The Omaha Daily
Bee
EDITORIAL
-ES ELEVEN TO TWENTY.
Winti iwap omething for
something else more useful
to you? Ue the Swapper'
column of The Dee.
OMAHA, THURSDAY M011X1NO, .T ULY 1, 1915.
On Trala u at
aTetal Itwi Stands,
VOL. XLV NO. 11.
SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS.
BIG SPEEDWAK AND
THE MAHJHO DIDIT
To a Man of Whom You Have Little
Heard Should Go a Great Deal
, of the Credit
HIS NAME IS C. R. VAUGHN
Somewhere In the crowds when
the new Omaha auto speedway
makes Its debut on July 6, there will
be a short, stocky, bronzed man peer
ing benlgnantly at the great speed
way and thanking his lucky stars that
his work Is done.
The chances are he will have spent
the night at the grounds. ' Even If he
doesn't he will surely be there at sun
rise. Few will see him and probably
If they do see him they will merely
think him a part of the great throng
which comes to see the race.
But the littts army of men who have
been behind the scenes, who have
watched the birth and , growth of the
great enterprise will know him and rec
ognize him aa C. R. Vaughn, the man
who took hold of the .speedway, fifty
daye ago and made it a reality.
Tou won't find Vaughn'a name In the
program. You haven't heard much about
htm In the newspapers. He haa no ex
ecutive office and he hasn't anything to
do with the races. But he comes mighty
close to being the most Important man
In the entire crew.
An Impossible Job.
But Vaughn haa been the works for
the last fifty day. On the fifteenth day
of. May the Omaha speedway was still
mora or less of a dream. Only the first
part of the track, that built by Jack
Prince last fall, waa up. Prince was
gone and even though he were her It
looked like an impossibility to add
another thirty feet of width to that
track, build the grandstand, put in the
fences, garages, pita and a myriad of
other things necessary.
But one day the speedway directors
mentioned the undertaking to Vaughn.
'"Know anything about speedways T"
Vaughn was asked.
"Never saw one," waa his reply.
"Well, we've got one that must be
built in fifty days, can It be done?"
asked the speedway director.
"Bur. IH attend to It." said Vaughn.
And attend to It ha did. Despite his
many woes and cares that speedway waa
bunt and la ready for the first race.
Rain later! ere.
Vaughn bad hla troubles, many of
them. First the rain Interfered. The
firs day-Vaugha.ataxted.lo work, the
rainy season, started and there Were at
least fifteen days that not a hand was
turned at the apeedway. It waa hard to
get the lumber out to the track because
of the mud. Everything seemed to break
against Vaughn, bat the sturdy contrac
tor never whimpered, never made an ex
cuae, but simply promised all would be
ready. And he made good on hla prom
Ise, the track la up, the grandstand la up
and everything la ready for Starter Fred
Wagner to give the starting signal. It
waa a big pieo of work and a lot of
credit U due to Vaughn and his crew of
200 men who made the July t olassio a
reality.
NO BALL GAME CARDED FOR
AFTERNOON OF JULY FIFTH
To give the speedway a clear field in
the afternoon Pa Rourtce haa deolded to
hold but one ball game July 5. Two are
acheduled for that day, but Rourk haa
announced that only the morning game,
starting at 10:80, will be played. The
race will start at U:30.
Speedway Invites
INEW ROAD TO AOTO
th
e World on July 5th
IS TRACK FAST AS CHICAGO?!
Experts Declare Better Average
Depends Entirely on Strength
of the Tires.
MOTORS CAN GO STILL FASTER
But conceding that Omaha's track with
Ita triple radlua and Its highly pitched
turns la fester, can a motor turn over
faster and can tlrea stand the test?
Motor Engineers declare that engines can
be tuned up to faster tlm Granting
that, can the tlrea stand the constant
wear and tear?
It Is feared they cannot Sometime.
perhaps, improvements will be mode in
tlrea eo that they can stand the Intense
speed without literally burning, up. But
at' the preaent a speed of 1(0 miles an
hour is like putting a tire to a grind
stone and It eoon wears down. '
At Chicago Reata started out at a pace
of 10S mllea an hour. The crowd behind
tried to keep pace. The result waa that
the right rear ' tlrea, which stood the
brunt . of the . attack on the pitched
curvea, blew up at twenty-five and thirty
miles. Immediately the pace was out.
not because the track couldn't stand the
speed or that the engines were unequal
to It. but because the tlrea couldn't
stand it.
That is the situation as It stands here.
It la essentially a Question of tires. If
the tires can stand it without, the aver
age set by Resta at Chicago will be sur
passed when the cars whizz around the
new board apeedway In East Omaha on
July 8.
Will the time made on the Omaha
apeedway surpasa that made at Chicago
last Saturday Is a question that speed
enthusiasts In Omaha are asking them
selves. It Is a piiixllng question, indeed,
and many arguments pro and con are
being advanced.
Both of the speedways are built on a
similar plan. The track surface of each
apeedway is broad. ' There isn't a doubt
but what the board track Is faster than
the dlrst or the macadam or the brick; It
la certain that the time made here will
beat that made at Indianapolis, but will
It beat Chicago?
