Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1913)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND,,' JUNE 22, 1913. ADMIRING CROWDS SURROUND BURMA!) Noted Auto Race Driver, Heed less of Gazes, Affection ately Fondles Cars. FIRST VICTORIES RECALLED .Karl - Fame Comes With Winning Endurance Run of 5 0 Miles and Is Added To by Capturing 21-Honr Contest. BY WALTER GIFFARD. That elusive maRnetism which draws the eyes of thousands to a baseball player, to a jockey, to the hero of a prridiron (tame and to the athlete any where the world over, must be pos sessed b Bob Burman to an extraord inary deprree. Durlnjr the few days he Ir-H li?pn here there have been crowds around him as he passed bis mornings t luunJ hia hix rai'iuR' cars at. the Keats Kiirage. It didn't seem to matter whether he was doing anything: or not. this, col lection of sportsmen was just content to watcn him, and whenever he spoke at all they listened carefully to what he had to say. - " - This fellow Burman Is not conceited like so many racing drivers, or appar ently in the least desirous of publicity. His first and only thought seems to be of his cars. When he reached here and drove up to the garage, tne Blitzen No. 2 was at the wash rack. Tony Jean ette, the man who, until five years pgo, was private ' chauffeur for' the Queen of Italy, was washing down the car and great streams of mud, water and oil were spattering about all over. Burman is almost as particular about his appearance olf the track as Jules Cioux is cn it, but the first thing he did on arrival was to walk right over to the car. He paid not the least atten tion to the splashing he got or to where the mud was going. ! fSplaxhinn Mud I n heeded. , "Get cut cf the way. Bob," shrieked Tony, a3 he turned the spray full on, j but the great driver merely stood there j running his hand over the oar like a tjockey over his favorite mount, abso lutely oblivious to the ruin of hi; ; clothes. All he said afterwards was ilaconic "It pays to look after your cars j yourself." i Burman, unlike many -other drivers, ihas always tinkered with machinery. As long ago as he can remember he ! was a boy mechanic working in a shop, land he helped to put together the first ! Buick car ever assembled. Over the luncheon table a few days ago he with .drew from his shell a little and talked ,over the early racing days. His first race was a 50-mile affair, and he won it. "Fifty miles in those days was an endurance test, you understand," said Bob. "Most cars overheated so much 'that they never lasted that long. I was driving on antique old Jackson, with .brass connecting rods and every other conceivable weighty stuff which made the motor heavy. Several well-known men were in the field and no one had even heard of me. Not that I expected to win: don't think that. I .merely had made up my mind to keep the old boat going till she burned up, just to show them that I could stay with them while the car lasted. Race ReMOlt Surprise. "Well, I got the lead, and I drove so Ifast that T stayed there. Everyone else expected I'd drop out from mechanical j trouble of some sort, and : no one thought that more than I , did., but we lasted alright and we actually won the 't race. . . . '. . j "A year later a - Packard owner of ! fered to pay all my expenses and. to ! buy me a new racing car if I would , enter a 24-hour race and stay' with it. So T accepted, came down to the course !and had everything ready. At the start, which was at 10 P.M. on 'a Thursday night, with the finish, of course, on -Friday; I'd made up my mind not to be such a fool in the way of speeding at ;the start. I set her for about 35 miles an hour and that's all 1 did until 9 o'clock the next morning. Of course, 'the cars ahead of me at the start had Just gone by reeling off the laps and lapping me time after time, but I didn't worry. As I said, at 9 o'clock next morning there was only one car ahead of me, a Thomas Flyer. I was in sec ond place, all the others had gone so fast that they had had to stop for tires, for gas, for trouble of all sorts ,with the result that they lost their lead as soon as they got it. All the same the old Thomas was 60 miles ahead ot me and that meant more then than it does today. Kent in Cut Short. "Well, 1 hadn't had any rest so J signaled my relief man and he took the seat. But he wanted to show people that if Burman couldn't get any speed out of the car, he could, and he sent the old boat round fit to tear her head off. I signaled him to stop and went oat onto the course, but he oaid no at tention, and so I had to get the starter jto stop him. after he'd been going for an hour and a half. There was only one thing to do and that was to get back into the seat and drive her myself again. and I finished that course, having