The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-06-01
d n til E
a n go.
- with
ELLIOTT
METCALF


And year in and year out
authorities stand by without
raising a hand of objection :.
seemingly as eager to coun-
tenance this gruesome feature
as are the thousands who an
nually are drawn TO the kill
through a sheer urge to be at
ringside when Death Takes
the Wheel
1t was happy Floyd Roberts of
California who hurtled down the
last lap in the 1889 contest yester-
day the last lap that has seen
many other stalwart young men
precede him on the indianapolis
track
Whom will it be in 1910 :. and
in the future unless decency con-
trolls men in authority and pro-
hibits this annual feature of sheer
commercialism
You will hear in behalf of the
Indianapolis Detour to Death that
it plays a strong part in the scien-
tific development of the automo-
bile. But that is so much bosh.
The machines are not new. They
are make-overs, rebuilds, most of
them constructed of parts of other
machines that took their daring
drivers to their gruesome ends
There are times when individ-
usls and groups have to be saved
from themselves by Others of more
conservative and reasoning quail
ties :.
1t is bad enough that these
dare-devils SO often lose their lives
but what about the lives of
spectators Many of that cate
CORY have been killed and injured
In the wrecks that have stained
the indianapolis speedway with
human blood =.
And just as certain As the funda-
mentally morbid procedure con-
tnues just as certainly will
daring drivers and mechanics and
ianocert spectators pass on In this
pit ruled by Death
Roberts car yesterday jumped
the rail on the Northwest turn at
the 10th lap of the two-and-half-
mile oval. 1t was sent on its hor-
rifying route as a result of a
three-car collision in which Bob
Swanson, Los Angeles, and Chef
Miller, Detroit, rival drivers, par
ticipated
Swanson and Miller were in
jured. fortunately not seriously.
Also injured were two women
spectators, one about the head and
shoulders by flying guard rail
splinters, which were sent flying
as far as go feet as Roberts ear
leaped the wall another suf-
fered broken leg -.
Only by good fortune, no doubt,
were not more names added to the
list in Deaths black book
But how many names will con-
tinue to go down on the inky
pages of that list?
And they call THAT sport!
EYES OF BASEBALL moguIs
of the higher brackets sooner
or later, II they haven't already,
will be watching Norry Abbot with
covetous CLINT
Morry's the main generator of
the Powerhouse gang of the Ia
coma Tigers, of the Western In
ternationaI league :.
The big highlander has socked
out 13 homers to date, juicing
his 18th and 18th last night
against Vancouver on the Cana
dian diamond up north -.
The blows carried the ball far
over the 390-foot left field wall.
Only once before this season has
a player hit a ball hard enough to
boost it over that barrier. That
was Fank Volpi. Vancouver
catcher
Abbott drove in five runs on
those mighty rifle-like shots. That
brought his total to 40 for the
season at this writing. And less
than one-quarter of the scheduled
games reeled off
Compare that TO the 81 NcCue.
Vancouver. total.d tn lead the 1883
fled and you have an idea of what
Morry's bat has been doing these
early days of the WI chase
When play began this year We
often head the sob:
"oh. for another guy like Storey
Just one and those Tigers
would be tough to beat
Well. as they now look upon the
picture. local fans. impressed by
the sheer power of Abbott, might
answer with a puzzled expression
on their jibs:
storey? Storey? Why, I
can't recall him. Now-w-w-w-w,
let's s-s-s-s-eee . . oh, yes, he
used 10 play ball for the Tigers.
Pretty good hitter. wasn't he =?
But. say :. have you seen Morry
Abbott. the new Tiger, lace that