Imperial Valley press., 1942-02-16
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

WASHINGTON. Feb l6.-When
INC CountryS automobile "revolu-
ton in reverse" shakes down. il
viii be found ,ha, the primary
/ wartime need for tie privately own
passenger automobile viii be for
the transportation OF WaE workers
from home to the JOB and vice
versa. Furthermore If auto trans
uortation OF these workers breaks
Gown. il is going to be extremely
difficult 10 find substitutes.
H. S. Fairbanks. chief research
for public loads administration
pcmtS OF a few examples
AT Baltimore, Md some 10000
PEOPLE are employed in the huge
Glenn L Martin airUlane plant
and they all ride to work in auto
MobileS-l per cent i'll buSSes, 80
Der cent in 10000 private cars
PENNSYLVANIA railroad runs right by
the plant. but the railway manage
mont has said it it would be im-
possible to provide the 10 locomo-
ives. 100 coaches and 30 train
crews that would be needed for
this mass movement of workers
would require if there were no
autos
Al YpSilanti. Mich, the still big
.er Ford bomber plant which will
employ nearly $4,000 when in full
operation There are no housing
accommodations for this number in
Ypsilanti.. so most OF the workers
VIII have to come from the De-
troit area. This will take from TO-
COG to 1900 ears, if they all go
iully loaded.
Those TWO situations indicate the
extent 10 which war workers must
depend on private car transport.
IS : matter Of fact. when the plant
sjtes for many of these war indus
,rles were selected. it was deliber-
ately planned that the labor force
would ride 70 and from work by
private car on public highways to
relieve the railroads Approach
roads and parking lots were con-
.rructed accordingly. This thinking
vas done before Pearl Harbor and
the resulting threats OF rubber
shortage
RAILROADS CAN'T HANDLE III
Drastic passenger transportation
shortages like these are develop
.ng all over the country, accord
ing TO U. S. Director OF IranSporta-
ton Joseph Eastman, who goes on
20 poin- out that shifting the load
back TO the railroads is not the
answer The railroads have other
Iobs 10 do Troop movements and
long hauls and a greatly lncreaS-
ed freight load Nearly 900 cities
TODAY have no other mass trans
Uortation than busses. and there
are $4,000 communities in the coun-
trv completely dependent on high
Ways
over the last 90 years there mas
Been a mania for tearing up street
car tracks. Admittedly. these mu-
nItipal railways were slow and
Locked traffic and couldn't be op-
e~ated profitably. Competition from
busses knocked the trolleys right
Oft their tracks and the tracks
themselves were yanked up and
sold for Junk Before this war IS
over. there will be lots of COM
munities that wish they hadn't
been so hasty The trolley car IS
due for a temporary war time
comeback
There being a power shortage IN
the offing. through the need OF
conserving electrical energy tor WaE
production. expansion OF electric
railways may be out Of the queS-
tiCn.
Nor is the outlook for additional
bus equipment encouraging as al
the truck and bus plants are gong
full tilt on war requirements. Dur
ug March, the manufacturers OF
busses 10 carry Is or more pass
engers are 10 be allowed unlimited
production. though IN FEBRUARY,
they are being restricted 10 1000
Lusses which compares with a pro-
auction of 45O. in February 1910
Now. more busses may have TO
be built Just 70 save private cars.
and these war buSses may be so
designed that they provide maxi
mum space for seats
There are today an estimated
100 bus line operators with COM
Dined fleet of $4,000 vehicles In
edition. there about $4,000 schoo!
buses and perhaps 2500O sight
seeing Jobs Pooling all these,
changing routes. staggering trips
al! these are possibilities. For m
ctance. Director Eastman has Sl2-
eested that school hours and fac
torv shift hours in any community
rlght be staggered 50 that n"
,ame fleet of cOnveyances could
,erYe both loads.
Consider those school ousses
alone. In the last 20 years. full EN-
yhas!s of rural education has been
placed on the consolidated school.
pickup and home delivery Of pu-
plls is an established practice at
llO00 of these modern institutions
~ learning. wouldn't 1t be strange.
if the school bus transportation
sYstem had to be diverted TO war