Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-03-22
PRODUCTION OF AUTO
TRUCKS ON INCREASE
IContinucd from First Page.l
and factories engaged indirectly
war work.

and factories engaged indirectly in
war work.
Back to Peace Basis
This situation is reflected in the
instant expansion of plans for pro-
duction when the restrictions of the
War Industries Board were removed
about December 1st. Schedules for
1919 contemplate an aggregate out
put substantially in excess of last
year. Contributing to this great in
crease are facilities for production
of at least $1,000 year which
have been or soon will be released
from military truck work.
Several months will be required
for the industry to get into full pro-
duction on the new schedule, al
though it is in better position to
resume peace-time work than the
passenger car industry, because
truck manufacturers generally did
not take on war contracts for work
that was distinctly foreign to their
regular operations. Their contracts
were for trucks, and, in many cases,
for their regular models. The time
that will be occupied in getting into
full production will give the busi-
ness world opportunity to readjust
itself to the altered conditions, and
to also get into full activity, Great
the larger output of trucks.
Good Business Ahead
d, Passage by Congress of bill pro-
viding for the prompt adjustment
and payment of informal war con-
tracts will put large volumes of
money into active circulation, and
the decision of the War Depart
ment not to throw on the market
the military trucks bought in this
country will convince prospective
purchasers that any hope of securing
bargains by waiting to pick up such
trucks in vain. Commodity prices
and wages should also become sta
bilized and put an end to any un-
certainty regarding tendency of
truck prices.
Leading business men of America
are unanimous in predicting a long
period of industrial and commercial
activity and prosperity, with tre-
mendous foreign trade expansion.
They point to the depletion of stocks
of raw materials and manufactured
goods throughout the world that
must be made good, the necessity
that were suspended during the war,
the reconstruction necessary in Eu-
rope, the need for continued agri-
cultural production on an extended
scale, the plans for n large Ameri-
can mercantile marine and navy, the
importance of the rehabilitation of
the railroads, and so forth.
All such activities call for more
and better transportation facilities,
which means more highway i'm
provement and greater use of mo-
tor trucks. AS a result of the war,
the country has learned many les
sons in efficiency and economy and
appreciates better the capabilities
and dependability of the motor
truck.
The country is undergoing an i'm
portant evolution in the matter of
transportation. 1t is coming to real
ize that the highways are as essen
tial to national development and
prosperity as the railroads, that are
interdependent systems, and that
the national bill for haulage over
the highways, under present con-
ditions, is much larger than the
country's freight bill. Rural motor
epress lines are already bringing
about changes in the farmers life
and methods of marketing his crops,
and the post Office Department is
bringing the producer and consumer
into close touch through the agency
of motorized rural parcel post serv-
ice. Great extension of these routes
is planned the Department having
requisitioned 1910 army trucks
from the War Department for the
purpose.