driven all of the 24 hours ex cept for a rest of an hour and a half, most of which was taken up watching the fellow race the car. "That is an old achievement, but it is one on which 1 look back with an awful lot of pleasure, simply because it was one of my earliest efforts. "The Thomas eventually went out from heating trouble, and towards the close I did open the car up and no one passed me for the last four hours of the run. We won by 35 miles." TKOPHY KKMAIXS IX AMERICA heeler-Sdiebler Cup Won by Goux Will Not lie Taken Abroad. IXD1AXAPOUS, June 21, ( Special.) The Wheeler-Schebler trophy, said to be the most beautiful and richest of all race trophies, valued at (10.000, won Memorial day at Indianapolis by Jules Uoux, French driver in the Peugeot will remain in the United States dur ing the coming year. In possession of A. G. Kauffman, of the Peugeot Auto Import Company of New York, who en tered the car In the 500-mile race. It was -expected - that the trophy would be sent to France to be shown In all the auto markets as a measure Df the glory won by the young French man in the greatest of all auto races. According to American standards the trophy, displayed all 'over . France, would have been of great advertising value. The Peugeot winners have the right to possession of the cup until a month prior to the next race for it. when it must ue returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Before it becomes the properly ot me matters or one car, it must ue won inree times by that car. Both Giijiix and Kauffman declared the driver would return next year and the next and win the other- two heats of the race for the cup ownership. The cup went to Goux for his being ahead in the 500-mile race at the end of the 400th . mile. Goux" car did not have a Schebler carburetor, which equipment would have given him an' additional $1000. POHTLAXD-SALEM ROAD GOOD Mel G. Johnson Makes Trip in Buick .in Easy Time. The prevailing .'road conditions be tween Portland and Salem are de clared excellent by. Manager Mel G. Johnson of the Howard " Automobile Company, who enjoyed a drive to Sa lem this week in a Buick 30. The roads leading out 'of Portland are In excellent condition as far as Tigard. Between- Tigard and Rex some effort has been made" to grade up the dirt road and this work, has materially improved the roadway, but has still left rather rough going. After passing the railroad crossing no fur ther unusually rough roads are en countered. Johnson left the main Portland-Mc-Minnville road at Dayton, and an ex cellent road was found throughout Yamhill County, Amity being left about NOTED AUTOMOBLE DRIVER AND CARNIVAL WHICH BOB BI RMAK, WORLD'S a mile to the westward of the road followed. The going in Polk County was not to be compared with that of Yamhill County, as the roads were found rather rough. The entire distance of 54 5-10 miles shown on the speedometer was accom plished without effort toward fast driv. lng in 2 hours and 40 minutes. PROPERTY SELLS FOR $55,000 Sherman County Court Orders Work on John Day Hill'. WASCO, Or., June 21. (Special.) The County Court of Sherman County has ordered a new grade on the John Day hill, to cost In the neighborhood of $5000. The grade, which will be on the north side of the canyon, will be 16 feet wide and in no place over 11 per cent. Ex-Judge Henricks lias opened camp at the bottom of the canyon and ex pects to-have 20 men at work Monday morning. , 1 . ' . With Judge Krusoe driving a new 1913 Pope, Commissioner McKee driv ing a 1913 Mitchell six and Commis sioner Holt- driving a 1913 Chalmers, Sherman County is going to have some dandy roads. It is expected that the two'countles, Sherman and Gilliam, will in the early part ef 1914 construct -a steel bridge over the John Pay at the bottom of this grade, known as McDonald Ferry. DEALERS ARE CRITICISED IvACK OP ATTENTION OHARGED BY REGAL. DISTRIBUTER. Frank O. Renstrom, Regal Distrib utor, Says Prospective Sales . Are Allowed' to Pass. As the guest of Peterson and Sleret, Oregon exploiters of tha p.egal under slung car, frank p. Renstrom, the. Pacific Coast distributer for the car, paid his first visit to Portland during the week. He passed much of his time viewing the interesting and scenic sights of the city and the surrounding neighborhood, being Impressed espe cially with the wealth of the country and predicting a bright future for the automobile business here. Before returning to the Exposition City. Mr. Renstrom had - a, few terse criticisms to apply to local automobile dealers. He particularly disapproved of the manner In which the retail busi ness is conducted and the lack of at tention shown to showroom visitors. He recited his own experiences in vis iting several prominent automobile houses to emphasize his