Reeves Plans for Ormond - 1908

One name largely lost in the history of leadership officials within early days American auto racing and automobiles is Alfred Reeves, who is mentioned in the attached article. Reeves was the first automobile editor in the United States (1902 - New York Mail) and is best known for a long career heading up the the Automobile Manufacturer's Association (AMA) well into the 1930's. When the attached article was written - December 22, 1907 - he was general manager of the American Motor Car  Manufacturer's Association which was particularly interested in motor racing focusing on stock cars. One of the key debates of the day focused on the value to the industry and its consumers of auto races utilizing anything but stock cars as limited. Many manufacturers looked at purpose-built race cars, what they called "freaks," as merely tinkering and hardly yielding data that would assist quality improvement or give consumers a meaningful barometer of what could be expected of a given brand. As for Reeves, I have come across other mentions of him in association with the Morris Park race track, and the American Automobile Association (AAA).
 
This brief article takes a strange twist as it reports of Reeves' European travels to recruit overseas manufacturer interest in the 1908 Ormond Beach speed tournament. In particular he attracted Selwyn Edge, fresh from record-breaking performances at the new Brooklands track in England. From there the article mentions an interview Reeves had with Baron de Caters, an adventurerous Belgian who raced cars but eventually transitioned to early aviation for which he is best known. The article meanders into the Baron's noble actions during the 1903 James Gordon Bennett Cup held in Ireland where he came to the aid of fellow racer Charles Jarrott after the latter's car overturned on him.