Republican farmer., 1918-11-01
COUNTRY MAIL CARRYING BY MOTOR TRUCK Experiment of Post Office Dept. Dlring Last Year
 W.s Success.
SOURCE DE REVENUE
 ON MANY ROUTES
Better Roals Needed But System Vii Produce the
 Revenue fol Construction

Washington, Oc, 25-Cross-coun-l try operation of nail carrying motor trucks, tried out by the postoffice de- partment on an experimental but nevertheless big scaa, during the last year. has 'Deen a 'grett success. James l. Blakslee, fourth assistant post master general, has found that one truck route between Philadelphia and Washington, cutting chiefly through territory without direst rail connec- ton and costing $500 a month to op-i crate, has in eight months developed a revenue of $16,O00 monthly. An other route, into Washington, where 2S parcels a 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 cne east of the Mis- sissippi, and there are visions of a system which will furnish $S60,0O0,- 900 annually in revenue for road con- struction or other purposes.
 ''Why, General Pershing has 5000 trucks damaged or ruined over on the other side" said MT. Blakeslee, telling of the growth of the system. T 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 al hand, or an arm, or leg, and we can use them all, too, in good work at good pay, that they can do. Con- gress gave us $300,000 to work with, and if we had the earnings of the lines | themselves, we could expand almost | indefinitely. Asit is, $9,000,000 will be requested by the division for next year, and I think it will be appro- | priated. People realize what we are 1 doing.
 Operating at night is the most profitable, and we have but two ma chimes doing that, out of New York. The typical route is about 1S0 miles long, 90 miles out, and 90 miles back.
 ~Almost always the constant opera ton of the lines produces 8 return load, the universal character of the mail service allowing almost any thing 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.
 Need Concrete Roads, "Of course, we'll have to have con- 1 crete roads, but the business can pro- duce the money to ibuild them. There are some economies in distribution of produce that are simply amazing. Il has added an entirely new factor to transcontinental transportation, and we shall just begin finding it out when more extensive operation goes into effect during the next two years ''
 Just why MT. Blakeslee sees it that way can be understood from just one commodity price list. Milk retails now in Washington at 1T cents a quart Milk is coming in on mail trucks direct to consumers for 10 cents quart. Naturally the trucks are being weighed down with five gallon cans as consumers learn of the possibility. The trucks tap milk producing territory outside the usual hauling lines. and off the rail arter- ies.
 1 "Where'N the roads come from tG run 5000 trucks?" he asks. Well, there are 66,0O0 rural mail and star routes being operated in the United States now Sometimes I think ev- eryone of them would make truck line. Food is being handled 10 times on it's way to consumer. We can cut that to five.
 f'Watching these figures, since De- cember, when we started, has given me a new sort of inspiration. We shall be moving the malls and mails will include whole unexpected var iety of things-in new modes before the generation finishes. Airplanes for the thousand mile distances. trains for the soc miles, and trucks for thr 25O, That's about the schedule