remarks. "Why, I waited fully ten minutes at one of the leading places before any one came to wait on me," said Mr. Renstrom. "Instead of .having a sales man right on the job. ready to find out how the visitor can be served, it seems as If you have to make several in quiries before reaching the right party here. "This lack of attention is bad. It not only hurts the business- generally, but loses the Individual dealer thou sands of dollars' worth of business an nually. You couldn't step inside one of the ' well-regulatd houses in San Francisco, Los Angeles or Seatlte with out having someone right on the spot to find out what you want. It Is this personal service that appeals to the buying public, and service, mind you. Is something the automobile dealer must give in order to be successful." "Those who have driven underslung cars," continued Mr. Renstrom, "know that they have a value that can be found in no other kind of an automo bile, and that value lies in safety. "Because of its low center of grav ity, underslung construction is the safest method known. - The. weight of the car is carried well within the wheels and nearer the ground. At the same time ample and even clearance is provided, giving assurance that country roads will offer no obstacles to travel. With nothing below the frame, the essential parts exposed on other cars are protected. Such a thing as 'turning turtle' is. unknown with an underslung, while skidding is reduced to a minimum." s . -- '- ;X ''Vffj 3 GARS TO START One to Tour World; 2 Go Direct to San Francisco. AUTOS ARE HENDERSONS Globe-Clrclers Expect tv Take Dif ferent Route "to . That Gener . ally. Traveled When Making Round of Earth.' Three Henderson cars will start for San Francisco July 1 in two exactly op posite directions. Two of these will complete their drive to the Pacific Coast FAMOUS "BLITZEN BEN2" CAR WILL OPEN AT COUNTRY CLUB CHAMPION FOR ON E MII.E IN FAMOIS in 26 days, while the third will be two years on the road, arriving in San Francisco July 1. 1915, during the Pan ama Pacific Exposition. . The two Hendersons will be touring models entered in the Indiana-to-Pa-cific tour of .the- Indiana Automobile Manufacturers' Association by th'e Hen derson Motor Car Company and driven by R. P. Henderson, vice-president of the Henderson Company, and Ray Har roun, the famous cup winner. These two eara will be equipped with the Har round kerosene carburetor and will use this fuel during the entire tour. The third car' will be driven around the world by Edwin P. Kohl. This will be a roadster model. Mr. Kohl has just graduated from the University of Wis consin, and spent several years in news paper work, establishing a year Ago the Wisconsin Daily News, the evening paper of. the students of the university, at Madison; Jn the capacity of general manager he: built up one of the strong est college sheet in the country. .. .j .-"Koil to Correspond for Jtou'rnls. " Tjuring the:journey round the world he will contribute to a number of news papers, Katlonal and monthly magazines and also to several automobile trade papers. 'He will be: accompanied by a Harvard graduate, who is an expert photographer and haa had several years' experience in driving automobiles. - Several cars have made the trip around the globe, but as. a rule they have followed the beaten paths. . Kohl and his companion are going to keep away from the. usual routes and. take the Henderson Into territory where a motor car Is seldom seem They expect to penetrate the steppes of Central Russia and the wilds of Southeastern Chinj.,.north of -the Himalaya, mountains,- cross the Syrian . desert, follow the East Coast of South America to the Panama Canal and run along the West Coast of Central America and Mexico to California. The drive in Western Mex. ico will be fraught with danger, as the oountry Is sparsely settled, Indiana pre dominating. Roughly, the Itinerary of Mr. Kohl and the Henderson la as follows: Start July 1, 1913, for New York City; sail to Liverpool, touring England, Scotland and Wales: cross to -France, touring France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Ger many, Belgium, the Netherlands, cross ing Germany to Russia and north to St. Petersburg, east to Samara, west to Moscow and Warsaw, crossing- into Austria, From Vienna the Henderson will be headed toward Asia, crossing the Balkan States to Constantinople. Mr. Kohl plans to spend some time in Asia. Minor, visiting the historic spots of the Holy Land, and then following the Mediterranean to the Suez Canal, crossing to Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt. The Henderson will then be pointed eastward toward the Pacific, and the route is laid across Arabia, Persia and India to . Calcutta. Here they will bend ! slightly northward across the