Omaha daily bee., 1911-02-20

nearly az can Dc calculated. JUST about 9N
trucks and wagons
Such figures signify almost nothing IN the
commercial field. whereas IN the pleasure
car business they have been fair basis
for compute ton. OF popularity Of the ma
chine and Nrobable Increase IN demand. Up
TO tie present time the majority of trucks
and wagons IN use have been in the nature
Of experimental installations with the com
panies using them.
Few manufacturing and mercantile COM
panies have been willing heretofore TO
make complete change from horse service
4 to power wagon transportation But the
records Of performances Of motor trucks
and delivery wagons duying the last five
years. which have been kept most infinitely
I by large companies have shown such
superiority over horse service IN realia-
lbnuy. speed. aud mlease. and in economy.
that the old. conservative lack Of conf
dence in the meteor wagon has at last been
broken down.
/ Conditions are ripe now for wonderful
demand for commercial motor vehicles. The
average daily attendance Of 1900 visitors
during the commercial vehicle section Of the
Madison Square garden show In New YORK
the third week In January and the wide
spread interest IN the Chicago commercial
vehicle exhibition signify that the demand
/ for business cars this year will greatly ex-
coed the production.
success Means BlR Gains
| To show why. the rate OF increase In the
use of machines heretofore is no index OF
the probable Increase heneeforth, 1t is only
necessary to point out that an installation
Of three or four trucks. or delivery wagons
that have given satisfaction in the service
Of large company may result any day
| in a blanket order for twenty-five, fifty or
100 similar machines TO replace the. entire
horse equipm ent that has been retained
through the trial stage Of the power
wagons.
! For example. the Adams Express com
psny viii eventually supersede all It's horses
in big cities with motor wagons. So will the
American. wells-Fargo and United states,
all OF which are using limited number OF
motor express wagons
| Department stores that now have equip
ments Of 100 to 300 horses in their delivery
service and from six to forty or fifty power
wagons, will, without question replace all
the former with electric and gasolene ma
chimes within the next year or two.
GimBeI Brothers an Example.
Not only Is this transformation working
out with houses that have satisfied them
selves Of the superiority of motor service
by trial in their own business, but big
companies having lots Of hauling and de-
livering to do. yet which never have owned
or used machines. are giving orders for
motor wagons in lots Of fifty to 100 and
even go so far. as to rely solely upon these
machines. as IL. the case of the new Gimbei
Bros. department store in, New York City
which opened for business last fall with a
fleet Of ninety-seven electric and gaso-
line wagons in its delivery department and
not q single horse. No provision whatever
has been made for horses, special garage
buildings having been erected by the firm
only for the machines.
Estimates OF the number Of business
motor cars in use, as made by differtnt
authorities, range all the way from 10000
to 5000, the discrepapcies being due, first
to the difficulties. attending the collection
Of reliable data. and, second, to the in
clusion by some compiiers OF the taxicabs
in use and of municipal vehicles such as
patrol wagons, ambulances and fire APP
! paratus "4fsi
Several thousand touring cars have been
transformed by tlFeirPorisinal or second
hand buyers 'iffteyHkht delivery wagons. of
which no record exists 1"7tf
4 Average Lives Ten Years.
| The possibfes market for commercial We
| HOLES Is indfcasepsso some extent by the
census reports thaf Show more than sO0O 600
horse-drawn wagons for business and farm
uses are manufactured annually in
America. n It Is assumed that these have
an average life Of ten years there are at
present in use in round figures about 5000
900 such vehicles,
One motor truck or wagon will do the
work OF three OF these. and consequently a
possible market exists for about 100000
motor wagons before the horse is retired
from slavery. Even granting that not more
than one in three wagons will be displaced,
this leaves a potential market for 1,OOOO 900
motor wagons plus an annual absorption
OF 10000 in place OF the horse wagons now
being produced annually.