College Student Risked Life to Save Young Charges—Boy With Fractured Skull Expected to Recover.
That James R. Slater, the Rutgers College student who was with the boys run down by a train on the railroad trestle near Milltown Saturday morning, proved himself a hero was the verdict of all who heard the details of the accident from the lips of the boys. Withal, the young man, who was in charge of the boys, has been severely censured for undertaking the passage over such a dangerous spot as this trestle is known to be.
The train service on the Raritan River Railroad is so infrequent, however, that just such chances are taken by boys and older persons daily. The bridge in question spans Lawrence Brook, just west of Milltown, and is fully thirty feet high. Its floor-way is made of open cross ties, upon which but an insecure footing can be obtained.
It appears that the party, which, as stated in Saturday’s Home News, was composed of John Hendricks, Albert Hardy, Robert Swain and Eddie Reeves, had nearly reached the east end of the bridge on a “hike” toward Milltown. The boys are all members of the “Home Guards,” an organization of the First M. E. Church. Hearing a train approaching, all made a dash for safety and probably would have succeeded had not young Hendricks got his foot caught in some way between the ties.
The Hardy boy stopped to help him and Mr. Slater, directing the other two boys to continue, went back to where Hendricks was vainly trying to extricate himself. Just as their combined efforts succeeded in wresting the foot free, the train swept into sight, only a short distance away. In this emergency, Mr. Slater retained his presence of mind and advised his young charges to lie flat along the edges of the ties, on the outside of the rails, himself taking the position nearest the oncoming train.
Like many of the trains on the R. R. RR., this proved to be a combination train, made up principally of freight cars, but with a passenger car attached at the rear end. The projecting steps of this car struck Mr. Slater, and he with the boys, was swept from their precarious positions to the gully thirty feet below. Fortunately they had passed beyond the waters of the brook, thus obviating the danger of drowning.
All sustained pretty severe injuries, John Hendricks being the greatest sufferer. He was picked up unconscious and taken to St. Peter’s Hospital, where he was found to have a slight fracture of the skull. The Hardy boy suffered a broken leg and was taken to his home on Drift Street. Mr. Slater was badly shaken up but escaped having any bones broken. At St. Peter’s Hospital today it was stated that young Hendricks was gaining nicely and is expected to pull through all right. The Hendricks boy is a nephew of Freeholder Peter H. S. Hendricks.
Frank Hoffman, superintendent of the Raritan River Railroad, was here investigating the accident. He said that the train was going slowly at the time. All trains going south have to go slowly at this point because the bridge is approached around a sharp curve.
“The train was going at the rate of about ten miles an hour,” said Mr. Hoffman. “The fireman saw the party on the bridge, near the end closest to the train and called to the engineer, who put on the air. If the boys had run a few feet toward the Milltown end of the bridge they would have been unhurt, but they were panic stricken and stood stock-still until the engine hit them.”
Will Have an Individuality About Them -1,000 Now Employed at Milltown.
The world’s record of one hundred miles in 1:12:56 was established by a Renault car, driven by Brenin, and equipped with American made Michelin tires at the auto races held at Ormond Beach, Fla., recently.
The tires with which the car was equipped were made at Milltown. The newly established record, which speaks highly for the Michelin tire, gives an average of 81 7-100 miles per hour.
Despite the financial pressure of late, the factory at Milltown has been working day and night in an effort to get ahead with orders on hand. Over a thousand people are employed at the factory now and more are being taken on daily.
The company expects to open salesrooms in connection with the New York branch at 1763 Broadway, and the decorations of the new salesroom will excel any of those in the auto quarter wherein the new branch store is to be located.
The salesrooms of the Michelin Company throughout the United States will have their own individual design so that they can be instantly recognized. The walls, counters and painting of the various salesrooms will be of the same hue. The colors of the signs of the company which have been plentifully distributed about the country are blue and yellow.
The Michelin Company have now six salesrooms, Boston, New York, Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago. Salesrooms will be opened shortly at Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver.
Now for an analysis….
At the beginning of the twentieth century the Michelin Tire Company embarked on an ambitious attempt to establish itself within the rapidly expanding American automobile industry. The decision to create a manufacturing base in Milltown, New Jersey in 1907 represented a decisive step in Michelin’s broader strategy of international expansion. During this period the French company established subsidiaries in key global markets, including Great Britain, Italy, and the United States, with the Milltown plant serving as the center of Michelin’s American production from 1907 until 1930.
Milltown offered a strategic location for the company’s American operations. Situated in Middlesex County along the Lawrence Brook and less than thirty miles from New York City, the town provided access to rail transport, waterways, and major commercial networks connected to the Atlantic seaboard. The factory complex occupied several hectares and included multiple industrial buildings capable of producing pneumatic automobile tires for the growing American market.
