Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-05-14
TRrCKs AND rnE HIGHWAYS.

TRUCKS AND THE HIGHWAYS.
Next week is TO be observed in some
sections of the state as "ship-by-Truck
Week" 1t is q scheme that the auto
mobile manufacturers hove got ND to
get people more enthusiastic about
improving the highways SC that they
will be made more passable for the
auto trucks.
We understand that there Is to be o
parade OF commercial trucks through
out this part Of the state. passing
from town to town, in an effort to stir
up enthusiasm.
Somehow or other we just can't
warm up to the idea. The trucks have
become so numerous now on the
public highways that they come pretty
near monopolizing the road. There
is no doubt that one truck does more
damage to the pavement than ten
ordinary automobiles. The deplorable
CONDITION of many of our main arteries
Of traffic today Is duo largely to the
constant wear of the trucks during
the winter with their heavy chains
running in the same ruts day after day
literally tearing The paving surface
from the foundation. Now the tax
payers are called upon to spend hun
ldreds of thousands Of dollars to re-
pair the damage. Incidentally. the
wear and tear on the roads by forty
of fifty trucks I'm a line, which are
supposed to parade next week, can
not help but make the roads even
worse than they are at present.
Hundreds of these auto trucks that
are crossing and recrossing the state
every day are owned and operated by
non-residents. They are registered In
New York or Pennsylvania. At best
they pay but a triAing license fee an
nually toward the maintenance of the
highways which they do so much to
wear out.
Hauling freight by auto is becoming
moro and more popular. 1t Is bound
to increase. 1t Is limited today only
by the number of trucks available.
Those II own trucks are reaping a
fine harvest charging forty and fifty
dollars a day for the use of their ma
chines-made possible through the
generosity of the taxpayers in build
ing fine roads for the trucks to run
on. Naturally. truck owners are ex-
.tremely anxious to keep the people en-
.thusiastic along this line so that the
people will keep on building these fine
roads for the trucks to run on, the
truck owners c%apitalizing this enter
prise on tho part of the people for
their own personal benefit.
We realize that auto trucking can
not be stopped. Neither would we stop
it IL we could. 1t is a very convenient
form of handling freight especially for
short hauls Of. say. an miles
or so. But these trucks corporations
that are making so much money out
of the improved highways system can
not xpect the taxpayers to continue
to bear the entire expense OF the up
keep of these highways. as they prac-
tically are doing now.
The people would show a great deal
moro enthusiasm II q movement were
on foot to build separate freight high
WAYS across the state to be used ex-
clusiyely by the auto trucks and to be
built and maintained entirely at the
expense of the truck owners who de-
rive the benefit and who make the
profit from their construction.
"Ship-by-Truck Week" with the
idea of interesting the people In some
such proposition as a separate freight
highway would be well worth while. |
we cannot see the present propo-
sition of arousing the people to fur
Their expenditure in improving roads
in order that these improved high
ways built at public expense may be
capitalized by the great trucking cor
of New York and Philadel-
phia in their cross-state traffic. h
burden il already more than the tax
payers can stand. |