New-York tribune. [volume], January 04, 1920, Page 14, Image 92

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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Motor Trucks Prove
Big Aid in Solving
Traffic Problems
B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co. |
Issues History of High-i
way Transportation in I
U. S.'From Earliest Days
Every mode of highway transporta?
tion from the days of ancient Egypt,
when bricks made of mud from the
River Nile were transported by man
power, and through the subsequent
steps furnished by beast and vehicle, is
being actually demonstrated in America
to-day.
Practically every means of highway
transportation has had its greatest ex
?ansion and efficiency developed in the
Jniteo States, according to the travel
and transport bureau of the Ii. F.
Goodtich Rubber Co. In reviewing the
important steps in the evolution of
?c-As'rying over the roadways the bureau
{oints out the dominant position now
?Id by motor vehicles and the vast
possibilities of future development.
America's first vehicle transporta?
tion system was established in 1732 by
Solomon Smith and James Moore, of
Burlington, N. J., and consisted of
horse-drawn Canastoga wagons. A
Philadelphia paper, in March of that
year, carried the following announce?
ment.
"This is to give notice unto gentle?
men, merchants, tradesmen, travelers
and others that Solomon Smith and
James Moore, of Burlington, keepeth
two stage wagons intending to go
from Burlington to Ambov, New Jer?
sey, and back from Burlington to Am
boy again once every week or oftener
if that business presents."
From that* advertisement have
grown all the schedules, time tables,
railway stations, freight depots, rural
motor express lines and the whole
complex system of movement which
has become the chief and indispensable
feature of modern American life. The
principle of organizing and selling
periodic transportation was destined
to creep over the entire land.
The scarcity of wheeled vehicles
?gave great popularity and wide use
to sleds, and the winter season was the
favorite time to travel and transport
?a condition just opposite to the tour?
ing and motor transportation of to-day.
However, there is a movement on foot
now to keep the roads cleared of snow
in the winter months for motor trans?
portation. It is fostered by the?ood
rich Travel and Transport Bureau and
has the active support of the auto?
motive world and all Northern states
highway departments.
Slowly the peon e began to grasp the
meaning of wagon transportation and
its relation to them and the country.
During the eighteenth century and up
until twenty-five years ago every man?
ner of wheeled vehicle took the high?
way for conveyance duty.
The era of automobiles and motor
trucks marked the next important step
in the march of highway transporta?
tion progress.
The first power vehicle Teally de?
signed for haulage was the French
Cugenot steam wagon, brought out in
1769. It was designed as a military
necessity, for the transportation of
heavy ordnance. It was destined that
war was to prove the prowess of truck
and highway transportation, for 145
year* after the Cugenot artil?ery
wagon was conceived trucks and taxi
cabs iurnished the unendine stream of
French soldiers needed to stem the
?German offensive toward Paris at the
Battle of the Marne. And during the
Meuse-Argonne offensive of General
Pershing, that victoriously ended the
world conflict for the Allies the long,
efficient line of motor truck communi?
cation of the Americans furnished an
indispensable factor in the downfall of
Germany.
With the advent of the internal com
oastion engine about 18?? motor truck
enthusiasts began to see a glimmer of
hope. Experimentation characterized
the period from then until 1898, when
eight 5 h. p. commercial vehicles were
: made and marketed by a Cleveland
I company?the first motor trucks to be
produced in America on a commercial
cale.
The phenomenal progress of motor
transportation is familiar to every one.
To-day America possesses nearly 7,
500,000 motor vehicles and the most
extensive system of highways in the
world. High powered motor trucks
are rapidly replacing horse-drawn con
: veyances for city and industrial cen
! ter haulage. Hundreds of suburban,
rural and intercity motor truck lines
?are in successful operation, but thou
j sands are required. Every kind of
' produce raised on farms, all sorts of
: goods bought by farmers and various
products of factories are handled
?quickly and efficiently by motor truck
. lines operating through rural commu
| nities. Thus, tho motor truck is stim
j ulating production.
Pneumatic-Tired Truck
Is Packard Feature
Specially Constructed.Cabs Also
Are Being Exhibited at
This Year's Show
Trucks especially designed and built
for pneumatic tire? occupy ?the most
important.p?ace in the exhibit of the
Packard Motor Car Company of New
York at tho Motor Truck Show. One,
a three-ton model, is equipped with a
j covered rack body and closed cab. The
other model is a two-ton chassis.
