Evening journal., 1917-02-27
Find aTHAH miller OUT
G. FOR Good HIGHWAY
Favors Bill in Legislature
for Comprehensive State
Wide Road System
CITES TROUBLES OF
TRUCK DELIVERIES

that our Legislature seems to regard
with SO much favor the plan to estab-
hsh State Highway Commission and
Tor the State "a talks upon itself the
administrator g, roads under a fixed
plan that provides money for construc-
lion and maintenance and also for
lhe authorization OF whatever bonds
may be Issued in that behalf" said
Nathan Miller, head OF the Miller
Brothers Co. at Ninth and King
ntreets this morning "As ] view II,
there is no piece Of legislation now
pneding in Dover that has embodied
within q so much O advantage 70
Delaware business men as has the
bin TO which / have referred above.
"While a IS true that n tho plan
proposed be put into effect 80 will in
crease the expense OF owning and
operating automobiles and motor
trucks, 70 also Us true that n a good
road system. under State control re-
suit therofrom, what such business
men pay out in compliance with that
law will be returned many fold In re-
fdced expense of operation, increased
business. quicker and more farreach
ing delivery, and economy OF time.
Under existing conditions, Il Is a
hardship. except on a limited mum
Der Of thoroughfares, to conduct an
auto-delivery service. l am fully
convinced that other business men
who use auto trucks will agree with
me in that statement Let me cite a
A.. u ell aaIf 4fIT
large trucks left our store loaded with
goods for delivery in the rural dis
tricts of New Castle county. II the
route OF that truck had been restrict
ed TO tho stone roads, all would have
been well. Unfortunately however.
It was necessary for IL to strike OIL
Into the dirt road For a short time
Everything went we'll. Then soft !
spot was reached, the truck sank to
the hubs In mud and IL was impos |
blble for it 20 oxtricate itself A far
mer was appealed to. He came with
horses and finally succeeded in drag |
ging II out His compensation thore- |
Tor, was 49, The truck started on It's
way once more, and had gone only az
Bhort distance when IL struck another
soft spot and went in up TO the hubs
pgaln. There was another appeal for
larmer aid, which was forthcoming
and another SO paid out for the use
of the horses Even that did not
avail. The situation was SO bad that
although the work OF the truck as or
leinally mapped out would have re-
auired less than half a day TO per-
FORM, our vehicle did not get back
10 town until the night OF tho day
following its departure from Ninth
and King streets There you have IT,
a big truck out of service two mon
out of service, so far as practical bus
mess results were concerned, large
quantities OF gasoline and oil con-
sumed in a fruitless fight against
mud; machine strained due to ita
own efforts to fight its way out and to
the strenuous haul OF tho horses ~
dragging II out and the impairment of
our delivery service, not only on that
run but also on other runs which
we had planned that same truck
should make following its early re-
turn from that trip. One such ex,
perience as that goes far toward
feconciling a progressive business
man 20 any reasonable expense that
is to be attended by the procurement
Of good roads.
"rhere is no telling to what extent
Wilmington business men of progressive
tendencies might not increase their
business and extent the zone Of their
trade If they had good roads in all
three of our counties. And when j saw
good roads do not mean simply a few
trunk lines. / mean trunk lines plus
improved lateral roads which give safe,
Easy and speedy access 70 those farming
districts which lie of from the trunk
lines. The weakness of trunk delivery
service is measured by the worst piece
Of road along the route to be travcrsed
in making delivery, not by tho best
piece. IT avails little ii a truck load OF
btuf is to be delivered at Hartley, Kent
county, for instance. that the road for
much of the way is good, IL for the rest
Of the way it be so bad that it is i'm
possible for a truck to make its way
bver II. That is what / mean when /
say that the value of n delivery route
must be measured by its worst and not
by its best features, provided. of course
that its worst features are 50 bad that
they will stall a motor vehicle and pre-
vent delivery.
Every wise business man regrets an
added expense in the transaction of his
business. When however, an expense
Is TO be followed by benefits which
more than compensate for such an added
s1pense, he should welcome it as hol
~oe'o profit 1t Is uponl
~ principle that Welcomed
~os m,',r,o,duction Of the state GOOD
$50 OH and would welcome ito nass-
~ inc LEGISLATURE and its annro,,a
qoNeihof townsend do not oon-
'' On course, that the bin IN H. -.
loiln IS absolutely perfect 4, ~,
H'er OF detail. I 40 feel b. 'ne
snN1 iV Is correct in the broad 49,, 80 u n
lying principle that we sbonia = el'iuer
Delaware e road system plannea '' ~. q, IN
State, built by the State r,ai,.a...s tne
the State and controlled by the So ~ =.
will be expensive work because -, = !
building and road maintenance oro ~
pensive. Il may he slow work beca,,s.
the revenue derived from the sources n
command will place an arbitrary Hmi
upon what may and may not be don
within any one year. But It viii h
work, Just the same. systematical
planned and systematically. execute,
and every step taken will be ste
howard a goal the attainment Of whic
should be welcomed by every bushes
man and by every thinking citizen
CAT SUCKS MANS BREATH.
Lacy d. Sturtevant, OF No. 10
Madison street, was awakened earl
yesterday morning by a cat which