Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-03-22

tary establishment in this country, at
camps, cantonments, forts and so on.
Remarkable Growth
What the motor truck industry
undertook and actually accomplish
ed for the army will be better under
stood and appreciated when it is re-
called that the whole production of
commercial motor vehicles in 1914
the last ante-bellum year-was re-
ported by the Bureau of the Census
as only 25,S75, valued at 45,09S. .464, =
or less than half the production of
war trucks alone during the year
Just Closed-56. 40.
But trucks for the army and navy
were not the only contribution of
the industry to war activities. In
addition to the military trucks there
We're produced last year, 162.646
commercial VEHICLES, ydog . essential
CIVILIAN use, the majority required
by plants engaged on war orders; by
farmers, commission merchants,
wholesale grocers and others for
hauling farm produce and manu-
factured foods; by textile mills and
clothing factories; by contractors
and innumerable other industrial
and commercial enterprises neces-
sary to successful conduct of the
"H' VI "SiIiIo Ol lHe people,
Thus, in four years the industry
increased it's output eight fold TO
meet the demands OF war time ac-
tlvltles of the nation. 1t is impos-
sible to place any estimate on the
value OF this contribution to the
winning of the war. From every
quarter came demands to speed up
production of foodstuffs, munitions.
clothing and the thousand and one
necessaries of military and naval
operations and civilian support, heal
and comfort At the same time the
man power of the country was great
~ depleted through the draft, sus-
! pension of immigration and the OK
odus of many thousand naturalized
citizens and aliens to fight for the
countries of their birth. To a con-
siderable extent the employment of
motor truck compensated for this
loss OF man power and relieved ths
( railroads of the congestion of freight
along their lines and at terminals
which became highly critical last
winter.
The motor truck also enableo
manufacturers and merchants 10
| make shipments often to distances
or 100 miles or more at times when
empargoes had been declared
LiSiShS anu express ShlD-
ments by rail or when there was
no certainty how long such ship
ments would be en- route Not in
frequently hurry shipment by
motor truck obviated the necessity
of a temporary suspension of some
department of a big factory.
Back to Business
All restrictions on new construc-
ton were removed by the War
Board by the end of the year and
the industry is now free to proceed
without any governmental control
A careful canvass of the plans for
1919 show a scheduled output of
about $4,000 commercial motor
vehicles. Some companies are still
working to complete army contracts
but the ending of the war releases
a production capacity of about 75,-
600 trucks a year that was devoted
last year to manufacture of mill
tary trucks.
With the war over, the industry
is now turning it's back on thoughts
of its war efforts and devoting all
its stimulated activity to getting
back on peace basis, with every
prospect of being among the first
of the big industries of the country
to recover.