Cabs are being shown which are
manufactured exclusively for Packard
motor trucks, and constructed to ?give
the driver ample protection in all kinds
: of weather.. The cab may, be ; locked,
i providing a compartment where tools,
i valuable papers and other articles (may
; be left safely. The cab 'is installed on
> a three-point spring suspension, elimi
; nating shock and jolt which occurs
I when cabs are fastened directly-to the
I chassis.
Other models include a one and a
? half ton chassis, a four-ton.model with
; Babcock stake body, a six-ton model
! with high rack body, a tworton model
! with Moore elevating truck body for
I coal delivery and a five-ton model with
Woo.' hydraulic hoist and convertible
? body.
?
Transport Truck Co.
Will Increase Output
The new daylight factory of the
Transport Truck Company at Mount
Plea?ant, Mich., which Is now in opera?
tion, is one of the most mo-Hern and
complete motor truck plants in the
country. Nothing has been left un?
done that will facilitate increased pro?
duction and give comfort to its em?
ployees.
While the entire factory is ? floo
of light during the day, without an
artificial lighting, it is especially we.'
lighted at night by an improved ove?
head lighting system ao arranged th-..
shadow is absolutely eliminated.
Forced ventilation has been-installe.
whereby the air in the entire building
is changed every hour.
The present buildings have a capac
ity of twelve finished trucks a day
and plans have just been complete)
whereby production will be increase*
to thirty a day July 1.
Average Load Truck
Is Called Best for
1 The Average Buyer
General Manager of Reo Co.
Gives Advice on Selection
of Cars to Gain Time
Delivery of Goods
in
That truck users generally.are com?
ing to selecta truck to carry their av?
erage load rather than one big enough
for their maximum load is the conclu?
sion of J. J. Hunt, general manager of
the Reo Motor Car Company, of New
York.
"There was a time not so long ago
when the average buyer figured up the
biggest load that he would ever want
to haul and then tried to buy a truck
ig enough to carry it," Bays Mr. Hunt.
?.But the experienced user has come to
realize that there is nothing so expen?
sive as a truck carrying half a load
v.nless it is the truck which is so slow
hat it wastes the time of an expensive
: river.
"Few users have loads''which ?a'nnot
e split up into units of 2,000 to 3,p00
ounds. When they have a Hruck
.vhich will handle a ton with maximum
economy they have the mo?t economi?
cal truck. If the truck has.real speed
it will make two trips while a heavy
"ruck is making one and handle the
;ame tonnage in an hour. Of course, it
.as lower first??cost, and lower costs of
-peration and maintenance. Its biggest
iavings over the heavy truck are on
he occasions when the two-tonner
nust travel with half a load.
"The fact that more trucks of three
?uarter-ton rated capacity were sold
luring the third quarter of this year
?nan of any other type, and that Reo
nade almost as many of these as all
le others put together shows, I think,
':e trend of popular favor. Speed plus
urdiness plus reliability have won
is leadership.
"Rco speed wagons operate regularly
?er schedules requiring them to de?
rer loads of a ton to a ton and a half
t points twenty-five miles distant
.vithin an hour. And they keep to their
schedules. I know of one speed wagon
?hat has delivered six tons of coal
from car to dwelling house basement
in an hour, and that in pinches has
delivered fifty tons of coal in a day.
"A high-powered motor plus pneu
matic tires makes it possible for this
truck to venture where another would
fail.. The coal delivery wagon I spoke
of pulls up over lawns to basement
windows, where a heavy truck on solid
tires would stick fast. It is this abil?
ity to negotiate soft ground and rough
going which makes the speed wagon
the ideal vehicle for the farmer.**
Shipby-Truck Plan
Opens New Fields
To Many Districts
Transportation Problems of
Small Communities Are
Solved by Use of Cars in
Territory Near New York
'?'The business men of America have
been ever ready to adopt methods and
machines that would increase output,
reduce time requirements or cut
costs," says Hal T. Boulden, vice-pres?
ident of the Seiden Truck Corporation.
"Accordingly the ship-by-truck move?
ment has gained more than national
recognition. It stands for the future
growth of this nation and its business.
"We think of New York as the big
business center of the United States,
and the motor truck, if used to facili?
tate the shipment of goods, exports
and imports, to aid the great ocean
vessels or rail lines, will make New
York even a bigger business metropo?
lis.