At Chlcafo Darto Resta averaged 9T.S
miles an hour. That la a world's record
for the distance. The average at 800
mllea -was ninety-eight mllea an hour,
also a record for the distance. So It Is
one safe bet, if the Chicago time is bested
the driver who does It will certainly
have to travel some.
According to the engineers who de
signed and built the Omaha track, and
according to Jack Prince, . who first
broached the idea of the wooden speed
way, the Omaha track can hold a speed
of 120 miles an hour. This is' surely
faster than any time made at Chicago.
Motorists Will Not Have to Cron
Tracks at Locust Street, but
Can Take Another Route.
SPECIAL CARS ARE TO RUN
Take street car on the Sherman avenue
line going north on Fourteenth street.
Csra run direct from town to the speed
way every minute.
There are two automobile routes. From
town . go north on Sixteenth street to
Orace. east on Grace to Eleventh, north
on Eleventh to Lake, east on Lake to
Fifth and north on Fifth to the apeed
way entrance. The other route la north
from the city to Locust street. ant on
Locust to Fifth and north on Fifth to the
speedway entrance. Signs will mark the
course along both of these roads.
Tha directors of the Omaha Auto Speed
way, for the accommodation of persona
who wish to motor' to the speedway on
the day of the big race. July 8. have
opened a new road, to the track. Thla
road is in good condition and permits
autolsts to go to the track without cross
ing the railroad tracks on Locust street.
The locust street road Is also open and
the two routes will make it much easier
for the motorists.
The new route leads east en Grace
street from Sherman avenue. The road
runs east on Orace to Eleventh street,
then north on Eleventh to Lake and east
on lAke to Fifth. Thence-on Fifth di
rectly north to tha main entrance of the
speedway. Signs will be placed along the
entire route ao that motorists will have
no trouble In locating the way.
Street csrs to the speedway will leav
town every minute. The street car com
pany has promised to put every available
car Into sen-Ice ao that everybody will
be afforded ample accommodatlona.
RAILROAD SPREPARE TO
HANDLE THE BIG CROWDS
Railroads have announced that a num
her of special trains will come to Omaha
on July S for the big auto race and the
wrestling match. The Northwestern will
run a special in from Oakdale and at
night will run out two specials, one to
Oakdale and one to Long Pine.
i
-
SPEEDWAY OPENED J A
yy yyyyy yyy xxyy They Get the
xyyyy X Speed Fever They
yyS xxyyxxyx Never Want to Quit
XX XX X XXX X X XX X XX X X.' 1 Tom
v s s, x x x x xx x
yy yyyyy ; a
rXsXX'XXXX y
Another Car Enters
Omaha Auto Olassio
Another car has entered the Omaha
race. H. G. Donaldson, who entered the
seventeenth car the first of the week.
wired to F. J. McBhans. director of con
testa, that he would enter a second ma
chine. The entry la on the way. This
Is also a new car and aaid to be one
that will clip off ninety miles an hour
without eveo snorting.
Orr doesn't expect to stay in the racing
game. It's Just a 111 tie diversion for him.
But to the wIm Orr ease la like a good
many other. While in most games "they
can't come back," tat the racing game
they can't qulc It's tha fever.
Orr, member of tbe Maxwell rac
ing team which la entered In th Omaha
July ( raoe, la on of the moat interest
ing figures In th game. Orr la the man
who first placed an automobile In a circus
saucer.- Ton aU know th circus aauoer,
at very carnival and atata and
county fair. Beventy-fWe feet or ao
around and pitched to a high degree, th
motorcycle or automobile race around
while spectators droop themselves over
th top wall, fearing that the rider, will
be killed and at the asm time boplnc
that ha may take a spill.
Orr waa th Tint man to put an auto
In on of theee tiny saucers. And there
he received hla first spilt lie landed in
the hospital and waa there a.coupJe of
month while they patched hi spinal
column, which wanted to detach itself
from his body. Then somebody said Orr
would nver com back. To prove this
a fa's assertion ha earn back, drove a
ear In a rac and returned to th hospital
to have hi spinal column repaired all
over again. It had Jerked loo from It
mooring during th race.
Later Orr became an experimental ex
pert for Ray Harroun and Is th tester of
the Maxwell racing car. That he knows
how to test them Is evidenced by the
fact that he tuned th Maxwell up to
such an Increased speed after th In
dianapolis race that Rlckenhaoher clip
ped off nlnety-ftv mllea aa hour In hla.
Gradually Orr returned to th gam by
testing machines. He asked Harroun for
a mount and Harroun gave it to him.
Clip This Table and
Keep Time on the
Races at Speedway
The following figure wUI be Interesting
to spectators who attend either the raoe
or the speed trials previous to tb rac
at th new apeedway. The table show
st a glance the speed being mads In
miles per hour when the time the lap la
turned In ia announced. For Instance,
if one of the drivers runs a lap In forty
five seconds flat a glance at the table
U1 show that he traveled at the rate ot
lot mllea per hour. A lap(oa the Omaha
track Is a mile and a quarter an I this
table ia compiled for a track of that
length.. Clip the table out and see how
fas' the drivers at th traok are going.
