Norwich bulletin., 1916-07-21
PICK UP SERVICE.
Leading Publication Comments Fa- vorabIy on Stand Taken by Norwich Chamber of Commerce.


 Chamber of Commerce.
 In a recent issue of the Traffic World is the following in reference to the Norwich Chamber of Commerce.
 The Norwich Chamber of Commerce recently addressed a communication to the Connecticut State Chamber of Commerce, as follows:
 This bureau has had a request from our representative to your board meeting held last week to look into the matter of freight congestion and report back to your body.
 We have looked into the matter here with some care and find that the greatest trouble seems to be that the freight is not removed from the freight houses fast enough by the cOnsignee or his agent.
 Tn view of this we respectfully rec ommend that the state board confer with the railroads of this state with view of installing what is known on European railroads as central deliv cry.
 localities of over 25,OO0 inhabitants the railroad calls for bids for delivering all freight for a period of from one to three years as fast as same is taken from cars. In some instances large mills with their own teams are not lHEludeu- lAGS6 DluQGIS lIdlIiG Il LIS- ure for the freight of every consignee at so much a hundred with a mini mum charge of ten cents.
 The locality is divided into dis tricts with teams for each district which take the freight as fast as it is unloaded and deliver same imme- diately to consignee, picking up what ever outward freight there is on the return trip.
 This does away with the small cOnsignee receiving a shipment infTe- quently having to await mail notifi- cation of arrival of same; with the agent of large one having to make @ trip to the south end with only one piece of freight, then to the north end with another single piece and then having to go through a days freight to find a shipment for a third custO- mer.
 "This system works out so well abroad that the freight houses are less than one-thtrd the size of those in this country for places of same size.
 We recommend that matter to your careful attention and shall be glad to give you whatever further infOr- nation we have regarding the same"
 Commenting on this letter. Current Affairs" the organ of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, says
 This is in line with what the AIer- chants and Miners Transportation Go. recently suggested and ultimately the railroads and shipping public will no doubt come to the conclusion that this system is necessary because as the business of the country grows there will be no way of snlarging railroad terminals except at costs out of all proportion to the value of these ter minals to the shipping public as well as to the railroads. Freight can be removed from the railroads by wagon or motor truck under contract more Cheaply than the cost to the ordinary shipper This system has been sue cessfuIIy worked out in about ten Ca nadian cities and has proven very satisfactory wherever 1t has been tried.
 .'BaItimore and Washington n1er- chants for years have had their freight picked up at their stores and delivered to their stores by the trans pOrtation company. This has resulted in an entire absence of congestion at the terminals of the carriers adopting this plan. The only thing that stands in the way of the plan at Boston as well as at other cities throughout the country is the prejudice on the part both of railroads and shippers against making any change from their present method of doing business. The terni- nals of the carriers, as they exist at present would take care Of two or three times as much freight as is now handled through them if all freight were delivered immediately upon it's being unloaded from the car instead of letting it remain at the freight ter ninals under tariff provisions for E8 hours without pay and for substan- tiaIly any length of time that the con- signee desires after 48 hours upon the payment of an insignificant storage charge.
 While it is not believed that the English system of separating the line haul from the terminal charge could country, because of the great dis tances which freight is hauled and the necessity for meeting competition both of rail and water lines, that part of the English system that covers the collection and delivery of freight could be worked just as successfully in this country as in England or in Canada"