The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-07-17
DEALERS ON SPREE
Topeka Motor Firms on a Pic.
mic at Tecumseh.
Unfortunate Is MOtOriSt Who
Has Breakdown Today!

The Topeka motor dealers are hav-
ing their big picnic today, and luckless
is the motorist whose car balks today.
Unfortunate indeed is the chap who
has a tire that needs instant vulcan
izing. For practically all the garages,
repair shops and dealers have closed
shop for the entire day.
The man who neglected to buy his
gasoline or oil before 9 a. m. today
is out OF luck. The filling stations
have closed.
Out at Tecumseh the motormen are
having the time of their lives. 1t has
been years since a barbecue of such
enormous dimensions has been held.
A big pit. filled with live Goals, over
which were placed two sheep, two
hogs, 900 pounds of pork and 800
pounds of beef, has been in operation
for several hours.
The honor of the feed is due to one
of the most famous negro chefs in
the west, The motor dealers never
do ANYTHING without doing it right,
and in selecting a man to oversee the
cooking of the several hundred
pounds of beef and pork, they picked
the famous Matt Greer
He Is Some Cook.
Matt was a private car chef for
the Santa Fe for fifteen years, and
cooked many delicious meal for rail-
road presidents, general managers, di-
rectors and eastern financiers on in
spection trips. Later he was with the
Rock Island for six years. On the an
nual hunting trips of w. A. L. Thomp-
son and his cronies into the wilds of
Texas, Greer is an essential part of
the party.
In selecting his assistants, Greer
found several old Southern "aunties"
who know how to fix corn on the cob
to a "fare-you-well." When the motor
dealers began to pour into the park
at 10 o'clock this morning, the tempt
ing odors from the great open air pit
certainly whetted their appetites.
The picnic began with a parade
shortly before 10 o'clock One hun
dred and fifty automobiles, stretch
ing in a line six blocks long, started
at Sixth and Jackson streets, went
south on Kansas avenue to Tenth
street, and then north to North To-
peka. Within an hour. nearly 700
men. women and children, all repre-
senting the car, tire. oil, gasoline. ac-
cessory men of Topeka, filed into the
big Tecumseh grove, and the fun
started.
Traffic Patrolmen Perry Brush and
George l. Brown, who were given a
day off by Mayor Corwine. like the
proverbial hack driver, spent an hour
in getting the cars lined up. They
just couldn't loaf when they saw the
great congestion in motors.
Harry G.. Moock of st. Louis, SET
retary and business manager of the
National Automobile Dealers associ-
alton, was a guest of the local dealers
He is representing a series OF trade
journals. and the Tecumseh picnic
will be duly chronicled in these peri
odicals.
Il have never before seen any bet
ter cooperation between motor car
/ dealers than that displayed in To-
peka," declared Moock. THE motor
men of this city seem to realize that
they can obtain better results by work
ing together in harmony than by fight
ing one another"
Kellam "Ring Leader"
Ed Kellam, Franklin dealer, at
/ tired in an outfit that would wei
grace a motion picture Country
rube.' was one of the ring leaders,
of the party. He was arrested. how
ever. at high noon and brought tc
trial before Mayor Corwine, acting
also in the capacity of police Judge. or
the serious charge of residing on tht
West side. He was found guilty. and
the sentence was deferred until q
later date.
/ Arrests were made in wholesale
quantities by the police and Z. L
I Overton. self appointed chief of po