250 



RECREATION 



prove their product, and certainly no one 

 will doubt that anything is more important 

 than this one thing. It is possible to keep 

 on making tires better and better. No firm 

 can stand still and not progress. Although 

 the Michelin tires were used on the first five 

 cars finishing in the Gordon-Bennett, yet I 

 am advised by a mechanic who was sent over 

 by one of the American companies that the 

 Palmer tires, made in England and used on 

 the English cars, did better service than the 

 Michelin, and were considered by those in 

 the trade to have done the best work. The 

 Diamond tires on the American cars did very 

 finely. 



THE GLIDDEN TOUR. 



It is greatly to be regretted that the list of 

 entries for this event was not greater, as 

 many manufacturers were not represented at 

 all and the proportion of private owners was 

 not large. At the same time, the tour was a 

 great success, as the touring vehicles, both 

 large and small, performed most creditably, 

 it being specially noticeable that the time 

 used in making roadside repairs was very lit- 

 tle — much less than on any other long-dis- 

 tance competition of a similar nature, thus 

 proving the greatly increased reliability of 

 American automobiles. It is most interesting 

 to note that only two contestants failed to 

 finish the run, one of these being the car 

 driven by a lady, Mrs. Cuneo, of Long Island, 

 which suffered an accident early in the run, 

 and another, a foreign car, which was dis- 

 abled in climbing Mt. Washington. At the 

 finish but ten drivers claimed absolute free- 

 dom from trouble, these being as follows : 



Augustus Post's White ; E. H. Fitch's 

 White ; Ralph Colburn's Maxwell ; B. Bris- 

 coe's Maxwell ; A. L. Pope's Pope-Toledo ; 

 C. E. Walker's Pope-Hartford; George O. 

 Draper's Packard ; Percy Pierce's Pierce ; R. 

 E. Old's Reo, and S. B. Steven's Darraco. At 

 the present writing it seems as if the Glidden 

 Trophy would be awarded to Percy Pierce. 



One of the competitors, R. E. Olds, kept 

 track of his expenses during the 1,000 mile 

 trip, his record sheet in this connection being 

 as follows : 



Gasoline and lubricating oil, $12.40, the cost 

 per person being only $3.10, as against the 

 round trip railroad fare over the same route 

 of $25.00. 



Although the trip was a strenuous one, 

 and each day's run was carried out in spite of 



the weather conditions, there were no special- 

 ly unpleasant features, barring some delays, 

 and accidents caused by the speeding of the 

 contestants, and this tendency to race was 

 the only regrettable feature of the competi- 

 tion. There was a sufficient amount of reck- 

 less driving to arouse considerable hard feel- 

 ing in some towns along the route, and in one 

 case several of the drivers were arrested for 

 infraction of the speed regulations. 



Such competitions as the Glidden tour are 

 supposed to work entirely for good, and 

 racing should be strictly prohibited, and any 

 competitor violating this rule should be dis- 

 qualified. 



EXPENSES OF OWNERSHIP. 



Records of experiences of automobilists are 

 always interesting, but especially so when 

 the cost of operation and maintenance is ob- 

 tainable. Following are the statistics given 

 by a Washington physician who has owned 

 an Oldsmobile for two years and a half, 

 during which time he has driven the car 14,- 

 932 miles at a total cost of $524.46. In look- 

 ing over the statistics, which show fine re- 

 sults, it must be remembered that the car 

 was driven over the exceptionally good 

 streets of Washington, and that the car was 

 handled with great care and examined regu- 

 larly : 



RUNABOUT. 



First cost $650.00 



Miles traveled in 31 months 14,932 



Batteries $15.00 



Repairs " 15.00 



Gasolene " 85.25 



Tires " 109.15 



Depreciation in value in 31 months 2-^ first cost, 

 or about $450. 

 COMPARISON WITH HORSE AND BUGGY. 



Automobile Horse 



First cost $650. $325 



Cost of keeping for 31 months. . . 524.46 775 



Depreciation in value 2-1 450. 215 



Number of miles traveled 14,932 9,000 



According to the estimate for depreciation, 

 the car could only have been run another 12 

 months, when it would be worn out, and 

 this certainly seems a very liberal estimate, 

 for, according to this, the car would then 

 have been run only 19,740 miles, and, judg- 

 ing from the conditions, it could be run much 

 farther than this before its usefulness would 

 be at an end. 



This doctor believes that the automobile is 

 to be preferred to the horse, not only as £ 

 matter of expense, but as a matter of con- 

 venience. 



