Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1910 — THRILLING SPECTACLE. [ARTICLE]

THRILLING SPECTACLE.

Modern Auto Racine Coqypared to the Chariot Races of Old. All that wild excitement the ancient Romans found in a chariot race is being supplied to the modern world through the thrilling contests of the automobile speed, kings. Whether held on the open roads or on a. track, the mad dash of the automobiles, with their dare devil drivers at the wheels, more closely approximates the chariot races in the amphitheaters of the ancient world than anything that could be’imagined. It is thbugbt by the world that the chariot race belongs to a bygone age, yet liere is its counterpart. The jockey or the driver of the trotting horse never occupied a parallel place. They were heroes, but they went through no such terrifying experiences as the old chariot racer, The death at a running or trotting meet of any driver or jockey is. the rare thing. In the chariot * races of ancient Rome, death was a never absent entry, and in some of the terrific mix-ups, horses, drivers and chariots came together in an inextricable jam, it was nothing uncommon for men, horses and spectators to go to their death. The speed that the modem automobile can make was never even dreamed of in trap&rkSr of ancient Rome, when men- of wealth counted it nothing to spend a fortune on the team of horses that was expected to bring a vfctory in the racing contest of the amphitheater. ■ Sometimes the battlesofthemodern charioteers ait held over the open roads of the rural districts. But wherever it may be there is ever the certainty that a huge crowd will be present, for the automobile race appeals

now as much to the modern public as the ancient chariot race did to the populace of the ancient countries. The element of danger is one of the biggest attractions, as it was in days of old. In all of the big road events significant fact that the most frequented points are those where the danger is greatest. At top spee< a mile a minute, Ajgachlne bears down on the danger spot in the road. It is a bad turn to start .with. Hours of being plowed up by powerful /machines have chipped it into a mass of small stones, and deep ruts have been marked in its surface. But the intrepid driver of the modern form of t the chariot has just as iron nerves as his predecessor of centuries ago. There is no thought of slow up in his mind as he approaches the turn'. Straight at the curves he goes. The car skids and sways. Let anything go wrong with the or-a tire - come off and it is not hard to imagine what would be the fate of the driver, or, for that matter, the fate of the spectators, for all of them who are close by are in constant danger. All during the race, no matter how often this incident is repeated, it always finds delighted spectators. And the greater the peril, the narrower the escape, the greater the delight, joy and thrill of those who are looking on. Automobile racing is not veryolp as yet, but as a thrilling spectacle it blds fair to hold Its own 'With it altogether. • ■ >• > i ■*•»■**» Gallantry is that sentiment which holds up a man of 126 pounds on a slippery walk, when escorting a woman weighing 176. “r s£lß- her diary.