Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-01-13
HELPS To LOWER
COST Of FOODS
OPERATION OF TRIAL MOTOR
TRUCK ROUTES BY GOVERN.
MENT is SUCCESSFUL.
REPORT ON THE EXPERIMENT
Post Office Authorities in Charge Be-
ieve the Service of Especial Bene-
fit in Bringing About the Reduction
of Prices.
BY JAMES p. HoRNAoAY.

BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.
Washington.-The governments ex-
periments IN the operation of motor
vehicle truck routes, which have been
carried on for the last eighteen
months, have convinced the postoffice
authorities in charge of the expert
ments that this new branch of the
postal service is here to stay. 1t will
be for congress to say whether the
service shall be extended during the
| next fiscal year. The postmaster gen
eral has recommended that congress
make provision for the establishment
| OF large number of new routes. In
authorizing experimental routes con-
| gresS directed the post office depart
ment to take careful note of the oper-
atoms of all routes established so that
it might be prepared to advise the leg
islative body as TO whether the serv-
| ice was worth while. 1t gave the post
master general authority to spend
| 100000 within the year.
The departments report dealing
with the experiments covers the three
months from July l to September sc
this year. During those three months
the department operated motor-vehicle
| trucks that covered a total of 63,740
miles and carried a total of 707, 756
pounds. equivalent to 1853 tons of mail
matter or approximately III tons per
month, more than one and half tons
per day per route; and the trucks
designated for country motor express
routes covered a total distance OF
24S.883 miles and carried a total OF
! 1929 pounds, equivalent to 90 tons
of mail matter, or one and One-fOurth
tons per day per route.
Summary of the Findings.
The department in its report ad
vises congress that under the opera
| ton of the two classes of routes the adj
vantage of the service is not confined
altogether to the postal revenues, but
is of especial benefit to the postal pa
| irons, in that fOOdstuffS transported
| over the routes are delivered to the
! postal patrons at a cost considerably
below the prevailing minimum market
| prices. Summarized, the verdict OF
| the post Office department with re-
spect to the new service is as follows
First-That the increased use of the
| postal facilities, already provided, as
well as the further extension of this
! character of service is desirable, par
| ticularly in reaching territory within
| 200 miles of large markets, where in.
| adequate or no facilities of convey
ance by rail or water exist, if there
is to be an actual relief afforded the
public from the prevailing high cost OF
living, or still higher prices even
than those which now are considered
exorbitant prevented.
Secondhand it is fundamental that
without food we cannot live and that
high-priced food results in high prices
for labor engaged in the production OF
food itself and commodities and mer'
| chandise essential to the production
| of food.
Third-That the cycle of high prices
is complete and follows natural eco
nomic law.
| FOurth-That when the farmer-pro
Queer pays high prices for labor fol
! fertilizer, and for farm machinery, the
| cost of foodstuffs increases in proper
| ton and the workman in the factory
the steel mill, and the railroad, or in
a mercantile establishment, when com
| PEELED to pay higher prices for food
naturally is entitled to increased com
| pensation to meet the same. This, in
| turn, increases the cost of the arti.
cles necessary to production on the
| farm and thus the cost of living
mounts higher and higher.
conserves Labor and Man Power.
Fifth-That through the maximum
use of the facilities of conveyance
provided by the postal service, the
| food producer would not have to sus-
pend production to engage in convey.
ance, and thus labor or man power
would be conserved for food prOduc-
| ton. Where numerous employees OF
| food producers are now engaged In
the transportation and distribution OF
| foodstuffs in small quantities, one en-
| pIoyee of the postal service with ade-
uuate equipment could provide the
conveyance now supplied by them
and thus labor or man power could be
conserved for food production.
Sixth-That inasmuch as the pres
| ent organization of the postal service
has been extended to the door of prac-
| tically all food producers, and is avail
| able as an instrumentality of distribu-
| ton to- the door of all consumers, il
is evident that the conveyance of food
| in the postal service could be made q
vital factor in the Introduction OF
| efficiency in the movement of food
| from producer to consumer, and, to
that end, the department recommends
| that this service be given every pos.
| sible moral and financial encourage
ment and that every endeavor be
| made TO increase the use of and en-
large the equipment now available III
the postal service for transportation
| and distribution of fOodstuffs.
Red Cross Work Abroad.
While the work of the American