New-York tribune., 1911-02-19
1O10D ROADS THE KEY
o,Iv Condition That Will Fully
n, l,eveIop Commercial Trucks.
VIEWS OF W. E. WRIGHT
s.vs Our Highways Must BE
wider and Have Better Sur
faces than at Present.
eY W. {. WRIGHT,
PRESIDENT Knox Automobile Com
ie' psrY.


,n., man nrst broke his way through
W.. ,cr,st and roamed around his favor
Ns', ,.,rs ground he found il easier 10 fol-
M ~. trails Of animals than TO strike out
y" ,.,ssf He also found that the widest
70 Sarsss- trails were the easiest and
so aver which 70 carry his bundle Of
u.ssn moving from camp 10 camp.
sAn III was discovered some time ago.
lls ..v Ue are forcibly realizing that
,r,sds mean everything in the develop
t ~ the commercial vehicle and the
srtying conn'ry' ,, s
..srv turn 20 France and the Conti-
The reason is that France had the
70. end therefore. the strong incen-
a. :. uss them Motor manufacture re-
everv encouragement and advantage
....isls IN its development, for half the
,,.r, az Quick transportation was al
.sv solved in the wide. well kept ma
ronal highways
5sv the commercial vehicle in every
-, e beins used more and more in the
,-.,,.sslye countries of Europe for haul
- ,sssenssrs. p4rishable produce, raw
a1ished materials and military sup.
.v., and arms Five-ton motor vehicles.
~ wide steel tires. are safely and eco
.,-,i,suv TUT for lorg distances over the
,oos roads. obviating the frequent ham
g,,V Of freight necessary with the rail-
,a.ds And that is why Europe has led
aim the motor vehicle.
-, this country we have the practical
:. ,,rr.rcial vehicle. and are waiting for the
,o.ss Long runs with a heavy load over
~, country thoroughfares are possible but
~, practcable. for the punishment the
y -,,hine is forced 20 stand will shorten
h. working life
Igsin. our roads are too narrow. When
,no ~ these wide motor vehicles meet
,ssv must turn out for each other and
o., rith two wheels off the hard crown Of
,hs road in the soft side dirt. And very
of,.r n. wheels sink in and spin around
,,fb,u, moving the car until II is lacked
so and roadway built underneath. This
sr,-gsncy has brought out the "differen-
~, cck." which prevents one wheel from
sninping while the other stands still
Al the present time the three-ton motor
,-vck Is the largest that can he generally
Used except on special thoroughfsres.
these are principally used in hauling per-
shshe stuff. as they arc cheaper end
quicker than any other method Of trans-
portation The trolley treight-the motor
trucks nearest onpetitor--requires many
landings Of the freight. and must dis
charge At central station. no matter
how far removed from the customer. The
motor truck runs from door 10 door
There are already several lines of trucks
IN regular scheduled operation at pres
snt, and plans are under way for New
York.to.Boston line of motor trucks.
The short, quick haul Is the ideal field
for this type Of vehicle, az runs OF over
hundred miles come naturally in the
cheap fed Of the railroad freight, except
N cases where time is valuable. In this
latter Instance the manufacturer can load
. hs motor truck at the eni of the days
work and by an all-right run place his
rush merchandise at the customers door
IN The morning a hundred and fifty miles
away thus gaining full working day or
more
his Was we'll illustrated during the re-
cent express strike in New York City The
Hsn6te Manufacturing CompanN Of
Springfield. had 10 rush consignment of
nsior cycles 20 catch the steamer for the
Nndon show Loading Sheir big truck
ate in the afternoon, they made an easy
ashi run 10 Sew York in ample time 10
Enl0ad directly ON the steamer before IL
ssilsd
" VII be tremendous field of activity
uK commercial motor vehicle industry
'hsn the good roads are fully here--a field
large thai We have hardly touched the
rlase as yet and hesitate 10 predict It's
rsgnuda