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BULLETIN NO. 2

MAY, 1918



THE RURAL MOTOR EXPRESS

TO CONSERVE FOODSTUFFS AND LABOR AND
TO SUPPLY RURAL TRANSPORTATION



HIGHWAYS TRANSPORT COMMITTEE
COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE

WASHINGTON, D. C.





RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE.

    "_The Council of National Defense approves the widest
    possible use of the motor truck as a transportation agency,
    and requests the State Councils of Defense and other State
    authorities to take all necessary steps to facilitate such
    means of transportation, removing any regulations that tend
    to restrict and discourage such use._"

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1918

       *       *       *       *       *




COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE.

HIGHWAYS TRANSPORT COMMITTEE.

WASHINGTON, D. C.

THE RURAL MOTOR EXPRESS.

The transportation burden on the railroads and highways of the country
has been tremendously increased by the war. There is a larger load to be
carried, of manufactured goods, raw materials, and foodstuffs. Not only
has production of manufactures, raw materials, and farm products
increased, but it is now necessary to transport a much larger proportion
of these goods over long distances.

The burden is further increased by the fact that we have removed across
the sea, 3,000 miles away, a considerable part of our population, which
must be provisioned and maintained. These men were in our Army camps
last winter. This year there are other men in these camps, and we must
handle goods and foodstuffs not only to these 30 new cities but to a
great population 3,000 miles away.

 It is absolutely necessary to utilize our facilities to the maximum and
to extend the use of the highways by the more efficient use of motor
vehicles which can operate independent of fixed lines or terminals where
congestion of traffic is likely to occur. The motor truck can help the
railroad by reducing the short-haul load, and also act as a feeder line
in sections far removed from market.

Added to the increased loads of goods to be transported is the fact that
man power must be conserved. Heretofore the farmer has done his own
hauling to market, but adoption of the rural motor express will enable
him to delegate his hauling and to devote his own time to farm
operations. An enormous waste of time and labor of both men and teams
can be prevented by consolidating the small loads from a number of farms
into a single load to be carried by a motor truck.

 In many localities local food supplies are in need of development. A
better use must be made of agricultural lands in the immediate vicinity
of population centers. It improves the business of the local community
and adds to the total food supply of the country. The improvement of
marketing facilities through the opening of regular daily traffic to
market centers and shipping points is a most effective agency in
encouraging food production.

We have, therefore, three outstanding facts that demand especial
attention be given to the increased use of the highways for rural
transportation:

     1. The increased volume of foodstuffs to be hauled.

     2. The need for more labor on farms.

     3. The need to encourage local food production.