San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-30
CITIES WITH WELL
REGULATED TRAFFIC
ATTRACT CAPITAL
Effect on Industry and
Commerce Often
Overlooked.

American business interests, in neg
lecting e work Of improving city
traffic, are overlooking almost COM
pletely its effect on industry and
commerce, according to statement
made to the important industrial lead
ers of Ohio by Fred H. Galley, execu-
tive secretary of the National Motor
lists Association.
Business has been laboring tire
lessly to improve railroad, steamship
and other forms of major transporta-
tion," declared Mr.. Galley. but it con-
tinues to overlook city traffic, which
is closely relsted to the three basic ele-
ments of prosperity-capital, raw ma
terial and labor.
What would happen" asks the n.
N. A. official, "if all the streets Of
a city of gigantic industries should be
suddenly and completely blocked so
that nothing could move? Of what use
are the railways if trucks and wagons
cannot move or if workmen cannot get
to their jobs?
"Such a condition is. Of course, i'm
probable, but it serves 10 illustrate the
point that a great economic loss is
being suffered due to SLOW moving and
cumbersome traffic, and that the loss
will continue to be in direct proper
ton to the lack of speed and conven-
fence as countenanced by American
business.
Capital, the first Of the three basic
elements Of prosperity, is automatic
ally attracted to those cities where
wide, well-paved streets, effective traf
fic regulations and logical safety mea-
sures are the rule. Capital flows read
lily to the community of orderly and
efficient progressiveness because con-
ditions are more favorable to a profit
able return.
Raw materials. the second element,
ID more directly affected. The motor
truck has come to play a vital part
in the transportation Of basic prod
ucts of the mines, farms, forests and
Quarries, and to such an extent that
its influence as a result of inefficient
city management of traffic has already
acted as a stumbling block to industry
and business.
Labor, the third element Of pros
perity, requires ready access to its
place Of work. When a city bids for
q new plant one of the first questions
asked is, What Of transportation
Whether worwmen walk, ride street
cars or drive their automobiles will
there be. costly traffic jams with con-
sequent loss of time, high rate of labor
turnover and disruption of organiza
tionT
Mr.. Galley concludes that business
has an important duty to perform
with respect to improvement in city
traffic. The public, which he likens
to the management Of the community,
should eliminate the causes of traffic
danger, congestion and blockade, just
as the plant manager would seek to
eliminate any factory conditions which
would affect the free movement of the
product from one process TO another.
The Citizens Traffic Committee of
Cleveland, composed of members Of
the Cleveland Automobile Club, a
prominent n. NJ. A. affiliation, and
other local civic organizations, has al
ready been appointed for the purpose
II studying the kind, volume, time,
direction, duration and physical re-
quirements of traffic, this accurate
study to be co-incident with the COM
mittee's recommendation for strict en-
forcement of the traffic code. With
the data in hand the committee should
be in q position to make specific and
concrete proposals for the necessary
changes