Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-01-25

ness enterprise thus situated, tnaL It's
duty to it's stockholders demands that
| its business be run at profit. and
| that where permission from the
proper authorities can be obtained.
| IL proposes to drop branch line opera
| ton which is annually piling up heavy
red ink charges against the rest OF
| the system.
"Of the motor truck itself Il may
| be said that its production during the
past year has kept up in ratio with
general business conditions. rejecting
! during the Fall months the optimism
prevalent in business circles The
great bulk OF motor trucks is abb
sorbed by private industry. rather
than in the strictly haulage field.
| whether by common carrier COM
| panies or by those doing business on
| contract basis.
las in the motor bus field the most
! important development Of the year
has been the great expansion in the
use OF busses by street railway COM
panies, so In the motor truck field the
! most notable feature has been the
| changing attitude OF the steam rail-
| roads toward the motor truck, which
has been accompanied by a good deal
of experimentation by the steam
| carriers.
RaitrOaus Using Trucks.
statistics compiled by the Ma
| tional Automobile Chamber Of Com
merce indicate that in the Fall of
1924, 80 railroads In the United States
and Canada We're using motor trucks
as part of their service, and that 81
railroads are contemplating or care
fully investigating the use OF trucks,
| with the expectation of adding such
! equipment for the first time, or of
adding to present equipment.
Meantime it is extremely signifi-
cant that the Pennsylvania and New
York Central railroads, which began
/ to use motor trucks to replace lei
short haul freight trains in 1929,
| nave during 1924 added considerably
| to such equipment. The PennsyI-
vanta now operate about 80 motor
| truck units, almost all of them in
/ volving the use of at least two motor
! trucks. while the New York Central
/ also uses about the same number OF
| trucks. In the cases OF both these
roads, all truck service Is provided
| upon contract basis, the railroad
| legally neither owning nor operating
| motor trucks.
Two outstanding events during
| the past year have contributed to the
| theory that the motor truck and the
! steam railroad are corollary and
mutually beneficial, rather than COM
I petlng agencies. The first was the
transportation conference at Wash
| ington early in January, called by
| Secretary Hoover OF the Department
OF Commerce with the co-opera ton
OF the United States Chamber of
Commerce. At this conference a
| special committee containing motor
truck leaders and railroad officials
| reported the results of their studies
| upon The Relation OF Highway
transport TO Other Transportation
Facilities and this report was
adopted by the conference. Among
its important conclusions were the
following:
Cooperation Best Policy.
The best interests of the public
| and the rail, water and motor car
I rters lie in cooperation between the
various agencies of transportation
rather than in wasteful competition
! The greatest opportunity for CO.
| operation is at the points where the
capacity OF the railroads Is most
| limited and expansion Is most dif-
dcult and costly; that is, in the ter
mtnal areas of our great cities.
'Store-door delivery by motor
truck, which would relieve conges-
ton in these terminal areas and
greatly increase the capacity of the
| freight stations, is undoubtedly the
| greatest contribution which can be
made to the solution of the terminal
| problem.
Organized motor transport can
| also relieve the railroads of vari.
Gus forms of uneconomical service
! such as trap-car service. switching
| between local stations and short
| haul shipments within the terminal
| area. This will reduce yard con-
| gestion and release many cars for
moro profitable line haul.
| Should BE Supplemental.
| Outside OF tho terminal areas
/ there are distance zones, varying
/ in different localities and for dif.
ferent commodities. in which one
! type of carrier, the motor for shor,
| haul and the railway Cor waterway
| for long haul. is clearly more
| economical than the other, and in.
| termedtate zones in which com.
| petition is inevitable. The motor
| vehicle also has a wide field where
| there ts no other agency available
Motor trucks and busses should be
used to supplement the facilities OF
existing common carrier.
| Passenger bus transport should
!
| best service to the public, certificates
of public convenience and necessity
| as already required in many states
/ being useful means Of insur.
ing reliable and continuous sery.
! ice. Rail lines can often ad.
vantageously extend or supplement,
! their service by bus lines, and fr
| States where this is now prohibited
such restrictions should be abolished
| Regulation of traffic and of size
! weight and speed of motor vehicle.
| by States and municipalities havine
| control should be made more uni
form within States as between
| States. Regulation OF the common
| carrier operations Of motor vehicles
| including rate regulation, should bt
| handled by the Federal or Stat,
authorities, under the commission.
which now control the operations O
rail and water carriers
Forming New England Council.
| TN an attempt to bring home to 6
community where competition I.
troublesome the lessons learned at tn,
| Washington conference, the Nationa
| Automobile Chamber OF Commerc.
! sponsored q New England Motto,
| Transport Conference which wa
| held at Boston on December 8 ant
/ 9. Some four hundred railroad men
trolley officials, motor truck an,
motor bus users and representative
of the public present agreed in forma
resolutions that permanent New
Elm gland Transportation Counc
should be set up, and passed a mum
Der Of resolutions, including the fol
| lowing:
"'The motor truck interests in tn