mountains into China and sail from Shanghai to Japan. After sev eral weeks in Japan they will sail to the Philippines and thence to Aus tralia. After touring Australia, the Hender son will be loaded again and shipped to Buenos Ayres, Argentina, The tourists then will drive along the East Coast to Panama and northward along, the wild West shore of Mexico to Los Angeles. If they maintain their tentative sched ule the Henderson will arrive in San Francisco July 1, 1915, after having vis ited almost every civilised country in both hemispheres. After spending sev eral days at the exposition, Kohl and his companion will head the Henderson eastward across the Rockies, finishing the long tour in Indianapolis. ' What the Row's About Not only tlre men, but all members of the Row, will learn with regret that C. H. Mayer, the jovial manager of the local branch of the United States Tire Company, Is at the St. Vincent's Hos pital under medical treatment. He is going along well, and hopes to be out again before ao very long. . In the meantime he can receive visitors, and that should be enough of a hint on the subject. Mayer would not mind so much if he could watch the ball games from his windows, or even hear the cheers which the Beavers earn once in a .while, Here's to his speedy recovery. . - Titus,' formerly a Hupmobile "expert and afterward . With the Paige' car, is now. celling Appersons, as fast as .ho can 'handle them. . . . ' ' ' - , . - '''- . . ' "Who was the-dealer caught speeding last week tbat made use of. an awful excuse? He read a joke somewhere in Life, at least if it was a joke it could hardly have been in Life, about the fellow who, when asked why he drove so fast, replied that he was afraid he was running out of gasoline and want ed to get home first. This same dealer tried to pull It on the local police., but it failed miserably, because most of the cops know how to drive and un derstand a car. '. 'But the best joke of all the week was on a newspaperman! He borrowed an automobile .(with permission, of course), and - was rushing some pros pective buyers down to catch a train, when the old boat Just laid down and died on him at Broadway and Wash ington street. No gas. Owl drugstore close by. Time precious. Entered the store. "One gallon of gasoline, sharp. please." "Yes, sir; but we only have it in quart bottles. "We should worry. Give me the four bottles." And the price of that gasoline was 20 cents a quart or the small sum of 80 cents per gallon. AutomoDlllng on that basis would be extravagant to any but a newspaperman. You know the reputation an English motor mechanic has got. Well, there are three of them all In business of TO BE SEEN IN TWO DAYS' SPEED THIS AFTERNOON, f XOO-HOR SEPOVVER CAR. their own at a shop on Seventeenth street, between Washington and Alder, Their names are Hanslmaire, Bragg and xoiKien, but they really are Eng lish, don't you know. One served all through the Boer war, drove a car dur ing the trouble and generally covered himself with fame. T'other day a man drove up and wanted to borrow a tail light. They hadn't one to spare, but they fixed him up by getting a piece of red kalsomined paper and sticking it over one side of a side light. Who ays the English have no ability. ........ . , This Hanky Fanky bunch has at last brought out the secret of when the dealers like to lend cars. As soon as they heard that they could take out a small herd of pretty damsels, the ad vance agent for the company got all tne cars he wanted Inside of five min iltes, but from each dealer, married or otherwise, came the-request: -"Give me four of . the prettiest and I'm on. That was easily settled,"- said the press agent,' , "for all the girls are tip-top pers.- ; . - .-, ; .. "' ... "I '. r we were going to asK now It was that Stanley Clements does not linger quite so long as-he used after hours down at Ballou & Wright's, until- we remembered that he is no longer a happy "bateh,'"bvrt a married man of dignity and reserve. Stan used to be quite- willing to stop and talk, but soon as 5 o'clock comes around. he displays an awful anxiety to cut the chatter short. . P'raps, he has to buy some sar dines before dinner time. . Anyhow Stanley's advice is: "Dort put it off any longer tnan you can. . If you re minKing ot getting wed."