Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-07-24


hack from making contracts fer fear that
they win not be able to fulhl them, and
also because they are afraid prices may
80 up further before the job can be fin
ished.
ROADS NEEDED
MOST URGENTLY.
In the face OF this setback to plans
for great postwar achievements, is the
fact that we need the roads urgently.
In the past three or four years trucks
have helped out remarkably IN trans
portation difficulties.
only the lack al suitable highways
has held them back from taking over
nearly all the short haul freight hither-
to carried by railroads.
motor truck stops at certain
printers IN Baltimore every week and
gets the copies Of a magazine published
here Ia Washington.
Tho truck delivers the goods from the
printing plant 10 the editors door for q
fraction Of what tho railroad would
have 10 charge.
BY rail the shipment would have 70
be sent to the freight yard by truck.
loaded on the train. unloaded at the
Washington yards. loaded on a truck
again and sent to the editor. all Of
which requires the use Of expensive labor.
TIE efficiency Of the truck for hsuls
Of less than 100 miles seems 20 be pretty
well established.
Furthermore. the truck seems 70 be
able 10 carry almost anything that a
freight car does,
Thus trucks have been Quilted TO
carry live stock and produce OF various
kinds.
Where lines Of these trucks operate
out from a city. farmers within their
radius are made independent OF the
railroad. and land farther from the sta
ton IS cultivated.
The farmer does not have the trouble
and expense Of hauling his produce TO
the cars. and his produce reaches the
consumer more quickly by truck. which
IS a big factor IN handling perishable
food
Hoover. you may remember, found that
not less than 20 per cent Of the farm
produce Of tho country rots on the
ground for lack Of transportation.
The truck can not entirely DO away
with this waste. but when trucks can be
used all over the country the loss Will
be minImized.
TIE country needs motor transporto-
ton now just as It needed railroad trans
portat!on when Il was drst developed.
The railroad used heavier rails SIS the
bigger ears and engines became possible
but now, when the seven and one-h half
ton truck is produced we have almost
no suitable roads to run It over.
TRUCK LIKE
DINOSAURS
The big truck is now Ike one Of the
old dinosaurs IL rushes about, not
quite Gttod 10 It's surroundings. and un-
able 20 continue existence long unless
some adaptation It's made.
Tho difference between the old moa-
stor and the modern motor truck IS
hat the dinosaur had 20 adapt himself
10 his environment, whereas tho trucks
environment will have to change.
And as man IS engineering the trucks
struggle for existence. tho necessary
changes IN roadways win of eouorss
como eventually.
Right now, however. only one mile
or Of zoo OF our rural reads Is built
10 carry heavy traffic. and the steady
Increase OF heavy vehicles hare been
seriously destructive 70 our light roads
We started out In this country by
building corduroy roads Of logs and dirt
for horseback riders. and when we out
grew those VIC used macadam, which was
perfectly satisfactory until automobiles
came along and took all the dust out OF
the macadam leaving the sharp stones
bare.
Now. over half the roads planned are
concrete and a good many others are
10 he asphalt and brick, all strong
enough, IL properly designed and kept
IN repair. to hold up any kind OF pres.
ent day traffic.
The bureau Of public roads has for
some time been making tests to show
how various types Of road withstand
heavy impact
Slabs of different kinds or road were
built at the Arlington experiment sta
ton and by use of special apparatus the
resistance Of each slab is accurately fig
ured
The bureau also wrote to highway en-
gineers all over the country asking for
samples of road surface and subsoil from