"One of the most populous, richest
and heaviest manufacturing territories
in the world can be served from New
York by motor trucks.
"Within n250 miles is included the
nation's capital, the capitals of seven
states and three of Our greatest har
bofs.
"Boston, Baltimore, Washington,
Worcester, Providence, Troy and at
least seven other large cities are in
this area. Albany, Scranton, Hartford
and four or more other centers are.
within 150 miles of New York City.
Bridgeport,. Trenton, New Haven, Phil?
adelphia and five others are within 100
miles, while within fifty miles we find
Newark, Huntington, Babylon, Peeks
kill- and' others.
I ' "All' this territory is accessible to
j the motor ,truck. The ship-by-truck
movement will make possible the rapid
mo'ving of. many tons of freight?and
! the motor truck is ready.
"This same condition exists near al
j most all important centers. Roads are
poor in some places, to be sure, but the
millions to be spent in repair work
this year will remedy this.
% "This motor truck show now being
held at the 8th Coast Artillery
armory ha3 a greater significance than
ever before. There you will see and
compare all the latest designs of these
sturdy trucks that will render pos?
sible the ship-by-truck movement;
the trucks will make possible greater
production, greater business and con?
sequent lower prices in time."
Velie Trucks "Feed New York"
More country produce is carted to
New York City' on Velie motor trucks
than on any other trucks. Hundreds oi
these trucks are met on Long Island
roads going to market, showing that
the farmers are motorizing their haul?
age to a remarkable extent in this
section.
of*
''?nullt
IL ?
.al Hait
Oldsmobile Economy Trucks work for big
business?for Standard Oil, De!co, Park & Til
ford and other institutions of national promi?
nence, who order and re-order according to the
vehicle's performance. Their .selection of Oldsmo?
bile is significant. Small business, but. equally
critical, also favors Oldsmobile. A?fl over the country
the Economy Truck is proving its unlimited usefulness
on farm and ranch, in city and village, and wherever
merchandise must be quickly transported at low costs.
Valve-in-head motor, internal gear axle, large pneumatic
cord tires, and mechanical excellence generally are
reasons why successful performance ?3 pre-dctermined,
and why it was logically destined to become the
National Haulage Unit.
OLDSMOBILE COMPANY OF NEW YORK
(CUTTINQ.LAR80N COMPANY)
MAIN OFFICE & SALESROOMS, 100 West 64t!i St.. near Broadway.
BROADWAY BRANCH.1808 Ona?way. Columbus CIrclo.
BRONX BRANCH.....413 East 149th St., near Third Avonu*.
BROOKLYN.1298 Bedford Avenue, corner Atlantic
At the Show coast Space 0
ARTILLERY
iiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiii
PRICES
Wiih Expresa Bods, $?,8f>0.00
W?k Steel Cob - J,896.00
'Chassis Only . 1,860.00
I J. o. b, Lansing
Time payment^ if desired
mini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii '
Pierce-Arrow Has
History of Its.
First 50 Trucks
Of These Vehicles, Made in
1911, AU but Ttfo Are
Still at Work These Days;
fe
Have Earned Large Profits
"Where is the motor truck you
bought eight years ago? In service or
in the scrap heap?"
These questions are put up to motor
truck owners by the Pjerce-Arrow
Motor Car Company, whose exhibit of
five and two ton trucks commands at?
tention at the National Truck Show at
the 8th Coast Artillery Armory this
week. The challenge is made in a book?
let, "The First Fifty," just published
by the company.
"We have an answer to the ques?
tions," says Robert C. Reid, truck
sales executive of the Harrolds Motor
Car Company, Pierce-Arrow distribu?
tors. "It is this: If it was a Pierce
Arrow truck, it is in service?service
that long since has paid for the initial
cost of the truck.
"We know this to be a fact. Of the
first fifty trucks manufactured in 1911
by the Pierce-Arrow company, one was
destroyed by fire, one was retired after
seven years of drastic use, and the
remaining forty-eight are still in op?
eration.
"The principles of design and con?
struction of our veteran trucks are
adhered to to-day. Some of these
trucks have earned profits mile after
mile for as great as 300,000 miles.
