The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-27
MOTOR TRUCKS IN POSTAL SERVICE
 ENTIRE SUCCESS
Seventy Lines Now in Oper- ation and Visions Enter tained for Operation of
 System on Big Scale


 Washington, October 6.-Cross-coun- try operation of mail carrying motor trucks, tried out by the postoffice de- partment on an experimental but never theless big scale during the last year, has been great success. James l. Blaksley, fourth assistant postmaster general, has found that one truck route between Philadelphia and Washington, cutting chiefly through territory with out direct ran connection and costing $9o0 month to operate, has in eight months developed revenue of $16,000 monthly Another route, into Washing ton, where 2S parcels day were moved during the first month. now shows one ton of traffic each way each "A hours
 seventy lines now operate over the country, all but one east of the Mis- slssippi, and there are visions of a sys- tenn which wal furnish s360,000,000 an- nually in revenue for road construction or other purposes.
 Why General Pershing has 5000 trucks damaged or ruined over on the other side,' said Mir Blakeslee, telling of the growth of the system. q don't care what condition they are in. We want them all and can fix up and put every one of them to work. Whats even more important, he's got some boys over there shy a hand or an arm or leg, and we can use them all too in
 
 do Congress gave us $500, 900 to work with and if we had the earnings of the lines themselves we could expand almost indefinitely. As it is, S9,O00 900 will be requested by the division for next year, and l think it will be appro- priated People realize what we are dos ing.
 Operating at night is the most profit able, and we have but two machines doing that out of New York The typi- cal route is about 1SO miles long, 90 miles out and 90 miles back
 Almost always the constant opera ton of the lines produces a return load the universal character of the mail service allowing almost anything to be taken. The mail trucks go, come rain storm or anything, and so the traffic develops. Rates are also pretty high the lowest being about $20 a ton That IS what makes the surplus revenues
 Of course, we'll have to have con crete roads, but the business can pro- duce the money to build them. There are some economies in distribution of produce that are simply amazing. It has added an entirely new factor to trans continental transporta ation. and we shall Just begin finding it out when more ex- tensfve operation goes into effect 6ur- ing the next two years
 Just why Mir. ,Blakeslee sees it that way can be understood from just one community price list. Milk retails now In Washington at IF cents quart Milk is coming in on mail trucks direct to consumers Tor 10 cents quart. Nat urally the trucks are being weighed down with f1ve-gallon cans as consum- CTS learn of the possibility. The trucks tap m1lk-producings territory that out side the usual hauling lines and off the rail arteries.
 Wherell the roads come from to run 5000 trucks?" he asks "Weu. there are 66,o00 rural mall and star routes be- ing operated in the United States now. sometimes l think everyone of them would make truck line. Food is being handled 10 times on it's way to a con- sumer.s We can cut that to five
 Watching these figures since De- cember, when we started, has given me a new sort of inspiration. We shall he moving the mails and mails will include a whole unexpected variety of things in new modes before the genera tion fn ishes. Airplanes for the thousand mile distances, trains for the 500 mile and trucks for the 250. That's about the schedule"