The establishment of the Milltown plant reflected Michelin’s determination to participate directly in the transformation brought about by the automobile. In the first decade of the twentieth century the American tire industry was expanding at an extraordinary pace as automobile production increased and new manufacturers entered the field. Michelin, already well known in Europe for its innovations in pneumatic tire technology, sought to translate its reputation for engineering excellence into success in the United States.
One of the most effective ways tire companies demonstrated the performance of their products during this era was through automobile racing. Before the construction of permanent racing circuits, early speed competitions were frequently held on the hard-packed sands of Florida’s Atlantic coast, particularly at Ormond Beach, which later became closely associated with the racing traditions of nearby Daytona Beach. These beach races attracted international attention and provided manufacturers with an ideal stage to showcase the durability and speed of their vehicles and tires.
Contemporary reports describe a record-setting run at Ormond Beach in which a Renault automobile equipped with Michelin tires manufactured at the Milltown factory achieved a remarkable speed record over a one-hundred-mile distance. Such events were not merely sporting spectacles but carefully publicized demonstrations of industrial capability. By emphasizing that the tires used in the race were produced in the United States at the Milltown facility, Michelin was able to promote its American-made products while reinforcing the prestige of the brand. Racing achievements thus served as a bridge between technological performance and commercial promotion.
At the same time that Michelin was promoting its tires through racing successes, the company was constructing a national commercial presence through a network of salesrooms and distribution centers. The early automobile industry was concentrated in urban districts where manufacturers, parts suppliers, and dealerships clustered along prominent commercial streets. These areas became known as “Automobile Row” districts, and they represented a new form of urban retail landscape created by the rise of the motorcar.
Cities across the United States developed such automotive corridors, and Philadelphia’s North Broad Street became one of the most notable examples. By the early twentieth century the street had evolved into a dense concentration of automobile showrooms, repair facilities, and suppliers of related equipment such as tires and accessories. Michelin’s commercial strategy involved placing branded salesrooms within these districts so that motorists could encounter the company’s products alongside the rapidly expanding array of automobiles entering the American market.
The presence of Michelin offices and salesrooms in cities like Philadelphia demonstrates how the company attempted to integrate itself into the infrastructure of American motoring. These locations served not only as retail outlets but also as centers for advertising and brand visibility. The distinctive colors associated with Michelin—blue and yellow—and the recognizable figure of Bibendum, the Michelin Man, helped the company create a consistent identity across its growing network of urban showrooms.
Although much of the physical infrastructure of these early automotive districts has disappeared, traces of their history remain embedded in the urban landscape. In Philadelphia, for example, the legacy of North Broad Street’s Automobile Row has been documented through historical research and preservation efforts, including those highlighted by Hidden City Philadelphia, which examines the surviving buildings and architectural remnants of the city’s early automotive industry.
When viewed together, the stories of Milltown, Ormond Beach, and Automobile Row reveal different dimensions of Michelin’s American venture. The Milltown factory represented the industrial foundation of the enterprise, where tires were manufactured for the American market. The racing events at Ormond Beach demonstrated the technological performance of those products and provided a powerful form of advertising. Meanwhile, the salesrooms located within Automobile Row districts connected Michelin directly to consumers in the urban centers where automobile culture was rapidly taking shape.
These interconnected efforts illustrate the scale of Michelin’s ambitions during its first American expansion. The company invested simultaneously in manufacturing, promotion, and retail distribution, attempting to position itself among the dominant tire manufacturers of the United States. Although the Milltown factory ultimately closed in 1930 after years of intense competition within the American tire industry, the historical record shows that Michelin’s early presence in the United States was marked by considerable innovation and determination.
Today the surviving archival material—from newspaper accounts of racing victories to photographs of the Milltown factory and the remaining architecture of Automobile Row—allows researchers to reconstruct this largely forgotten chapter of industrial history. Through these fragments, the story of Michelin’s early American venture emerges as a compelling example of how global companies sought to navigate the technological and commercial transformations of the automobile age.
The death of Robert J. Mills of R.F.D. No. 5, in Middlesex Hospital yesterday, was investigated by Chief County Detective Ferd A. David today, when it was learned that the man had been struck by a Public Service trolley car near Heinz’s Switch, Milltown, Monday evening.
No report of the accident was received at the prosecutor’s office from either the Milltown police or the Public Service Railway Company.
As soon as the death occurred the hospital authorities notified Chief County Detective David. His investigation showed that Mills was struck by an Amboy car being run toward this city by LeRoy Higley. The accident is said to have occurred at 10:30 o’clock Monday night. William Haggerty of this city is said to have been in charge of the car, with Higley operating it, who was being instructed.
