The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-08-02
SIESTATES TOUR
EXPECTED TO SHOW
TRANSPORT NEEDS

An event unique in the history Of au-
tomotive Industry will be the national
motor truck development tour, which
will be run under the auspices OF the
National Association Of Motor Truck
Sales Managers.
This tour will leave Chicago Aug. 4
ana VIII visit six states before IL fin
ishes, Oct. I, at milwaukee,. In the
course OF visiting the six states 1t viii
cover S,O0O miles through the rich
farming section Of the middle north
west.
This our win be participated in by
20 truck factories, each factory being
limited to one entry. There are other
interesting conditions about the en-
from one TO two and a half tons. And
furthermore, each truck must be
equipped with pneumatic tires.
But the thing that distinguishes II
perhaps more than the items above
mentioned Is that the tour IL run solely
with the idea In view OF selling to the
farmer the idea OF m~otorization Of his
acreage, The entrants will not carry
any specific advertising matter extoll-
ing the virtue Of this or that particular
truck. They will carry no literature
other than that which gets the o. X.
Of the National Association OF Truck
Sales Managers. And the literature
that gets this o. X. VIII be literature
h a Is for the good Of the entire motor
truck and farm industry. The tour viii
distribute several hundred thousand
pamphlets in which the motorization Of
the farm will be discussed from every
angle.
The tour will carry a United States
naval band along throughout the en-
tire tou In addition to furnishing
music the navy lads viii do recruit
ing.
Not only will the tour participants
mss out general literature discussing
the advantages of the truck over the
IlOrse-ufawn vehicle, but the individual
trucks Will give actual demonstrations
to prove the economy In both money
and time of the gasoline driven We
hicle. All types of bodies will be car
ried and demonstrations will be ar
ranged en- route to carry loose hay for
the farmers, pick up a load of live
stock, wheat, oats or anything else
they may wish to transpol to the ele-
vator or the city. Actual accounts will
be kept of the mileage covered, the
gasoline consumption, the oil used, the
character of the roads, etc, and this
VIII he compiled, given the farmers and
also kept for accurate data on truck
er realizes the necessity for the farmer
speeding up production, even with the
shortage of farm help.
A truck will carry a third more grain
than a horse-draWn vehicle, II will
make three round trips of IL miles each
day while the two-horse vehicle is cow
ertng the same ground once. 1t will
displace the horse as surely as the
kOrse did the ox. Further, the truck
works as we'll at the end of 10 hours
as II did at the beginning, 1t does not
sicken In the stable and die In a night;
1t Is not so affected by MONDAY heat
that 1t must rest during the heated
period. Farm land is at a premium In
America and yet the horses on the
farms consume the product Of 1876, 000,-
900 acres yearly. That represents, In
wheat, perhaps 2.000, 900 bushels as a
| conservative estimate, II is well
known that T. taxes the product of
| five acres to support one horse. The
| average farm has not less than eight
| horses. This means 40 u~nproductive
acres. These facts nave all been
recognized. The farmers last year
brought thousands Of motor trucks.
| This year they will buy thousands
more. And this tour will spread the
propaganda OF motori1ation OF the farm.
The United States government puts Its
stamp Of approval on this tour by fur
nishing the naval band.
The route briefly is: Chicago. Elgin,
Rockford, ILL.,; Dubuque. Cedar Rapids,
Des Moinee, Mason City, Sioux City,
la. Sioux Falls, Huron, Redfield, Aber-
deem, s. D.; jamestown. Bismarck, MI
not, Devils Lake, Fargo, N. D.. Sisse-
ton, Brookings, s.. D.; Tyler, Lamber-
ton, Sleepy Eye. Mankato. Minneapolis,
st. Paul, Winona, Mimi; Lacrosse,
Baraboo, GAINESVILLE, Waukesha, NIL
waukee. Wis. There are F.. 70 cities on
the route.