Some are approaching the 250,000
milestone, others have passed 200,000
miles, and still others have seen 150,
000 miles of operation. Such records
rhake first cost insignificant."
Copies of "The First Fifty," which
outlines the history of each of the
veteran truck units, may be obtained
from either the Harrolds Motor Car
Company of New York, or the Ellis
Motor Car Company of Newark, N. J.,
both being Pierce-Arrow distributors.
? -?
Maxwell's Restricted
Intake Manifold
The restricted intake manifold, which
is a feature of the Maxwell ton-and-a
half truck, takes the place of a me?
chanical governor, which is required
by some state laws. This device does
away with extra mechanical parts, with
the possibility for repair, and performs
the same operation.
The restricted manifold rejulates the
speed of the truck to about twenty-five
miles an hour. This prohibits a driver
from racing the motor and keeps the
speed within the limits set by the
states requiring mechanical governors.
It gives added life due to the inability
to race and rack the motor.
"Saturation Point"
Far Away, Says Larson
Cars Growing Simpler ?and
Hence More Attractive to
the Many Prospects
Is there a "saturation point" for au?
tomobiles ?
Is any credence to be placed in the
"fear" of the modern Malthus, who
declares that "automobiles are multi?
plying faster than the population of
the country" and who implies that
"something ought to be done about
it"?
To each of these queries C. H. Lar?
son, of the Oldsmobile company, gives
an emphatic negative and says that the
show reflects the unprecedented vol?
ume of business at the factories and
the prosperous and unusually healthy
condition of the entire trade.
"The mere fact that the sales of
motor cars are jumping annually at
increasing percentages," Mr. Larson
says, "has led some pessimists to pre?
dict that a 'saturation point' will be
reached if the present rate is main?
tained. If the matter is investigated
j it probably will be discovered that
these gentlemen with the ill-founded
forebodings sigh for the return of the
one-horse shay and the victoria and
barouche.
"Just so long as an automobile is
essentially a machine?and even the
human body is that?there will be de?
preciation; and just so long as there
is depreciation the world will need
new cars; just sb long as .an automo?
bile continues to be the most com?
fortable and convenient and healthful
mode of travel and at a cost that is
certain to be lowered through new in?
ventions, just so long will men and
women save and work that they may
own a motor.
"The failure of the ?population to
keep pace with automobile sales is no
cause for solemn deliberation. That's
a subject more suitable for those in?
terested in eugenics rather than the
motor car.
"Ten or twelve years ago that car
that was stalled or broken down, the
car that was in more trouble than the
owner could extricate it from, was a
common sight on the street. Notice
how infrequently you see it now."
????
Banner Year Is Predicted
For Bethlehem Motors
L. F. Harris, general manager ?f the
Bethlehem Motors Corporation, Allen
town, Pa., enthusiastically regards 1920
as a "Bethlehem Year."
"With our plant running on a quality
in-quantity basis," says Mr. Harris,
"and producing trucks, neither over?
built to justify a price nor underbuilt
to meet a price, I fuily expect a 25 per
cent sales' increase this year.
"The instant success of the new
three-quarter ton Dependable Delivery
will be partially responsible for this
jump, as it enables us to approach a
new class of truck users, but in the
. main, the ever-growing popularity of
| the complete Bethlehem line is the
foundation for my prediction." "?
Current of Oil
To Transmit
Power in Drive
Centrifugal Pump and Tur?
bine Members Used by
Radcliffe to Eliminate
Gear Shifting
A newly perfected turbine drive
which endows the gasoline car with the
flexibility and simplicity of control, of
the steam car, it is said, is one of the
features of the New York Show.
The principles of the centrifugal
pump and the hydraulic turbine are
the bases of this device. Oil is the cir?
culating medium which carries the im?
pulse of the motor-driven pump to the
transmission-driving turbine The as?
sembly of the pump and turbine mem?
bers in one compact unit is ingenious,
and hydraulic engineers assert that the
motor power is converted into flexible
hydraulic energy with merely nominal
losses. The device is already in quan?
tity production and is to be marketed
as the Radcliffe turbine-drive.
The Radcliffe drive is a pre-war in?
vention which has gone'through a long
phase of laboratory experimentation
and several hundred thousands of miles
of road testing. A limited number of
devices has been manufactured and
placed in private cars operated by
drivers of all degrees of skill and ex?
perience with good performance results.