According to the information secured from the Public Service employees, the car was approaching Foch Street when Mills walked out of the woods into the path of the car. He was picked up and taken to the office of Dr. Forney at Milltown, where he was treated and then removed to the Middlesex Hospital.
Mills’ body was removed to the morgue of Coroner Hubbard this morning, where County Physician John L. Suydam performed an autopsy. This showed that Mills had died from hemorrhages of the lungs, which had been punctured by a broken rib.
Mills boarded with Mrs. H. B. Oswald. His body will be taken by Undertaker Hubbard to La Plata, Md., on Monday for burial.
MILLTOWN SEWAGE PLAN DISAPPROVED Council Appoints Advisory Water Commission to Carry Protest Against Lawrence Brook Pollution to State Board of Health.
Following a strong appeal from the Advisory Water Commission last night, Common Council passed a resolution, offered by Alderman Goodwin, protesting against the plan Milltown has evolved of sewering into settling beds along Lawrence Brook, because it is believed that the overflow would still pollute the stream.
Mr. Goodwin also moved that the advisory commission be named to carry New Brunswick’s protest to the State Board of Health. This motion was carried and Chairman Burt appointed the commission. The members are: Drury W. Cooper, Alfred E. Titsworth, Alfred S. March, Eugene P. Darrow, W. H. Benedict and Frederick Schneider.
The communication of the Advisory Commission stated that Milltown had filed plans as stated above which the Commission deemed dangerous to the water supply, and likely to bring the city’s name into bad repute. The commission suggested that Council demand a hearing in the matter before the State Board.
Commissioner Darrow was given the floor to explain the matter more fully. He said that Milltown proposed to sewer through a 15-inch pipe to a point just below where the Raritan River Railroad crosses Lawrence Brook, into three settling tanks, each of 30,000 gallons capacity, and overflow into four filter beds with a three-foot layer of sand and gravel, and finally discharge into the head of Weston’s Mill pond. The distance from the sewage bed to the pond would be 100 feet, Mr. Darrow said.
“The discharge would be pure when treated,” Mr. Darrow continued, “but when floods came the plant would not work properly. The thick sediment from the sludge beds would be washed into the pond. We consider this plan dangerous and certainly not creditable to the city, and that it can be avoided. We recommended to the city that the sewage be pumped to a point below the pond, and still favor that plan. The city should take some action to protect the water supply, and we believe that if this is done some other plan will be provided. The city is in a position where it can fight the matter successfully.”
Give and Take. “Milltown feels that if it puts in a sewerage system it must have a water supply. The town also thinks that as New Brunswick is to be benefitted it ought to bear a portion of the expense.
“One suggestion is that if Milltown puts in the sewerage system, New Brunswick should give the town a water system, charging the same rates as in New Brunswick. Another suggestion is that New Brunswick pay the cost of filter beds for Milltown.
“Besides an official protest to the State Board, there should be a conference with Milltown officials as to the best way to get together in the matter.”
A protest against the Milltown plan was also received from the Filtration Commission.
WILL DECIDE ASPARAGUS CHAMPIONSHIP Farmers James Parsons and John Edward Clark Will Meet Saturday to Decide Important Question — Who Will Challenge the Winner?
“Yes,” said Farmer James M. Parsons, of Milltown, assertively and somewhat aggressively this morning, in the hearing of John Edward Clark, of Piscataway township, “there isn’t a bit of doubt that I raise the finest asparagus in Middlesex county.”
Now Mr. Clark has an asparagus patch he thinks quite a lot of, and he took exception to Farmer James’ remarks and made some of his own decidedly disparaging to the Milltown patch.
“You don’t know what asparagus is out there,” said Farmer Ed’ard. “It makes me laugh to hear little bits of grass spears called asparagus.
“Huh, I throw away asparagus better than you bring to market, because I wouldn’t have the nerve to try to sell it.
“Maybe you’d like to prove you raise better than I do.”
“I wouldn’t want to tackle anything easier.”
So they agreed to each produce a sample of asparagus at Mansion House at 10 a.m. Saturday. Proprietor Jean Brivoul, who is an expert in everything in the eating line, is to be umpire and will declare the owner of the best bunch of asparagus champion of Middlesex county.
To make it interesting the owner of the worst bunch is to buy the other a new hat.
Interest in the competition is running high and applications for reserved seats are already pouring in upon Mr. Brivoul. It is expected that there will be several challenges for the winner.
Both Messrs. Parsons and Clark were observed to go home soon after the contest was arranged and to get out on the asparagus beds with sprinkling pots to make the “grass” grow faster.
