Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-11-02 | Page 58 | Farmer Needs Awakening to Trucks' Importance

Farmer Needs Awakening to Trucks" Importance PKIJIARIXiY we are an agricultural agricultur-al nation. Our farms arc a great potential truck market. Only three per cent of farmers own trucks today because their advantages have not been brought home to them with sufficient force. A 3000-jnile truck tour through the great Northwest has awakened us to tho sales opportunity oppor-tunity in this field. It is a most important im-portant lesson to tho manufacturer and dealer. The door has been thrown wide open. The farmer's business is the most desirable business in the field today to-day because it can be operated on a cash basis. The farmer has what the city buyer lacks, bank support. the pheumatic-tired truck is a timer and energy-saver for the farmer. It costs him 33 cents per ton-mile to haul with horse power, whereas the truck can do' the same work for 15. cents a ton-mile. It does not eat 5 acres of farm products a year when not working. Of the 32S.000 trucks estimated for production in 1919 considerable less than half of these are suited for farm work. Trucks for farm work must have a combination rack and side-board body, a wide range of gear ratios for varying terrain conditions and a wheelbase adapted for this work. Long wheel-base wheel-base trucks cannot be used in present grain elevators. Manufacturers must ' revise their distribution schedules and send more trucks to farm areas. They must impress upou their dealers that the demand is there. Crop production can bo accelerated by these time-saving machines, and thus can the cost of living be reduced. The rural field deserves investigation. investiga-tion. Editorial, Motor Age.