The operation of a car equipped with
the turbine-drive is described as fol?
lows: "Slide into your seat, slip the
gear lever into high and push the
starter pedal. Throttle the motoi
quickly down to idling speed. When
you are ready to go, don't bother with
the gear-shift or clutch. Just step on
the gas until the car comes up to tne
desired speed- To stop, release the ac?
celerator pedal and step on the brake.
Any one can drive a car with this de?
vice," he continued; "it does everything
but think for the man at the wheel?
and even relieves much of the need for
thinking!"
The turbine-drive, although provid?
ing an efficient transmission of the
motor power, it is claimed, effectually
damps road blows and inequalities o?
motor power, guarding every vital me?
chanical part from vibration and excess
stresses. Enthusiastic observers of
tests with the Radcliffe device say that
the smooth application of powei
claimed for this device extends ?ire
life fully 50 per cent.
Automotive engineers have multiplied
cylinders and valves to get increased
motor flexibility and high-gear ability
so it is not likely that the public will
permit this device to remain long a
stranger on the doorstep.
General Motors Plans
20,000 Trucks in 1920
Expansion of Michigan Pltm 1.
Called For by Increase i?
Advance Ordert
Anticipating the market for im?
after research which covers mt oui'
this country but the export flet?
well, the General Motors Truck Co
pany set the 1920 schedule of ptofo/
tion at the 20,000 mark.
To work out this schedule ?labor?t,
preparations have been made at tk,
plant, already among the most exteu
sive in Pontiac, Mich. More than u?
new pieces of machinery have ?w
added to the shop*, the very by
savers of time and labor. LatW i
drills, reamers and other appliaj^
are making possible an accutae?
into divisions of the almost inviaibU
hairline.
A considerable addition to the oft?,
is necessitated by the robustness ?{ |
the company that the efficiency 0; I
manufacturing may not be handicapp*.
by lack of cooperation elsewhere
Everywhere GMC dealers are report,
ing an unusual outlook for 1920, whiS
is at the back of factory plane. TV
survey is complete, taking in industria!
centers, lumber and agricultural di?.
tricts, road building?wherever tiki
motor truck can be used.
An instance which shows the ?ti
the vane is pointing is the receipt 5 ?
a flat schedule for 400 trucks from ! 3
dealer with a small territory in tk*
West. He insists on winter delivery
so that when the forest has finished iti
season's work and the farmer starts on
his, the trucks will be o;i hand for
immediate delivery. ,
Battery Under the
Hood on New Premier
Said one of the foremost electrial
engineers, who has been identified
with the automotive industry for ttanj I
years, "no other accessory on the mod.
era automobile is as much abused si
the ??storage battery. Usually pUced
under a front seat or below the floor
boards, it is neglected and forgotten.
When it has given the best it his ?tod
under these handicaps, it cannot send
i an S O S to the driver for help; U
' just simply dies and waits the pleasun
of its owner to resurrect it.
"The best results are obtained fro? ?
t'ie battery in warm temperatures sod
when it can be filled with water it
regular intervals. But not being it
sight or easily accessible, the driver
forgets its existence until it is uiusllj
too late."
The engineers of the Premier Motor
Corporation, recognizing the lope o!
this argument, have placed the bat?
tery on the new aluminumized Premier
1 under the hood in a dust proof, oil
1 I proof, asbestos lined steel box. Hen
it is free from dust and grit, eaii'.t
accessible and even in the colder,
weather has the advantage of wsra |
surrounding temperatures.
Bethlehem Dependable
Deliveiy
oitthe
Bethlehem
Exhibitm
the<Armort?
Ut
waOubtree
Hie festest fe
truck in the __?,,
The New^Ton
Hing motor
?est market
.Bethlehem
The new ^-Ton Bethlehem Dependable Delivery is aimed
directly at the world's biggest truck market.
This newest Bethlehem product completes a line which
covers the truck market most profitably.
Some one in your own territory is going to represent Beth?
lehem through 1920. Some one is going to get behind another
growing, prosperous Bethlehem business. And Bethlehem
business is Big Business. Some one is going to cash in on the
Bethlehem Franchise. Are you the man?
%-Ton Chassis 1%-Ton Chassis 2V2-Ton Chassis 31/2-Ton Chassis
/
Bethlehem Motors Corporation
Allentown, Pa.
UttheHotel
Knickerbocker
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