The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-08-24
USE OF STATE
TRUCKS SLICED
Reduction Is Noteworthy
Considering Trying
Storms of Last Year

Hartford, Aug. "a - AS o part of
its cooperation in the war effort the
State Highway Department has re-
duced the use of passenger automo-
biles by its field forces 46.4 per cent
for 1913 as compared with similar
period in 1941. Even the use of
trucks - backbone of road repair
work and snow removal - was cut
bby 27.2 per cent in the same
period.
In making these facts known,
State Highway Commissioner Will
liam j. Cox pointed out that in the
passenger vehicle category the high
way department had improved upon
the 40 per cent reduction requested
by State Director of Purchases Ed
ward c. Geissler.
The passenger car record was
made despite the fact that the cars
of the highway department are used
by other state agencies on a rental
basis. The mileages of these vehicles
are included in the totals for both
years. These agencies include the
former State Defense Council, the
Groton--New London Bridge Com
mission, and the Hartford Bridge
Commission.
The truck reduction is especially
noteworthy, the Commissioner be-
Ieves, because the five months COW
cred by the report-January to May
inclusive-brought, during this last
winter, some of the most trying
storms of recent years. These storms
required plows and sand trucks to
operate over the entire highway
system of 5000 miles for protracted
periods. These operations called for
hundreds of these trucks covering
their respective sections, back and
forth, running up mileage in the in
terest of wartime transportation
and public safety.
Among the activities creating SUBJ
s1antial mileages for the trucks are
special hauling jobs undertaken
for other agencies of the state. Act
ing for the purchasing division of
the Finance Department, the trucks
served to haul vegetables from state
farms to other state institutions on
AAtAAlSA odo oSSooAOALo o1A0 WAACll WIG
fuel shortages were acute last win
ter it became necessary for depart
ment trucks to move fuel from yards
and unloading points to state struc-
lures that might toherWise have
gone without.
Another undertaking in which
the highway trucks are doing double
duty is in the transportation of
State Guard troops. A tranSpor-
tation organization was completely
set up by the department at the
request of the Military Department
to move State Guardsmen from
their armories to points where ma
neuvers are held In the last two
months of the period covered by
the report this work took place in
some part of the state almost every
weekend. The system is so Or
ganized, the highway department
reports, that it may be placed in
operation for any emergency with
almost the same speed that is at
tanned in planned exercises.
| In all of these trips on behalf
of other parts OF the state govern
ment the highway department
handles its accounting as it does
for its own, charging rental to
the account of the user of the
truck and crediting the receipts to
the cost of truck operation. The
mileages of these outside activities
are thus included in the gross
mileages of highway equipment used
in the comparison with the previ-
GUS year.