-, ,:J - , i .. .. The. Mighty' Michigan bunch are tickled to death "over their new quar ters, and. they point with pride to the sidewalk they have put in. Certainly the white paint, coupled with the sturdy-looking blue-gray cars in the windows at Seventeenth and Alder streets, makes a great showing and at- $2150 '- Ik T'W "Til This five-passe age r car, with its roomy tonneau space and handsome buffed leather seats that afford the comfort of the much higher priced machine, is backed by the guarantee of a factory that has been building automobiles and similar products for 60 years. They arry with them the invaluable Velie. ' ' SERVICE AND SATISFACTION' ' Everything that excellence and workmanship, skill in finish and yelie reputation for quality of materials can give is found in this car. No automobile on the market, at any price, excels ill, in dollar for dollar value. It will pay you to investigate the Velie. John Deere Plow Co. OF PORTLAND, OR. EAST MORRISON ST;; AT SECOND. EAST 1034, B-6125 DON'T make your car r fy iui your tire experiments. Increase your car's efficiency, and reduce the upkeep ex pense by equipping with NON-SKID TIRES Car owners of experience have proved the car-protecting resiliency, . the mileage and security value of the Firestone tough, pliable tread. H. S. Firestone's book, "What's What In Tire" tells how rtid why. R. K. BLOIMiKTT, 29-81 14th St., Portland. Or. TMstrltmtor" for -The HrrMone Tire and Rubber lai Atrim, Hilo. "America's largest KxcluBive Tire and Kim .Uultfrs." WW?'' t-- Our object is not - merely to sell you a WHITE MOTOR TRUCK ' but to make sure in advance where it will make you money and prove it to you before you buy. Let us demonstrate this. White Company hi. W. HII.L,. Ms 68 BROADWAY In the business din trlvt for your con venience. Salesman Wanted TO SELL AUTOMOBILES Previous experience unneces sary ; . must . furnish first-class reference. PETERSON & SLERET CO. East Eighth and Hawthorne tracts a lot of attention. Live bunch tnese wolverines. Centra lla Org-anizea Auto Club. CENTRALIA, June 18. (Special. )- At a meeting held in Centralia last night the Centralia Auto Club was or ganlzed with a charter membership of 81. V. F. Oavies was elected presi dent:" Abe Fiewelllng, 'vice-president; E. H. S. Mulder, secretary-treasurer, and G. B. Mason, David Livingstone L. E. Titus and 51. E. Johnson, directors The charter of the club will be left open tor 30 days, at the end of which time it la Deueved that the. club mem bershlp will be close to 100. F.O. B. Portland l 'fa "CURIOSITY" IF NOTHING ELSE, WILL PROMPT YOU TO SEE OUR LINE OF ALUMINUM CAMPING OUTFITS FOR TWO, FOUR OR SIX PEOPLE. ARCHER AND WIGGINS OAK STREET, CORNER SIXTH AUTO SUPPLIES SPORTING GOODS Bosch Service Complete Stock of All Bosch Goods Official Distributors Ballou & Wright BROADWAY AT OAK Indian Motorcycles Distributed in .Northwest by BALLOU & WRIGHT Broadway, at Oak, Portland. 817 Eaat iih.e St- Seattle. Wash. C. L. Boss & Co. BOYSER S STORAGE Vnlcanlxlns and Retreading". fU K. BLOUtiEIT, 28-31 "ortb 14th St. Main 7003. FORD REO HUDSON LITTLE NORTHWEST AUTO CO. DISTRIBUTORS F. W. VOGLER, President 617 Washington Street. Phones Main 8887, A 4959. mm AUTOMOBILE AND SHOP SUPPLIES Spark Plugs TOOLS Brake-Lining MOTORCYCLES AND ACCESSORIES Preer Tool and Supply Co. i Sixth and 311 Oalc Sta. No-Rim-Cut Tires 10 Oversize Don't Pay a Higher Price Since our 1 1 per cent reduction, numer ous tires cost users more than Goodyears. That's a unique condition. No-Rim-Cut tires used to cost one-fifth more than others. Yet they never were made better than today. The Utmost Bear in mind that, for years and years, No-Rim-Cut tires have been the high-price tires. Nobody claimed to make tires that were better. But other stand ard tires cost less. Yet No-Rim-Cut tires came to outsell all others, because of their proved economies. They saved their extra cost to users, two or three times over. The demand doubled over and over, until last year's sales by far exceeded our previous X2 years put to gether. With this mul tiplied output the cost came for these tires GoodjSyear No-Rim-Cut Tires With or Without Non-Skid Treads THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO., Akron, Ohio This Company han no connection whatiinr with any other rubber concern which oaea the Goodyear name. PORTLAND BRANCH, 62 BROADWAY Phones Main 2190, and Home A 4046. UDS0K AUTOMOBILES I Portland Arenry. lS-6n Wasblnrton SU Fbonea Marshall 4023. A 4D&9. GASOLINE and OIL TANKS SYSTEMS FOB PVB1.IO A.D I'll I. A L tu iAiiAiiia. s. u. Stoddard, Repreacacao live. 305 Colombia Bids. Mala 147a. Peterson & Sleret Co. AGENTS 450 Hawthorne Ave., Corner 8th Phone E. 648 Phone. Mala 168S. A 1MS2 down, and the saving ras de ducted from our price. Now no standard tire of any type costs less than No-Rim-Cut tires. And lesser tires, with a limited output, cost more than these famous tires. You get, as always, in No-Rim-Cuts the utmost In a tire. You get tires that can't rim-cut. You get 10 per cent overcapacity compared with clincher tires. You get the tires which, by sheer merit, have won the top- most place in Tiredom. It is folly to pay more. Write for lb Gaod jeu Tire Boak 14th -year edition. It Ull all knows ways ta ecoaoauze a tires.