Evening star., 1941-09-22
Bus and Truck
Census Planned
To Aid Defense
Nationwide Survey
To Involve 6 Million
Questionnoires

At the request of the War Depart
ment and the National Defense Ad-
visory Commission, Nationwide
inventory of trucks and buses will
be started Thursday by the Public
Roads Administration and the Work
Projects Administration. John M.
Carmody, Federal works admin
istrator, announced today More
than 100000 confidential ques-
tionnaireS will be distributed to We
hicle owners by State motor vehicle
registration units.
A part of national defense trans
portation planning, the inventory
will be taken for the specific pur-
pose of setting up detailed central
and regional records of all trucks,
freight trailers and buses in the
United States. This information,
Mr.. Carmody stated, will be kept
for possible use in an emergency
where highway transportation be-
comes essential to the assembly OF
defense industry materials, delivery
of military and civilian supplies, re-
lief Of dock and terminal conges-
ton or movement of passenger
traffic.
Peacetime Value Pointed Out.
The Highway Traffic Advisory
Committee to the War Department
will direct the survey. w. P. A. will
give clerical assistance to 40 States
and the District of Columbia and
will analyze all returns. This IN
formation will include type Of truck
or bus, kind of body, capacity and
present location. Further lnforma-
ton concerning the time of year the
vehicles are most urgently needed
by their owners, and whether, In
time of emergency, the owner
would be willing to lease them 10
the Government also will be asked.
Peacetime value of the inventory
also was stressed Mr.. Carmody
pointed out that it will provide for
/ the first time detailed records on
/ trucks and buses similar to those
now available on railroads. water
shipping and aviation. To date, he
said. bus and truck registration rec
ord5 in the various States have not
shown the number Of freight trucks
anG trailers by capacity classes or
the number CT buses in the Nation.
EneIand's Experience Cited.
I'VE nave learned from England's
experience that in an emergency We
dare not overlook these great trans
portation resources MI. Carmody
declared in the announcement.
England restricted truck and parts
manufacture and fuel distribution
until transportation became major
problem. Only after closure OF the
Channel ports, necessitat1ng re-
vamping of transportation, did Eng
lish officials awaken to the f1exi-
bility and Serviceability OF trucks
and buses in meeting a transport
tation emergency
The War Department Advisory
Committee in charge of the survey
IS composed of six men appointed
by Secretary Stimson. Thomas Il.
Macdonald. public roads admlnis-
tration commissioner. is chairman,
and L. S. Harris, executive director
of the American Association of Mo-
tor Vehicle Administrators, is Sec
retary.
Other members are J. S. William
son. president, American Association
of State Highway Officials; Capt.
Donald S. Leonard, president, Inter-
national Association of Chiefs of
Police; A. w. Bohlen, president,
American Association of Motor We
hicle Administrators, and D. F.
Silver, general chairman State and
provincial police section, Interna-
tional Association of Chiefs of Po-
lice.