back to the same year.
If the plan proposed for establishing !
an American Motor Museum comes TO /
fruition, the United States will be able |
to make, from the work of its own in |
ventors, as good a showing of antiquities
as London's which are drawn from all |
over the world. And It is safe to say
that the stages of progress in automobile |
building can be even more Interestingly |
illustrated by American cars than by |
foreign.
The American motor car, from the
first workable gasoline, which ]. Frank
Duryea brought out in 1891. has, it is