Life — April 2, 1908 — page 16: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Up NEWYORK TO PARIS! Alioscnyy — ‘4 Lire's Great Auto Race—Now On! The Start “TTCHEY’RE off!” The scene in front of Lirr office, on the morning of March 23, when Ltrr’s great auto, the Zip, started for Paris with James Metcalfe, William Taft and Anthony Comstock panics description. Cheer after cheer burst from the enthusiastic crowd, com- posed in part of members of the Theatrical Trust, the Chorus Girls’ Union and the Republican National Committee. There was a delay of five minutes, owing to the fact that somebody discovered there was no smoke coming out of the muffler exhaust. This, of course, would have offended the police force, a smokeless auto in New York being considered bad form; and so a gallon of cylinder oil was hastily poured into the engines, and amid a dense cloud of smoke and a smell that could be heard all the way to the Gilsey House, the great car started on its journey. Messrs. Klaw & Erlanger, heads and fronts of the Theatrical Trust, presented Mr. Metcalfe with a floral tribute in the shape of three balls rampant. Mr. Metcalfe was also presented with the freedom of every theatre in Siberia. “On to Maxim’s!” was the watchword. Mr. Taft, as usual, was in great form. “I am sorry,” he said, “‘to leave the country at this moment, but I have been following Theodore’s instructions so long that I’m dead tired and think this little jaunt half way around the world will rest pa bit. Three cheers for Taft!” burst from the crowd. Mr. Comstock was called upon for a speech, but declined. He was in reality too busy packing up his library in the rear of the machine. This library consisted partly of the works of Rabelais and Elinor Glyn. By the way, the scene between Anthony and some of the members of the Chorus Girls’ Union was very affecting. There was not a dry eye in the audience when the soul kisses exploded. All night long, previous to the start, moving vans had been transporting their contents to the Zip, until by nine o'clock in the morning it was nearly ready for the journey. Everything had been thought of, from a hand mirror to a political boom. It is understood that the occasion of Mr. Comstock’s absence from the city will be commemorated by a grand dinner given by the art students of New York. Prayers for his permanent detention in Siberia will be held daily in all studios. But we anticipate. A Little History How did Lire come to send an auto half way around the world? The matter was arranged some time ago. The Zip has purposely been held back until the other autos in the race to Paris were well on their way. According to present calculations, Ltre’s auto will overtake the other cars at Jogaleskayaski. This auto, by the way—the wonderful, the famous Zip— was a little gift to Mr. Metcalfe from the Theatrical Trust on the recent occasion of Lire’s twenty-fifth anniversary. It was properly felt that some slight testimonial to Mr. Metcalfe’sserv- ices in advertising the Trust and their well-known methods should be presented to him. It was rather thought at first that the car ought to be named “The Iroquois,” but, out of defer- ence to one or two survivors, the more cheerful Zip was chosen. After some discussion, Mr. Metcalfe was at last persuaded to take charge of the car on its famous world journey. At first his modesty prevented him from accepting, but the genial presence of Mr. Taft and the fact that both were Yale men were a real incentive. An opportunity to un-Comstock the country, even for a limited period, also naturally appealed to his patriotism. Besides, Mr. Metcalfe’s exclusion from the Theatrical Trust theatres—his not being able to see the Trust plays—had given him an excess of his usual vigor, and in a short time he began to grow enthusiastic over the trip. And now for business. On the morning of the 23d, the Zip, covered with flags and bunting, spun out of Thirty-first Street into Broadway. Met- calfe, at the wheel, had on Lire’s colors, a red, white and blue comicbooks.com