The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-04-28

pOrtation. It is necessary to state this obvious fact for the simple req son that the obvious is usually the, last thing we see. The other half of the problem is vehicles, plus their motive power.
 Good transportation has resolved itself into two things; good roads and motor trucks. A favorable sign of the times is the growing recognition on the part of good roads advocates that good roads exist for the use of better transportation media-the mo- tor truck and the automobile.
 The motor truck is not only re- placing the horse transportation; but in many cases it is supplanting rail roads. The motor truck is the soIu- 'tion of the modern transportation problem.
 In addition to- the unlimited use of motor trucks for delivery purpOs- es. they are substituting for railroads where the railroads themselves are using them to replace spurs, which are a source of expense and difficult ty, Also in inter-city shipments large truck companies operate transporta- ton service for merchandise sup DIies. etc.
 An idea of the extent of this form of transportation which is calling for sBtter roads and the best motor Ag9ucIs Is given by the example of Callau Brothers of New York. who operate a motor truck transportation system within a radius of 400 miles of New York city. They have fleet of over forty 2 1-2 ton trucks.
 These motor truck transport sys- tenn are the outcome of the inability of the railroads 10 handle the great quantities of freight which have con Kested railway traffic in all parts of the country. This condition is re- sponsibIe for the discovery of the real value of the motor truck as a transportation medium. Motor trucks were used in connecting the broken lines of railroad shipping and are replacing the use of local freight trains on short nauls" to a consider able extent, thereby releasing freight cars for the more essential shipments on longer hauls.
 Shipping freight by motor trucks means less handling less damage and safe delivery It eliminates at least five handliuEs of goods as ship ped by railroad: first, from factory or warehouse to freight station; SAC ond. loading from freight station or truck to cars; third, unloading at destination from cars to trucks or
 
 from trucks to stores, factories or warehouses; and fifth, handling in case the goods are removed from the car to freight station and held until the consignec sends a motor truck to remove them.
 Distances considered practical for motor truck transportation are held by various authorities to average from 100 10 800 miles In special
 
 made. An exceptional dem onstration of long distance hauling is the fleet of motor trucks which the Goodyear Tire &- Rubber company operate be- tween Akron, Ohio. and Boston for 1he. shipment of fabrics and rubber supplies. These machines make the round trip of approximately 1880 miles in from six to nine days, de- pending on the weather and road conditions. They are driven between terminals with no stops other than for meals and supplies. Each truck is manned with two drivers, one of whom drives while the other sleeps.
 The establishing of long distance motor truck service during the emer- gency of the war is undoubtedly the Iorerunner O. a Continuation of such service on an even larger scale in the era of peace. The service is demonstrating to manufacturers and Anerchants that motor truck tra1spor- tation is the only way to escape de lays caused by slow moving local railroad freight trains and the loss of time that had frequently been ex- perienced even before the railroad freight congestion became so acute.
 Department stores In New York City and Philadelphia are extensive ly patronizing long distance motor truck freight service. This method of transportation insures prompt re- ceipt of goods.
 The products carried by motor trucks have hardly any limitations. Recently several tons of finished leather. valued at s40,OOO. were ship ped by motor truck from Phfadel- phia to New York over night Rail road service at the same time would have required from four to seven days. Machinery Tnanufac cturers and cotton and wooden mills in New Eng land cannot well afford to await the arrival of slow incoming freights, so they have their raw materials deliv- cred to them by motor trucks in ex- press time. Heavy machinery is de- 1ivered direct from shops and foun- dries in Connecticut to factories in New York city Wholesale grocers deliver in Washington from ware houses in Baltimore. Tons of high explosives that railroads refuse to carry are delivered by motor trucks with but one handling after they leave the chemical works. And so on "ad infinitum."
 Farmers, too, are turning to motor truck transportation Thousands of them are now served by motor truck express lines without which they would hardly be able to ship milk or farm produce. This service has enabled them to materially increase their production, with a certainty of reaching the market. In Maryland there are twenty such lines carrying supplies into Baltimore and Washing ton. They have a daily capacity of 115, 5,69O ton-Iniles and haul more than 500 tons q day into these markets and take back an equal amount of merchandise to farmers and country merchants. The United States Food Administration states that one man with a truck can haul as much farm Troduce as three men with wagons