Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-27
The HQSkin Letter 81 's1 2ssza
MOTORS TO THE RESCUE.

turn ticket a certain amount OF gga
carried free-usually about the same
amount that could be carried on a rail-
way ticket. This baggage a 70 De
delivered at. the company's OFFICES an
hour before starting time. There 1t
was loaded on a truck and sent ahead
of the passenger bus, SO that when the
messengers arrived at their destlna-
tons they found their baggage await
ing them.
As the coal strike continued and the
railroads grew less and less efficient
the popularity of the buses grew: 1t
was greatly increased, moreover, by a
reduction in bus fares until they were
slightly below the first class fares on
the railroads. As a result, the bus
lines were swamped with more bust
ness than they could handle, while to-
ward the end of the strike scarcely
anyone was using the railroads except
in cases of absolute necessity when
they could not get a bus.
The disconcerting feature from the
railroads standpoint, is that this popu-
larity appears to be permanent. The
railroads, now back to their normal
service and schedules, have not recap
tured all of their old business. Wher-
ever possible, the people seemingly
prefer to use the ~char-a-banc,. which
is the French term the Engllsn have
given the motor bus.
This is especially true Of holiday
travellers and tourists, who find it
more enjoyable to journey along the
open road, past fresh. rustic scenery,
than over the prosaic, level grade
taken by the railroads. Seen from the
char-a-banc. every mile of open coun-
try has its point of interest-some
picturesque village, a quaint, old
fashioned garden, a weather-beaten
| church, the ancient ruins of some mys-
FERROUS castle, Or a stretch of fine
wooded park. For those who know
English history and literature, the
path is strewn with reminders of fs~
nous characters and events of real life
and fiction. For others there is the
gypsy lure. of the open road. which has
definitely captured the patronage of
| the proletariat. The British working
man regards the char-a-banc as an in
| vention for his own special diversion,
and buses crowded with toilers from
the big industrial centers are now
whizzing all over Great Britain.
The ability of the c~har-a-banc to go
anywhere that a private automobile can
20 is not without its drawbacks. of
! course. Places which have hitherto
| enjoyed a quiet, peaceful life have been
! thrown into a sudden turmoil OF ex-
element and industry. very bewilder-
ing and distasteful to their inhabitants.
Other places which relied upon their
inaccessibility TO attract fashionable.
we'll paying guests have had their chief
asset destroyed by the wandering
char-a-banc excursion parties. But
! the occasional walls of indignation
of these invaded districts are promptly
drowned out by the loud-voiced ap-
provaI of the majority.
The opposition of the railroads has
proved ~unavailing, 1t has become
rather intense of late since the motor
bus companies have become important
! competitors not only for the passenger
business but for freight. This is also
a development of the strike, during
which British business men discovered
that they could often ship their goods
more economically as well as more ex-
peditiously by motor lorry. When the
strike was over they continued TO heed
this lesson. SO a large number of
/ british firms are using motor transpor-
tation almost entirely. Some of them
own and operate their own l%orries.
while others contract with the new
commercial trucking companies to do
their work for them.
1t is obvious that there are many
obstacles in the way of extensive mo-
tor transportation in this country that
are not encountered in Great Britain.
The distances here are much greater;
a much larger number Of people own
their own cars. and the railroads are
in better standing with the public than
those of the British Isles. Yet even
here the motor truck. as a freight car
rier, has greatly increased its scope in
the past few years.