The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-11-23
- D.
TRUCKS FOR NAIL SERVICE.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster Tells o,
Success in This Line.


Fourth Assistant Postmaster Tells oil
Success in This Line.
I Washington, Oct. 25.-Cross-coun-
try operation Of mail carrying motor
trucks, tried out by the postoff1ce de.
partment on an experimental but
nevertheless big scale, during the las.
year, has been a great success. James
I. Blakslee fourth assistant postnlas-
ter general has found that one truck
route between Philadelphia and Wash
! ington, cutting chiefly through terr!
tory without direct rail connection
and costing $500 a month to operate
has in eight months developed a reve-
| nue. of $4,000 monthly. Another
route. into Washington, where 28 par
cells a day were moved during the
first month, now shows one ton @!
traffic each way each "a hours.
| Seventy lines now operate over the
country, all but one east of the Mis-
sissippi, and there are visions OF sys-
tenn which will furnish s36O,000.00O
annually IN revenue for road con-
struction or other purposes.
- why, General Pershing has 9,00o
| trucks damaged or ruined over on the
other side," said Mr.. Blakeslee tell
! ing of the growth of the system. Il
don't care what condition they are
| in, we want them all, and can fix up
and put every one OF them to work
| What's even more important, he's
got some boys over there shy :.
hand, or an arm, or leg, and W.
can use them all too, in good work at
good pay, that they can do. Con
gress gave US 100000 to work with
and if we had the earnings OF the
lines themselves, we could expand al
r:.ost indefinitely. AS it is, 50 100, 600
uin be requested by the div ON fol
next year, and l think it will be ap
propriated. People realize what W
are doing.
Operating at night is the mos
profitable, and we have but two ma
chimes doing that, out Of New York
The. typical route is about $50 miles
long. 90 miles out, and 80 miles back
Almost always the: constant op
Grafton of the lines produces return
load, the universal character OF tn
mail service allowing almost :. any
thing to be taken The mail truck
&C, come rain. storm. or anything
and so the traffic develops Rates ar;
also pretty high, the, lowest ,blein'
about -s2oa ton: That is what make
the surplus revenues
s.Of course, we'll have to have con
crete roads, but the business can: pro
|duce the money to build them. Ther'
are some economies in distributor
produce that are simply amazing l
has added an entirely new factor u
transcontnental transportation. aahe
we shah just begin finding it out VINE!
more extensive operation goes into Ell
feet during the. next two years.
Just why Mr.. Biakesiesse sees
that way can be understood IRON
.iust one commodity price list. Mhl
retails now in Washington at ~ cents
q quart. Milk is coming IN on MAJ
trucks direct to consumers for 1escent
a Quart. Naturally the trucks are De
ing weighed down with i've saiiel
cans as consumers learn OF the pos
sibility. The trucks tap mliK-proouc-
iffe territory that 7iss outside the usua'
hauling, fines,--and off the rail arte!
les. 7,
wherell the roads come from t.
run 5000 trucks? de asks. Wen
there are $4,000 rural mail and sta
routes being operated in the Unitet
States now. Sometimes I think ev
eryone OF them would make q true,
line Food is beinghandled 10 time:
on its waysto consumer. We cal
cut that to five.
.sWatching these figures. since De.
cember when we. ste Led. has giveI
me a new: sort OF Inspiration. W.
shall be moving the mails and mail
will include whole unexpected va
riety Of things in new modes oefor
the generation finishes. Airplane:
for the. thousand mile distances. train
for the 500 mile, and trucks for tn,
25o. That's about the schedule.