Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-30

~ EACHING a total in excess of
- $4,000 units, truck produc-
ton for 1926 eclipsed all pre-
Il Eious records. 1t exceeded
the half-million mark for the
first time and was 33, 900 units above
the highest previous record, that of
1925, when 497, ASP trucks and busses
were turned out In 1928 production
reached 392,760 units, and in 1924 it
was 374.317.
These facts and figures are pre-
scented by Windsor T. White, chair
man of the motor truck committee
of the National Automobile Chamber
Of Commerce.
THE economics of truck and bus
transportation have become so we'll
Understood during the past year that
there has been a notable increase In
the number of vehicles used by every
branch of industry" says Mr.. White.
Particularly notable has this been
in the case Of the older transportation
agencies More than 60 steam rail
roads now are using motor trucks di-
rectly or indirectly to supplement
their freight service, and over 40 rail
roads are using hundreds of motor
busses to supplement their passen-
ger service. Some $50 =,lv~- --1t~aVs
now are operating approxima~e.s
1000 motor busses in replacement of
or in addition to their street car
service.
Many Rural Owners.
'I5y far the largest single type of
truck use is 10y owners having rural
free delivery mail addresses. In an
exhaustive survey made during the
year, accounting for 2,225,00 trucks
219,5S9 We're found in the hands of
Il. +. ID. owners. Other leading in
dustries included groceries and other
food products, $50, $50; road contrac-
tors, 74,141; automobile accessories
and supplies, 90 1913; general trucking.
2,542; oils and gasoline. 40 ,00S, and
lumber logging and mill work, 45.072.
AN interesting feature of this anal
wis is the fact that there We're found
70 be 1,603,709 individual owners of
motor trucks in the United States.
each owning an average of 1.3 trucks.
Further light upon the extent and
potentialities of truck and bus trans
portation is shed by a comparison of
railroad and highway mileage. Steam
railroads operate over about $500, 900
miles of track, reach every individual
farm and home in the country, and
If which over 100000 miles is of an
improved type of construction.
L. s. Takes Official Notice
So great has become the impor
lance of commercial motor transpor-
tation that the United States Govern
ment took official cogniZance of it last
year. Several bills We're introduced in
Congress calling for regulation of
trucks and busSeS in interstate com
merce. Hearings on these held by
committees of the Senate and the
House revealed little opposition to fair
bus regulation, but decided hostility
TO regulation of motor trucks, on the
ground that the public is now amply
protected by the fact that it is feasible
for individuals and corporations to
own their own trucks and supply their
own service if the public service truck
companies do not give satisfactory
service.
The Interstate Commerce Commits
sion conducted a sweeping investiga-
ton looking into not only the extent
OF commercial motor transportation,
but also its effect upon the older
transportation agencies. The com
mission conducted Is public hearings
all over the country and secured
vast amount of information. over
400 witnesses We're heard representing
public organizations such as cham
bers of commerce, traffic associations,
State public utility commissions, ship
pers, truck and bus operators and
railroad executives. The commission
is still studying the vast mass of tes-
timony before it and has not yet an
nounced conclusions.
What Hearings Developed.
Among the important features de-
veloped by the hearings are the fol-
lowing:
Il. Railroad officials have testified
that motor vehicles, automobiles,
trucks and busses have taken away