Webb Jay & United States Motor Co.

This article was published in the March 27, 1910 Indianapolis Star. It provides a status on Webb Jay, one of the biggest race-driving stars of very early days American racing. Jay nearly lost his life in 1905 when his Whistling Billy White steam engine racer burst through the rail fence at the Kennilworth track near Buffalo. Jay hovered near death for weeks in a coma. He eventually recovered but never returned to wheel-to-wheel high-speed competition. He did apply his driving skills to less risky competitive events, primarily reliability runs like the Glidden Tour.
 
After recovering from his accident Jay moved into automobile sales, continuing his association with the White company. The article reports he made a brief effort to launch his own steam car company but apparently that did not pan out. From there he moved to Premier where in addition to sales management he drove the team entry in the 1909 Glidden Tour.
 
The news in this article is the update that Jay had been appointed assistant to District Manager J.I. Hadley of the new United States Motor Company (U.S.M.) which was reported to have a market capitalization of $16,000,000 - big money in the day. Their headquarters was in Chicago in the Maxwell-Briscoe building at Michigan Avenue and 18th Street.
 
Jay's primary responsibility in his then-new job was to market the Columbia car, a recently acquired product of the U.S.M. Group, to central and southern states. At the time of the article Handley and Jay had left for visits to New Orleans and San Antonio.