W. C. T. U. MEETS AT MILLTOWN The spring institute of the W. C. T. U. of Middlesex County was held in the Milltown M. E. church to-day. Morning session began at 10 with devotions, led by Mrs. George Taylor. Milltown members welcomed the guests and Mrs. Benson Crowcroft, of Metuchen, responded. The institute then organized by the appointment of committees. Talks were given by Mrs. May Barned, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierce, Mrs. A. R. Fisher, Miss Ada Wilmurt, Mrs. Whitaker, Mrs. J. Whiting, Mrs. G. D. Runyon, Mrs. W. J. Lyle, Mrs. I. H. Demarest.
At 10:30 p.m. an executive session was held. Devotions were led by Mrs. Parker. Mrs. Leon Chamberlain and Mrs. Phineas Searle rendered solos and Mrs. F. Overhiser recited. The address was by State President Mrs. Emma Bourne.
To-night the address will be by Mrs. Demarest, on “Why I Belong.”
MARVELOUS ARE THE MICHELIN TIRES One of Our Wonderful Industries of French Extraction Has Made a Record That Helps to Spread the Fame of New Brunswick and Neighboring Milltown, Where the Factory is Located.
Every famous car that flashes across town, a suburb of New Brunswick. Almost every American tourist who takes his automobile through the lands of the Aztecs; or through the vineyards of Italy; or across the Pyrenees; or over the Alps of Switzerland; or through the waving fields of Brittany; or into Russia, the Caucasus, India or other parts of the world carries the story of New Brunswick with him because he has provided himself with Michelin tires in order to get the utmost pleasure out of his journey.
It is needless to say that the Michelin factory at Milltown is one of New Brunswick’s proudest boasts. The entire establishment covers eighty acres of land. There are fifteen separate buildings covering nine acres of floor space. Six of the buildings have been enlarged within the last year. Two shifts of employees have been working every day since December 1907. The Michelin company has ten branches on the principal thoroughfares in ten of our largest cities as follows: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and Seattle.
The Michelin factory near New Brunswick is the fourth of the great plants built by the company since the business was started in Clermont-Ferrand, France, away back in 1832. The other Michelin factories, in addition to the French establishment and that in New Jersey, are in London, England, and Turin, Italy. It is the proud boast of the company that Michelin tires are for sale in every country in the world where cars are used.
The closest possible manufacturing relations exist between all the Michelin factories. All the tire-making machinery used at Milltown, and all the materials that go into the construction of Michelin tires are imported. The materials, processes of manufacture, and the many exclusive or secret formulae developed after eighty years’ experience in the handling of rubber, are identical in all the Michelin establishments even to the minutest details.
The officers and department heads of the American factory are: President, Edouard Michelin, whose headquarters are in France; vice president, John C. Matlack; treasurer, E. Fontaine; assistant treasurer, R. E. Glass; sales manager, F. W. Libby. The factory is in charge of J. Hauvette Michelin. The purchasing agent is M. L. Cramer, and the advertising manager, R. B. Bramwell.
On Monday of this week the New York Automobile Trade Association held its second annual Carnival parade in which over four hundred gaily and grotesquely decorated cars participated. The Michelin Tire Company, of Milltown, N.J., which is a suburb of New Brunswick, won the first prize in the most important division, and thus once more attracted the attention of the automobile and sporting world to a home industry.
The Michelin float carried two rollicking rubber comedians from South France, known throughout the world as the Bibendum Twins, the same pair that were the heroes of the 1908 Carnival at Nice.
These rubber giants from Clermont-Ferrand were seated comfortably, surrounded by flags and bunting and many shields, each carrying the name of some proud Michelin victory. This unique exhibit added greatly to the general carnival spirit and won not only the first prize but the additional approval of all New York’s great newspapers, which is unique, as it is seldom that all the papers agree on anything.
The Bibendums were apparently built up from tires. Each figure carried a giant cigar. By most ingenious pneumatic operation their faces at one time reflected the utmost happiness and tranquility, and again they would assume every appearance of melancholia and distress.
The Bibendums, absolutely motionless at times, would rise suddenly to full height, throwing up their arms, and with bodies swaying and heads bent back, their faces would brighten up as if they knew in advance that the coveted first prize was to be their award at the end of the parade. The street urchins were quick to “catch on,” and they went rolling and laughing along Broadway in imitation of the antics of the Twins, much to the amusement of the older and more dignified, who enjoyed the day, however, no less than the children.
There is an elaborate and interesting story connected with the history of the Bibendum Twins. As the tale is told in France, these mighty curios were reared in Africa, the unusual offspring of a sturdy ostrich. Without injury to themselves they soon learned to devour or drink anything and everything, hence the name Bibendum. Broken glass, old horseshoes, nails, metals of all kinds and automobile trophies wherever offered are their regular diet, but, as the story goes, nothing satisfies their omnivorous appetites. Serious, grotesque, strong, weak, imperious, yielding, severe, comic, all in turn, the prize-winning Bibendum Twins were without doubt the most curious and most talked of travelers in all New York.
