New-York tribune., 1911-01-15
MOTOR TRUCKS FAVORED
Becounition of Their Utility
Gradually Making Way.
NEW YORK LEADS IN USE
preakdowns Due to Ignorance in
Loading-Campaign of Edu-
cation Needed.
ev Charles +. Stone. Sales Manager Alden
Sampson Manufacturing Company.

SAMPSON company.
No far-sighted person can but appreciate
,,s+ IN a very short time the place of the
motor delivery wagon and truck Will be
thoroughly recognized and appreciated by
al r Is only a matter OF education. in
rb,oh tine IS an element. In a sense the
extension OF use Of power vehicles has In
,-sased more rapidly than the education
- the .populace. Much advancement could
10 effected II the motor truck selling COM
r,,,itv was better founded in the knowl-
sdge OF rs product and honest in its en-
seavor 10 properly install machines.
IGNORANCE. ridiculous statements and un-
sc-vpulous methods on the part of so-called
motor truck statesmen have had much to
40 with the delayed installation OF power
vehicles
The past year has seen a very decided
change toward the adoption OF the self
propelled vehicles, and New York can now
boast OF about 100 and Chicago 612 ma
chimes. while throughout the country be-
tween eight and ten thousand are in use.
There are to-day in the United States 3l2
manufacturers Of commercial motor We
hicles One OF these mas a capacity os
100 machines, others 800, $50 and so on,
but the majority are still in an expert
mental stage.
One difficulty in introducing power We
hices lies IN the inability OF the prospec-
tive purchaser 10 think over than in horse
terms II he IS accustomed TO haul his
goods IN horse-drawn vehicles OF a certain
capacity. he insists upon having a motor
truck OF Ike capacity and using 81 in
exactly the same service. The majority Of
teamsters are accustomed 10 gauge their
loads by the pulling capacity Of their
teams, and In consequence, finding a GER
tain amount Of overload capacity in the
motor truck, they Immediately proceed to
work Il for what IL IS worth. Generally it
Is worth a breakdown, but such breakdown
is always charged against the machine
rarely ever 20 the poor judgment Of those
n charge OF the shipping.
The introduction OF motor trucks 10 be
successful must be regarded in the same
light as the secondary transportation prob
lem. Railroads prosper in proportion to the
wisdom. experience and judgment OF their
officers. What is not generally appreciated
Is that a fault exists in the method Of hook
tng I'D modern transportation and modern
commerce. Modern tndustrialism, espe-
cially where conducted on a large scale, is
more intimately related 10 transportation.
The wholesale prodGos7s buy their coal
BY the trainload and turn the gondolas up
side down and shake them 10 get out the
dust rather than unload by scoopful; they
run tracks through their plants and handle
all weights by electric cranes and lifts;
they study the movement Of every ounce
@, raw material and finished product, and
count their earnings on haulage in frac-
tons Of pennies. But the merchant, the
small manufacturer. the jobber and retail
buyer. rely on human hands TO move their
rroduct: while between the freight house
and the store plods the faithful horse.
I, is estimated that 90 per cent Of all
freight which the railroads haul is re-
handled at one end or the other by horses,
and 10 a large extent the unsatisfactory
conditions IN freight haulage, shortage OF
ears warehouse congestions and slow
freight movement may be charged TO their
cause. Whatever complaints may with
Justice be laid at the door of the railroad
the fact remains that the weak link in the
chain OF transportation is the link con-
necting the shipping platform with the
freight yard and the freight yard with
the ultimate consumers door.
The secret Of large industrial benefits
Is the multiplication Of small profts. Inc
transportation problem does not begin at
the loading platform any more than 1t
ends az the opposite freight terminal II
begins with the shifting Of materials from
The storer0ora 10 the machine rooms, from
the machines 20 the packing floor. And II
ends al the consumer boiling room his
NIL. his showcase or his breakfast table
according as the case may be.
The commercial motor vehicle came into
being Ike the railroad, more or less IN an
swer 20 a real demand. But like the rail-
road Il must be dovetailed into the bust
ness universe before II reaches its plane or
highest value. The motor truck AFFORDS
means Of vast economies in transportation,
yl.. its use reguires more or. less overhaul
tng Of ssTEs%{ 4~tit" snGSs5s demands that
8 be considered no. as a substitute for the
horse. but as new form Of Ink IN the
transportation chain.
In this way the introduction Of the COM
mercial vehicle IS a work for transporta-
ton experts They must suggest the type
and teach the mechanical details Of oper-
alton, work out a schedule, plan loading
system provide against such contingencies
as breakdowns. bad roads, unavoidable
traffc delays and finally see that the goods
are routed through the works in such a
way that they will reach the shipping room
in uniform quantities. They should see that
a proper method Of accounting is arranged
tor the work OF the motor truck equipment
For Snort hauls in city streets one dis
unct type OF vehicle may be desired. Also
for long hauls an entirely different style
may be necessary. Under certain condi-
tons-as, for instance, where collection or
deliveries are % be made al some distance
from the central point-it may be mat
feeder service, with arrangements for re-
handling and rehaulage on a trunk line
oasis, would pay better than direct trans
poVtaton. Roads. stops. speeds, loads the
comparative regularity Of the service-all
must be taken into account.
The only difficulty is that prospective
users Of commercial motor vehicles do not
appreciate the need Of overhauling their
shipping methods IN order 70 get the best
out OF the business as well as 20 use the
q 81