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Show Ii'HELP THE BAIL CHIEFS' W10TGR TRUCK'S WORD (By G- A. Kissel) Just before the railroads were returned re-turned to private ownership March 1, ' tho heads of the different railroads : through tho press, asked the public to help during the period the individual individ-ual owners of the lines were getting back into harness. i The different statements the presidents presi-dents issued showed that they realized that it was going to take time before their properties could measure up to (he full demands of the country. But i as Howard Elliott, president of the Northern Pacific sajd, "it will be done more quickly If the public will co-opcr-.ate and will be patient over inconven-i iences and delays because of the ina- Ibility of the railroads to produce ath I once the quantity and quality of transportation trans-portation that the public needs." Likewise, A. D. Loomis, president of 1 the Lehigh Valley, said, "the public ; must be patient during the test period." pe-riod." T. DeWitt Cuylcr, chairman, association Railway executive, said, ("There will be a tremendous pressure j behind service to secure traffic. 'Greater effort will be made to satisfy 'shippers and passengers. Supervision 'will increase in effectiveness." A. H. Smith, president New York Central lines, said, "The greatest difficulty diffi-culty now is sufficient equipment. Without sufficient equipment the lines cannot properly function, and tho farmers, merchants, manufacturers and citizens will bo seriously effected until this condition is remedied. What is required Is equipment and facilities to supply the rnaxmuni requirements of the people." From the foregoing It can be seen that the rail chiefs, realizing that the railroad equipment is insufficient to fully meet the nation's shipping and transportation requirements, are going to do tho best they can under the circumstances cir-cumstances and asks the public to have patience until they bring their (equipment up to that point of efficiency efficien-cy -where they can function properly and prove equal to copo with all requirements. re-quirements. This we should all do by e ery means in our power. Ways and means must be found to make up for this lack of equipment, and it is here that the motor truck will bo pressed into service in greater quantities than during the past two or three years. It is fortunate that the nabtor truck has outgrown its swaddling clothes and has grown into a full-fledged transportation unit, because without its adaptability and economy, the country's shipping schedules would indeed in-deed be in a chaotic condition. Without ',a doubt when the rail chiefs have put into effect the many new plans and Ideas they will evolve to cfflclcncyizc the railroads, they will probably bo tho most highly efficient railroads In the world, but between now and that time, the nation's production schedules must be kept up, in fact, they must be increased, which Ib possible only through having a distributing channel that will not bo interrupted or clogged up. Distribution is a vital necessity to the life of the nation. In every branch 6i industrial, commercial and governmental govern-mental activities it is as necessary as an outlet to a river. Without an "outlet "out-let thel nlet soon causes a destructive flood- With a production program turning out millions of tons of goods, I.' there is no distribution it soon j floods warehouses, terminals and freight yards, choking not only Industrial Indus-trial .progress. The main trouble seems to be that there are not enough freight cars to supply the proper quantity to each industry. in-dustry. For instance, the government requires so many thousand freight cars, Industry such as Iron, coal, steel demands so many thousand freight cars, agricultural America demands so many thousand freight cars to move the nation's crops and food stuffs, after which comes the different dif-ferent branches of commercial Amer-ilea Amer-ilea the manufacturer, the raw mate ial makers, jobbers and retailers. i Therefore, if there are not enough -:ars to go all around, the best rail- i roads can do is to apportion a fair ( amount to each business and then thai business has to make up that shortage the best it can. This was the situation several years ago, and business men in locking around for other transportation units to make up the shortago found only one that could be adapted with any degree de-gree of success and efficiency the motor truck. Since its adoption by Industrial America Am-erica it has not only proven itself adaptable to the requirements of every line of business in the country, but in addition has proven very economical and efficient. Meeting emergency demands in such ai efficient manner caused American Am-erican business men to use the motor truck extensively, and as the couutrv gradually expanded and Increased Its production schedules, tne motor truck was required in greater numbers to mei this expansion. And why not? The motor truck is .practically the same as a railroad freight car, ton for ton. Like its railroad rail-road brother it is a piece of machinery routing and careful driving, with the added advantages of not requiring a definite right-of-way nor leaving goods several miles from the consignee's door. 11m motor truck owner and driver whd appreciates the present transportation transpor-tation situation and operates his trucks efficiently and economically, will not only help the railroads at a time when they need help, but will himself benefit greatly through increased in-creased transportation efficiency and lower transportation cosL There Is no question about it, If the motor truck Is operated along a well, plauned and carefully thought-out' schedule, the cost of delivering goods by motor truck would be reduced quite l considerably over the present cost,! which is considered low as compared 1 with other transportation methods.1 Tho motor truck is essentially a long distance overland transportation unit,1 1ullc to haul a given tonnage of goods mile after mile, day in and day out, at1 a Riven speed that compares very favorably fa-vorably with the average speed being1 maintained by other transportation unlto. It is built to stand up under freight haulage work. Even moving or fixed unit in Its chassis or frame, is so designed to do Its share in the work of standing up under the load and helping to move It forward. The American Am-erican motor truck manufacturer lerves nothing to chance every inch designed by engineers who have stud I ied motor truck transportation requirc- menls and conditions, has received the. closest Inspection. There Is nothing' questionable about these trucks :n so! fai as its construction and ability are' concerned. There remains then the remaining factor in the successful adoption of the motor truck, that of tho owner andj driver. The owner looks at his M-uck from an investment standpoint i rep resents so many miles of transportation, transporta-tion, the quantity depending on the caie given the truck. Ho should see to it that when It is placed in commission com-mission the party who has charge of thit truck realizes the dividends ne expects from it and should operate it in a way that will insure those divi-' dends being paid. jiiiu jincwise, uie motor f.ucK driver. There is a proper way of driving driv-ing a truck as well as an improper way there is a proper way of loading and unloading a truck of taking care of it at the end of Its day's work. It is up to the truck owner to realize this and make sure that his mick drher knows the proper way. Just as the railroads are starting out to build up transportation efficiency, effi-ciency, so, too, should the motor truck in America be put on a highly efficient effi-cient operative basis. It would not only help tho railroads to a greater exient, but it would mean an added increase in saving of time and mono and would greatly aid industrial America Amer-ica in meeting and measuring up o Its transportation requirements. |
