Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-08-30
RURAL MERCHANT
IN TRUCK GAME
Storekeepers Add "Ship-by-
Truck" Departments to
Their Service

Is the rudal merchant, using his
own motor trucks, in the best posi-
ton to make rural motor express
a big thing in American life?
Transportation experts in the
Chamber of Commerce at Indianap-
oils are inclined to answer aff1rma-
lively.
THAT the rural merchant is in a
position to give the first big impetus
to the rural motor express and the
great things ii will accomplish is in
dicated by the experience of GEN
try Brothers, general merchandise,
of Monrovia, Ind.," writes Joe Kelly
in the current issuejof the trade jour-
nal published by the Chamber of
Commerce of the Indiana capital
city.
They have a fleet of four trucks
which are kept busy hauling mostly
to and from Indianapolis. The trucks
make money for Gentry Brothers.
They serve to enlarge the business
service of Gentry Brothers and to
take nancy of the hauling burdens
off the community.
Leaving Menrovia every morning
the men in charge of the trucks get
all the orders for goods in Indianap-
oils the other merchants have and
on arriving in Indianapolis one man
goes to the various wholesale houses,
places these orders to be filled, and
then later in the day, after the loads
for Indianapolis have been delivered.
goes to each of these places. loads
the merchandise and starts the drive
home.
"Of course it is important to GEN
try Brothers that their own freight
from Indianapolis be handled prop
erly. Around their own tranSporta-
ton demands all these other ele-
ments of service are built.
THE Gentry Brothers store serves
as sort of clearing house for de-
liveries. If there is a full load the
the Gentry Brothers truck goes to
the farm after it or to deliver it,
If it is but a small part of a load
it is generally brought to the Cen
try Brothers store by the farmer to
be hauled to indianapolis. Or if the
order is for part for the farm
tractor or for other farm implements
Gentry Brothers haul it to their
own store and the farmer drives in
and gets it,"
Several other instances of rural
motor express carried on by mer-
chants in Indiana towns are then
cited by the writer.
Jap" Jones, at Waverly,S he
says, has a motor truck, which is
a big investment for him, hauling
merchandise and provisions to and
from Indianapolis.
'At Louisville, Ind, Lewis Broth
ers, merchants, utilize the motor
truck to carry the products of their
community to Indianapolis and take
back supplies from the Indianapolis
wholesalers. The same thing is done
in Eminence, where Eliot Brothers
and V. A. Reitzell, both merchants
wit hplenty of initiative, find not
only that this motor truck hauling
is PORTABLE, but that it enlarges the
influence of their stores"
In calling attention to this phase
of the ship-by-truck movement, the
Firestone Ship-by-T Truck Bureau at
Akron, o., writes as follows to ].
H. Dutch, manager of the Harris
burg branch of the bureau, at 212
North Second street:
I'VE believe the Indianapolis
Chamber of of Commerce has offer
ed a valuable suggestion to rural
merchants and one we'll worthy of
consideration by your branch. BY
presenting the possibilities suggest
ed in the rural communities of your
territory you should be performing a
real service not only to country
storekeepers but also to the COM
munities at large
THE rural storekeeper is a bus
mess man. He will not give the
ship -by-truck movement a black eye
by taking unwarranted chances. He
will figure costs closely and pro-
ceed cautiously. Starting with
single truck he will develop a feet
as the need makes itself evident.
The people of the community know
him and will not hesitate to trust
their goods in his hands. At first
his own business will engage most
of his truck capacity. With this
business as the backbone of the
new undertaking, he can develop the
motor truck express business as one
of the departments of his store, with
profit to himself and to his COM
munity."