The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-02
HAUL BY TRUCKS
Kansas Plan To Relieve Traffic
ON the Railroads.
Council of Defense Appoints
Committees To Handle 1t.

In order that immediate relief may
be given the transportation burdens of
t, railroads, Kansas has been called
ton to take active measures toward
the building up of motor truck and
freight service SThe war. of course. is
the immediate cause for this situation
which is not alone prevalent in the
eastern states, but exists in the entire
country as well. The requirements of
1000 mile haul, necessary to take
care of the army, coupled with the
greatly deprecated man power, limits
the work of the railroads mostly to
long hauls. The, uncertainty of de-
livery which is a direct result of the
lack of rolling stock, adds its further
complications
The state council of defense, in
I statement covering. the plan. says:
The council of national defense at
Washington has a highways transport
committee, and this situation has
/ caused them much anxiety. Within
! the past few weeks they have issued
very strong appeal to the several states
asking that strenuous efforts be made
| to establish the motor truck service.
| While the war has brought on this
! situation, should the war close within
a year the places in the nation where
! this method of transportation has been
| Established would never go back to the
| old method.
| In response to this appeal thru
committees appointed by the various
| state councils of defense, twenty-six
states have formed intensive organiza-
| lions One hundred truck routes are
already being operated daily from the
/, city of Washington alone.
| Committee in Kansas.
l. The Kansas council of defense, fol-
! lowing the plan of the national organ
| ization, has begun work by the ap-
| pointment of the following general
| committee which will have complete
| charge of the organization in this
| state:
| w. c. Markham. secretary. Kansas
| highway commission, chairman
. H S. Putney, Topeka, chairman dis
| trict No. 1. composed of the following
/ counties: Doniphan. Brown, Nerna ha,
Atchison, Jackson. Pottawatomie, JEFF
| ferson, LeaveaHorth, Wyandotte,
| Shawnee, Wabaunsee. Morris, Usage,
Douglas. Johnson. Miami, Franklin,
! Coffey, Lyon, and Chase
| WE. Allen. Chanute, chairman dis
J trict No. 2. composed of the follow
ing counties: Anderson, Linn, Bour-
bon. Affen, Woodson. Greenwood. Elk,
Wilson. Neosho. Crawford, Cherokee,
Labette, Montgomery and Chautauqua.
John W. House. Wichita. chairman
district No. 8, composed of the fol-
| lowing counties: Marion, Rice, Bar
| Pawnee, Hodgeman, Finney, Kearney,
Hamilton, Sedgwick, Kingman, Pratt,
| Edwards, Kiowa, Ford. Gray. Haskell,
| Grant, Stanton, Cowley, Sumner, Har-
| per, Barber, Comanche, Clark, Meade,
| Seward. Stevens and Morton.
Charles Lanar, Salina, chairman
| district No. 4, composed of the fol-
lowing counties: Riley, Geary, Dick
| enson, Ottawa, Russell. Ellis, Trego~
Cove, Logan, Wallace, Greeley, wich-
ita, Scott. Lane. Ness and Rush.
| William Lutt, Concordia, chairman
| district No. 5, composed of the follow
| ing counties: Marshall, Washington.
Clay. Republic, Cloud, Jewell. Mitchell.
| Smith, Osborne, Phillips, Rocks, Nor
| ton. Graham. Decatur. Sheridan, Raw
/ Inns, Thomas. Cheyenne and Sherman
| Deliver by Truck Now.
7 In Kansas the ituation has already
ecome such that wholesale houses
ave been compelled to deliver to
fearby towns by truck in order that
hey~may even in a half measure meet
he demands. The great disa diva utage
up to this time in this respect is the
fact that the trucks owrfed by the
wholesale houses have no return load.
! but this problem has already been
taken up in several communities
Behind it all is the necessity for per-
manent road construction and MAIN
tenance, for without them the regula-
ton of this meth ID of transportation
is in jeopardy.
"a Heretofore the farmer has done mis-
own hauling to market, but the adop-
ton of the rural motor truck express
viii enable him to delegate his haul
ing and devote his own time to farm
operations An enormous waste of
time and labor of both men and teams
can be prevented by consolidating the
small loads from a number of farms
INTO a single load to be carried by a
motor truck In many localities local
food supplies are in need of deveIoD-
ment and such would improve the