Highway Transport Commitee Council of National Defence, Bulletins 1-5 | Page 2

congestion of freight in Atlantic port terminals and in
railroad yards hundreds of miles inland. A certain part of this
congestion was due to short-haul shipments of freight within cities and
originating in near-by points, 10, 20, or 50 miles from the cities. Much
of this short-haul freight can be carried on the highways by motor
trucks. It can be picked up at the door of the shipper and delivered at
the door of the consignee, entailing only two handlings. It can be
delivered the same day it is shipped, whereas the same shipment by rail
would require several days if not a week or more. And the shipment
can go forward by motor when a rail freight and express embargo
precludes shipment by rail at all.
DEPENDABILITY OF MOTOR-TRUCK HAULAGE PROVEN.
The practicability and dependability of motor-truck haulage not only
within cities but between neighboring cities have been demonstrated
fully. Hundreds of local and intercity motor express lines are in
successful operation in widely scattered sections of the country. The
Return-Load Bureau system has been installed in England, where it is
now considered unpatriotic to run a truck without a load. Manchester,
England, for example, and all the surrounding cities have their
Return-Load Bureaus and have reciprocal arrangements whereby they
exchange information regarding available trucks and loads.
Consequently, any Chamber of Commerce in a city whose merchants

are adversely affected by rail embargoes and delays, freight congestion,
or lack of sufficient and direct rail transportation, and where there is
any considerable number of motor trucks, will not be embarking upon a
doubtful experiment in establishing such a bureau.
NO RESPONSIBILITY ASSUMED.
A Return-loads Bureau can be established by a Chamber of Commerce
without creating any legal liability to the shipper or assuming any other
responsibility. The function pure and simple is to advise the shipper
where and when a truck can be obtained to haul his goods and to advise
the truck owner where a load can be obtained. It has been found in
England that very often, when such a relationship has been established
between the shipper and the truck owner, an arrangement is made
between them for regular service, and they do not need to call on the
bureau for further assistance, thus lightening the work to be performed
by the Chamber.
It is left entirely to the shipper and the truck operator to make their own
agreement as to the rate to be paid for haulage, liability of the truck
owner or driver for safety of the goods in transit, and so forth. It is
expected, however, that the Chamber of Commerce will exercise
reasonable judgment and precaution, inquiring into the reliability of
truck drivers and endeavoring to correct any abuses that may arise.
HOW TO START A RETURN-LOADS BUREAU.
No difficulty and no great amount of work are involved in establishing
a Return-Loads Bureau. All that is necessary is to follow the example
of Connecticut where through the initiative of the State Council of
Defense, Return-Loads Bureaus have been established in 15 cities. The
Council addressed letters to the Chambers of Commerce, inviting their
cooperation in the movement. Return post cards were printed and
mailed to motor-truck owners in the different cities. On the reverse side
of the cards was a brief questionnaire to be filled out by the truck
owner stating whether or not he would carry "back loads" for
reasonable compensation, whether he would rent his truck at full
capacity or partial capacity, number of trucks owned, number of hours

a day or days a week the truck would be available under the
return-loads plan, its capacity in tons, etc. As these reply cards came
back, they were filed in a 3 by 5 card index drawer, arranged by cities
and by routes out of the respective cities. It developed from this
canvass that there were in the 15 cities more than 700 trucks of 1-ton
capacity or more available for such service and that they operated over
49 main routes.
Names and addresses of truck owners may be obtained from the
automobile registration bureau in the office of the secretary of state or
the commissioner of motor vehicles, as the case may be.
DUPLICATE RECORDS IN NEIGHBORING CITIES.
Duplicates of this master file were furnished by the State Council of
Defense in Connecticut to the Chamber of Commerce in each of the 15
cities, together with a map showing the location of each Return-Loads
Bureau and all of the truck routes, numbered serially. Thus, the head of
the bureau in each city knows just what trucks are available in the other
cities and the routes over which they operate.
It is desirable that the State Council of Defense, where one exists,
should indorse this movement, but it is not necessary that the Chamber
of