Clock them yourself - and then look on
your table.
Miles.
Per Hour.
IV.....,,
V
7S
7
ftO
ft
U
M. ......
M
U..
M..
?..
..
99. ...
SO.,
n..
S3..
Seconds.
Per I-ep.
4U.0
HI
Hi
67 .7
tT S
Ml
U.I
Ml
, Ml
63.
62 I
61.
.611
.61.1
.M.I
.60 0
.4 I
.41.1
Mllea.
Per Hour,
M. ,
W
S4
VI
M
100
W
1"!
m
104
Iu6
Vfi
107
V
10
110
Second a.
Per Lap.
, 4. 4
47 I
47 4
4
4 4
4f.l
4V5
45 0
44 t
44 1
43.7
43
41 I
42 1
43 0
41.6
41 1
401
BIG AUTOJONTEST
Inurement Whioh Coiti $5,000
Will Be Uied by Fred Warner in
Clocking July 5 Clanic.
IS MOST INTRICATE MACHINE
In the excitement of watching a big
automobile race, where Uvea and fortunea
are at stake every second from the drop
of the starter's flag until the last car
finishes, the publlo often marvels at the
fact that the officials are able to furnish
absolutely accurate and frequent detail
records of the time, distances, etc. ot
each car.
To the layman in th grandstand every
thing conneoted with a big race appears
like one vaat volcanlo eruption, a can
nonade of heavy artillery, with the aplt
tlng forth of fire and amoke, gasoline
fumea and burning rubber, through which
the demon care burst past the Un of
vision (time after time until the flag
falls at the croaalng of the winner.)
Then, who knowa "how faetr
Only the official starter, judges, timers
and drivers themselves realise th im
portance of th little wire which a few
of the spectator may hav noticed
stretched across th track at th starting
and finishing point
Aa each car passe ever this wire its
performance ia "officially" recorded by
meana of one of the moat delicately con
structed devices ever manufactured.
Only Two Bach Devices.
There are only two of these devices in
America. On Is owned by the Indianap
olis apeedway and used to officially time
all th big races) there, Including the
grand Memorial day annual event.
The other Is owned by the veteran
"Starter Fred Wagner, whose fame Is
world wide. It 1 this race-timer built
for and owned by Fred Wagner that la
uned In timing the big California and
Florida events, the annual Elgin road
rare, etc, ' and It Is the official timing
device nf the Americsn Automobile asso
ciation (A. A. A.l, These timing devices
cost over $5 Ono eech.
The entire outfit of the Stewart-
Warner elertrlo horograph. as this tim
ing apparatus Is called, conalsta of a wire
stretched aero is the track and fastened
st one end to an electric break-maker.
Next, a time registering device run by a
motor and battery; also, a Bits chro
nometer, which Is probably on of th
most xpenslv clock ever made, this
part of th outfit alone costing 1710.
How It Operates.
Th operation ef the device 1 as fol
lows: As a car passes over thla wire,
which la elevated about an Inch abov
th track. It depresses It Thla action
makea a "break" In th electrical cur
rent, and thla break causes th timing
device to operate.
Thla timing device may be compared
to a typewriter, with the excepUoa that
on a typewriter th key strikes against
the paper and ribbon resting against th
pad, while on this machine the operation
Is just reversed. A long atrip of paper ia
run'through th machine and peases un
der a marking ribbon. Raised abov thl
Is an arm or striking pad.
The car In pasaing over th wire break
the electrto connection. This "br
rauaea th marking pad to strike th atrip
of paper resting over th raised numeral
on th edges of th discs. Thus is 'Im
printed on th paper th precis "time"
as shown by the exact position which th
discs msy be in at the instant Th ma
chine then automatically shift th paper
along ready to receive the next impres
sion, which will be caused by th next
car passing over the wire.
As the first car makea the circuit ef th
track It automatically records th precis
time that the lap la made In.
A relay fitted within the devio pre
vents the back wheela of th oar from
registering, but this relay does not pre
vent the registration of two oar which
might pas over the tap within t-lM
a second of each other.
Facts About the
Big Auto Olassio
In Omaha July 5
"tart: 11:30. Brak testa and revere
tests at 11 o'clock.
Distance: IU miles.
Length of course: Mil and a quarter.
Number of cara eligible: Seventeen.
Prix money: $18,000,
Division of purse: 16.600 to winner. 13.60
second: 11000, third; 11.000. fourth $90.
tlfth; 1700, sixth: 1500, seventh. ' -
Added prtzee: 1260 to ear leading at 100
mile and 1230 to car leading at loo mile.
Accommodations for spectator: Grand
atand seating 35.000. Parking apace for
automobiles. Infield position for general
admission. .
AdmUslun to grounds: O rand stand
seats, $3 to $5; Infield admission, U,
Starter: Fred Wagner.
Referee: Spike Kennedy.
fchetoet for Federal.
M'COOK. Neb., June . X abut-out
waa admlnUtered by Burlington ts the
Federala In the McCook City leae-ua para
here this afternoon. Th otirwwaaHS to 4V