The Rural Motor Express

The Rural Motor Express, by US
Government

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Title: The Rural Motor Express Highway Transport Commitee Council
of National Defence, Bulletins No. 2
Author: US Government
Release Date: November 13, 2006 [EBook #19799]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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"population") was corrected, but the remainder of the text was left as
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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.

[Illustration]

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.
=The Purpose of Rural Motor Express.=
The motor truck has demonstrated its adaptability to the hauling of
farm products. It is dependable wherever the roads are capable of
carrying its load. The use of the motor truck for farm transport is
growing rapidly and in the vicinity of many cities regular routes are
now maintained. The purpose of the organization of rural express on a
national scale is to bring to agricultural communities throughout the
country an understanding of the greater benefits to be derived from
regular daily service over the main highways from farm to city and
from city to farm.
By "Rural Motor Express" is meant the use of the motor truck in
regular daily service, over a fixed route, with a definite schedule of
stops and charges,