Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-26
TESTS FOR MOTOR WAGON
Some Experiences Of Those Who Hav,
Studied.
BREAKDows ARE NOT TREaUEx1
Brewers, Coal Men. Crocers and May
Others Resort Largely 40 the
AstsnebIIe Ssr delivery
Parposea.

ldll'E- Inc tlat motor ulGhe
must show over horse drawn vehicles are
these two, ana the mafufaoturer brewer,
coal dealer department store man, grocer
OF what not asks fret Of all 10 be shown
that the truck can be depended upon. The
day when the bromide "Oh. the automobile
IL always breaking down" goes for the
commercial vehicle too has long passed.
Those manufacturers who really turn out
motor trucks and delivery wagons don't get
complaints about reliability and power 10
ftand the wear Those others who merely
put motor truck body ON q plea sure car
chassis are apt 10 get howls from those
TO whom they sell their product. but these
cars cannot be classed with genuine motor
trucks any more than lot OF junk hastily
tossed together Is entitled to be considered
ih the same class with a carefully tested
pleasure car
When tie agent Of company selling
motor trucks goes in to see a man who
has plenty OF horse draw vehicles and ad-
vsnces his arguments toward making a
change. what does he say? The chances
are he tells that manufac turer or merchant
that he can Increase the radius Of his de-
liveries by many per cent lie tells him
he can show increased Probability on both
long and short hauls. He shows him where
he can do away with relay points for the
relief OF teams.
lie shows how gasoline. IL that Is the
proven. OF electricity. a. the case may be-
compares IN cost with feed how drivers
may be 1adsTimo chauffeurs; hon one
garage, &S cheaper than many sets Of
- ~; now motors don't fall sick--very
Tenor die. and how much greater is the
capacity OF one motor truck than Of many
wagons and how much greater ~ the speed
of the engine than the plodding gait of
the horse
II department store attempted, for in
stance, 10 send a horse out over route
Of 10 miles in the course Of the day, what
would become of that horse in the course
Of a week, If It lived that long? Yet there
Is a big department store i'm New York that
has route of that length. served hsndily
and capably b. the motor truck. The
Increased radius OF delivery means more
customers. ana more customers. as a rule,
mean greater income
The automobile salesman goes into the
office OF the other fellow prepared to meet
all objections The motor truck isn't as
easily amenable 10 changes in the weather
as Is the horse. Generally speaking. a
heavily loaded truck won't skid on wet
paNements and can work It's way through
snowy streets. 1t can climb hills with a
heavier load than ever team OF horses
can, and With any sort OF free way can
axe great ~ eu vith lltt.s uangC.. l. s
ever so much handler in the short hAuis
An automobile salesman was walking
oown a street the other day when he came
10 place where building was going on A
truckman was backing up to the sidewalk
load of building materials. The auto
salesman and his friend stopped to look
IL took the driver, and skillful man al
that. about fifteen minutes to work the
horse back so that the wagon was IN the
place he wanted II TO be. See that" said
the statesmen. and then compare il with
the hardness of a motor. That thinE
would have been done in two minutes with
an automobile. and that's allowing plenty
Of leeway. The motor truck Is . time
saver, ana it's on that basis that we are
selling a lot of them
The experience OF express compa lies
with the motor trucks Is perhaps the best
line on this worth because they do heav.
ior line OF steady work shan almost any
other sort OF business except the depart
ment stores. one express company coin
pared the work done by fifty-three doubl,
wagons as against forty automobile trucks
arriving at a conclusion of % per cent
saving in favor or the motors
The horse-drawn wagons were these
totalling $l4,54J five two-ton wagons cost
ing SS2s.4S apiece, total Of 81, a. l5 and min,
one-ton wagons at SS79.1O a total Of $s,4ll. 90
To draw these were employed PIP horses
at an average price OF t22o. This horse item
made si6,eI0 The sets Of double harness a.
$40 came to s2,3S5, These items OF wagons
horses and equipment amounted 70 sSs
63lO6
The operating expenses were fisurec
thus: Interest on S6s, 63l .O5 at per cent
'S,i3l55. Depreciation of the stock was
On the wagons, 10 per cent OF $40 $685. o.
tI,s6c6O; on the horses, IS per cent Of SIs.
$40 OF Sd0s32O and on the harness, "a De
cent Of 1855. or sSSs.s0 To feed gls horse,
at Ss6.7O month took S67,92asO. Fifty-thre,
drivers at SIS a month got 81 $40, and a!
many helpers at s45 a month took S2S,eeO
These items brought the total OF hofs
operation TO tl4s.S74O5.
Here is the case for the motor truck
There were ten three-ton trucks AZ So. 900
which made $4,000, and thirty two-tol
trucks Ut $500, making $4,000. Extr.
Fittings and extra parts made t2,S7oSo more
total OF running stock of $14O,670SO. Thi
was more than twice the cost OF the hors
equipment, so the magnitude OF the actua
saving on operation, sufficient to bring Il
expenses. is marked. The operating ex
penses included the S per cent interest OF
the cost OF installation, an item OF s., Oas 5.
Fuel, oil, tires, repairs, renewals. etc. cos
S4S,99S.5s, The garage employed five mel
as helpers, costing toSO. The forty driver
Of the motor cars got t65 q month, an iteu
of SSl,2Co and the helpers, at SlS a month
cost SCI 500. The total OF operation for IN
motor trucks was S1i3,soal2
The saving in favor OF the motor trucks
despite the fact that they were ever 8
much more expensive to begin with. wa
$S5.7u.s3
The salesman Is able to bring to his he'll
such statistics as these and he can shoy
the manufacturer whose delivery work
considerable the chances for a great saw
ing In his own line. The automobile true
is most valuable in deliveries over lon
hauls with road conditions not OF the besr
lt is pointed out that H. would not be quit
so satisfactory where the route 10 be Gov
cred IL extremely short, say for a mile q
TWO miles, but the manufacture who's
business Is OF any magnitude and TO Nhor
It would be an advantage TO install whole
sale equipment OF motor trucks is NOT 4
this category.