The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-04-29
|OT0 TRUCKS
traffic PROBLEMS
Economical Because Of Great Carry
ing Power and Time Saved In
Covering Long Distance.

XU|OtNtlnBs btluub Va e -
contcnd that motor trucks, WnieE AZ
cIudes all forms OF self-propelleo We
hiclcs used for hauling gOods) ar
not 80 cheap as horses. Others WI.
nlso have had experience. declare tina
<hey are cheaper Probably the lac
<or Of time Is not figured at full vaius
Al most cases. Anything which en-
nbles one TO do three times as muct
40 d little less time than before. IL
cheaper unless II costs more tnal
three times as much.
Foremost OF the commercial con
6Itions that call for the motor truck
AZ the demand for time saving. 10
e ~ speed alone the automobile hnds
~ reason for existence. The clock
6ominates the business world. Inc
~reat desideratum is to make bigger
.nroflts by doing more within each
our. The superior travelling ability
- the motor truck probably would Dc
~ufFicfent to effect it's adoption finally,
~pen II II cost little more than the
korse-drawn truck. Business COM
nefifion would settle that and gradu-
lilly force into general use the method
nost expeditions. Some light from
cxperience can be. thrown on this. A
NV years ago a big mercantile house
'1nf into commission a number Of mo-
~ delivery trucks. After a while
|>hev returned to the old style horse
||&nd wagon delivery. They found the
nofor trucks more expensive than
<no horses and not so reliable, as
WAS said. The customers, however.
lied the motor-wagon delivery. Now
lat competitors OF this firm are
1opting motor trucks they are being
orced again to replace their horses
Nth motors. Their experience tells
lem that the motor trucks are more
xponsiye. but the pressure Of COM
ckItion and the demand of custom
@rn are compelling.
Every day, as motor cars and motor
trucks multiply, and as the extent OF
mooth pavements that favor auto
oobiles and cleanliness increase, the
'1orse n at a greater disadvantage in
<lky streets and on the highways. The
automobiles nose In ahead OF him
Everywhere, they beat him and thwart
&Im IN many ways. Observations at
oInfs of heavy traffic afford many
interesting illustrations of this fact.
tpite OF his load rolling easier on
~ the smooth pavement il bane to
The horse. In wet and Icy weather
+ ~ makes progress on asphalt be
<Veen q series Of falls, and even in
dry weather he often loses his footing
<on Il and drops heavily. to be pushed
1Iong bit by the wheels of his We
1iclo. The places where he can be
. properly shod and 'sharped" to pre-
( VENT slipping are becoming fewer In
number and farther apart. This Is a
1crious matter. as a horse should not
4 - driven far on naked hoofs over
cfky pavement. The rapidly rising
value Of property and the higher
rents that are scattering the black
1mith shops, with their picturesque
. |erke and anvil, their disturbing clan
< Tor and smell OF burning hoofs,
He forcing out also the wheelwrights,
Md II Is an expensive thing to drive
truck on bare felloes q long way
- have tire shrunken onto the
Wheel. It IL becoming more and more
lf1cult In big cities to find convent
INT places near their work to leave
0mpfy trucks and wagons over night;
Worse yet, the distance from the work
~ the stable IL frightening, for the
f Increasing value Of property Is driv-
~ the stables steadily into the out
1kirts. 30 that man and beast must
IKE long journeys to and from work
@och day, the beast carrying the
1oiRht Of the driver for miles after
DDcnding the day at work in the col
Inf. This condition Is assuming quite
|npidly the proportions of an imprac.
liability. Big concerns having many
teams and wagons are resorting to
The sole means OF neutralizing high
rents by using stables several stories
~ height. The horse, however, ID
Not convenience above the ground
Xoor; another thing. stables and
|1blemen are undesirable neighbors
they are apt to lower property values
md the social tone of the vicinity
nd 90 everything seems to be favor.
Ink the coming Of the motor vehicle
md the departure of the horse.
~ great organization realized this In
vitable dominance of the motor truck
- long ago as FIVE years and begas
- build Its three-ton trucks as
1oon as II had its automobile bust
ness launched. This company was
11rsighted, also, In deciding that most
economical vehicles would be those
having the greatest length of life and
buiIdfng first OF all for efficiency and
liability. The greatest profits to thu
19or accrue from the vehicles that are
& AZ commission the largest percentage
% the time and least in the shop
Too many motor trucks are to b.
1een having engines too powerful TO
mis- character OF vehicle. The BIZ
uukfne has tendency to shake th'
truck with undue vibrations, and
gain, IL encourages the driver I,
1rirc fast when his truck is empty
10 md the exact balance between
|oFer and weight and proportions an,
materials brings the highest perfec
ton. This seeking balance" is tn
constant air Of its engineers. and 1
a 6aId that the Alec trucks give ev
|1nco OF Il In the way thei
bucks stand up" One big expires
<ompany has about 80 OF them, an
hey are kept In service from IS to 2
hours day.
When the horse Is eliminated fron
<Iff streets there Will be a grea
multiplication of their capacity, 4
mn nothing of the sanitary gain an
ne saving In street cleaning. Tn
<16n<o would mean not only thes
&|nrs. but also some very definit
|&eflfs Of humane. ethical and socia
&1rntfcr The time Is near when
|o1ophfc retrospect VIII reveal tn
1lcr truck os having been not mere