The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-22
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
ECONOMICAL--WILL
These Three Strong Reasons
Are Making Motor Trucks
'.'"' Popular.
NUMBERS ARE INCREASING
And Uses Are a. Varied as Can
80 BE Imagined. Says
Leading Maker.
NUMBERS ARE INCREASING
ny JOHN y. w1LLYs.
PRESIDENT wiiiy:.Overlana co.

There can no longer be any question
- to where the motor truck stands In
the modern commercial world. The truck
In the last few years has risen from a
more or less ven,uresome experiment to
the one real big and efficient transporta-
tion means. Where ten years ago there
were not more than dozen trucks In
the United States to-day there are thou
sands Of every size and type carrying on
che work OF the business world.
The best Illustration OF the rise OF the
motor truck that I can now recall is the
report made a few months ago by Secre-
tary of State Mitchell May Of New York.
This report declared that on October /.
as13. there were $4,000 licensed CONNER
eial motor vehicles registered in New
York State. This number. the report fur
cher declared. was an increase of 46 per
cent. over the previous year.
While New York State. having within
ots borders the largest city in the coun-
cry. has always been an acknowledged
leader in the use OF motor vehicles the
report OF Secretary May can be taken
as Indicative Of the standing OF the mo-
tor truck throughout the country. While
The figures are not available II IL safe
TO say that AT least forty States In the
Union have seen like increase IN the
use Of motor trucks In every city. town
and village and in many country districts
we see more and more trucks being put
into use every day.
The reason for the popularity of this
vehicle Is obvious. The truck has become
an economic necessity through a course
OF experience and demonstration that 10
IS natural and logical as the following
OF day by night. The truck Is practical.
II will 20 anywhere horse and wagon
can be driven and In much less time.
Whether the scene OF operation Is tho
crowded steamship pier or railroad freight
yard. the conges:ed city streets or narrow
alley entrances OF big business houses,
the truck can be driven. handled and
maneuvred with greater ease and less
space than Is required for team and
wagon.
The truck is efficient There are many
cases on record where one truck has taken
the place OF ten horses and ffve wagons
In the transportation OF merchandise.
Cases where six horses and three wagons
have been substituted are more than nu-
merous and II is safe to say that there
u hardly a truck In operation to-day that
has not done away with at least four
horses and two wagons. These figures
apply to tho heavy motor truck. the We
Aicle Of two. four or even six tons ca
pac!ty. The lighter truck. with capacity
Of 1000 pounds to one ton. while operating
IN another sphere. has been and IL Just
- efficient While the number Of horses
and wagons discarded Is not as great per
truck it Is not at all unusual to find bust
ness firms whose commodity Is compare
lively light which have done away with
three to five one horse wagons since in
stsllins the power vehicle.
The truck Is economical. Not only can
power vehicle be operated for less money
than would be required for horses and
wagons TO do the same amount of work.
A,,< De s6a s,ft ty,
smother way. 1t brings him new bust
ness because 1t works faster than any
horse and wagon outft could, II accom-
plishss a given amount OF work in less
time than was heretofore possible. and
this saving In time is being utilized by
thousand Of business men in taking care
Of q greater volume.
With these facts in mind 1t Is not dffl-
cult to Se that the field for the motor
truck is practically unlimited. Already It
u being employed in nearly 900 lines OF
business. Trucks are delivering every
conceivable kind Of merchandise. from a
pager OF pins from the department store
or the small basket OF groceries from the
little suburban shop TO the huge boiler
or even the locomotive produced by the
largest Industrial plants in the world.
There Is nothing so small or so large
that truck cannot handle 1t, for there
are trucks OF every capacity The truck
has demonstrated its worth no less in the
business OF contracting. where severol
tons OF crushed stone or concrete or struc-
tural Iron constitute a load, than in the
delivery OF flowers. where half a dozen ten
pound boxes OF expensive posies are car
ried each tr.i
In spite Of the fact that thousands Of
motor vehicles are now in use. and thou
sands moro are being put to work every
day. the surface has only been scratched.
Month by month ana year by year the
world will see thousands OF other trucks
put to work. for It has long since been
demonstrated to the satisfaction or every
one that the horse is an impractical and
expensive means OF locomoton in mer-
chandise transportation.