468 AXNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS FROM THE CONNECTICUT 

 TRANSPORTATION SURVEY. 



Observations during the first three months of the survey have 

 brought to light information of direct practical value, which the 

 records of the balance of the year will undoubtedly amplify. 



'\Vhile it is indicated that a total of 1,019,688 net tons of com- 

 modities were transj^orted over the Connecticut highway system 

 during the three-months period beginning in September, 1922, the 

 competition of the highway with the railway is not by any means 

 as serious as this large movement would indicate. More than a third 

 of this tonnage was moved only from 1 to 9 miles, and was distinctly 

 a local noncompetitive distribution of goods; 30^ per cent, nearly 

 another third, was moved from 10 to 29 miles. In this, which may 

 be called the short-haul zone, the tonnage transported was found tO' 

 be largely noncompetitive. One portion is the local distribution 

 from jobbers and wholesalers to retailers; another portion is shipped 

 from points without rail facilities and by its nature can not be com- 

 petitive. The balance of the total net tonnage, approximately 33- 

 per cent, was transported 30 miles or more. This movement was 

 found to be partially competitive. It is, however, a transportation 

 of goods which is not determined by the rate charged for the trans- 

 portation, but rather by the lack of efficient rail service, the char- 

 acter of the commodities, and the element of time of delivery. 



A mass of data has been developed relating to all the purposes 

 of the investigation as set forth above, which serves to indicate with 

 greater clearness than has heretofore been possible the economic- 

 field of motor-truck transportation. These data, however, as pre- 

 viously stated, are only the first results of an investigation which 

 to be conclusive must be carried much further under not one condi- 

 tion, but a number of conditions typical of the varied production and 

 economic status of the sections of the United States. 



A preliminary report on the first three months of this investiga- 

 tion will be published shortly, to be followed by a complete report 

 as promptly as the observations for the entire one-year period can be 

 digested. 



STUDY METHODS OF HIGHWAY FINANCE. 



The slender factual basis for discussion and action in respect to 

 highway transportation has its counterpart in the field of highway 

 finance. There are wide differences in method and distribution of 

 the cost of highway improvement between the sources of highway 

 revenue. Neighboring States follow entirely different systems of 

 financing. The lack of uniformit}^ is due largely to a lack of evi- 

 dence upon which to build a national system. During the past few 

 years a distinct opposition to the growth of the highwa}^ bill has 

 developed. But, in the judgment of well-informed students of the 

 situation, the current criticism of the large sums raised for the im- 

 provement of the public highways is a criticism of the inequalities 

 and unfairness of the present methods of financing rather than a 

 criticism of the amount of highway funds expended yearly. Though 

 the criticism frequently takes the form of opposition to bond issues, 

 the real cause of the resentment that undoubtedly exists in some 

 quarters is the feeling that the distribution of the cost to property 

 owners and motor- vehicle operators has not been equitably adjusted. 



