490 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The motor vehicles, trucks, and automobiles included in the mate- 

 rial appear as the greatest single item and have attracted the 

 greatest amount of public attention. There is no doubt that by 

 their acquisition many of the States have been able to keep abreast 

 of their maintenance requirements, which otherwise would have 

 had difficulty in providing for suitable repairs on account of limited 

 appropriations.- But the miscellaneous material, especially the shop 

 equipment, has also been of almost inestimable value to the State 

 highway departments. 



The experience of New Hampshire is typical of many other 

 States. The highway department, in a recent report, states that 

 prior to the distribution of war materials the department's motor 

 vehicles consisted of 3 trucks and 4 touring cars which were housed 

 in a small garage about 40 feet square. 'WTien breakdowns occurred, 

 which were frequent, the disabled cars or trucks were hauled to local 

 garages for repair. The New Hampshire department now has 27 

 touring cars and 137 trucks housed in new garages which include a 

 repair shop, machine shop, carpenter shop, and testing laboratory, 

 all fully equipped, in large part with surplus war equipment. Since 

 the machine shop has been installed the department is now able to 

 make new parts, thus eliminating delays and reducing repair charges 

 to a minimum. 



The benefit of the salvaged machinery is felt in other ways as 

 well ; for example, the grade stakes which the State formerly bought 

 at $18 a thousand, it now makes for $8 a thousand. Bridge forms 

 for superstructures, formerly built at the job under adverse condi- 

 tions by hand, are now made at the shops and carried to the job 

 on Army trucks all ready for assembling. These are only a few 

 of a number of instances of direct benefit cited which show_ that the 

 surplus war material has been of the utmost value to this State; 

 and similar reports have been received from other States, which show 

 that New Hampshire's experience has not been exceptional. 



As another instance, Rhode Island reports that " all things con- 

 sidered, the motor vehicles received from the Federal Government 

 through the Post Office appropriation act have been of inestimable 

 value, and considering the labor conditions and the scarcity of 

 horses during the past three years, it is practically impossible to 

 conceive of the progress we would have made on maintenance and 

 general transportation without these Federal trucks or other motor 

 vehicles purchased with our highway funds." Further along in the 

 same report this statement is made : " We regret that our main shop 

 was largely equipped before the machine tools were opened for 

 distribution. Otherwise we would have been able to have equipped 

 our whole main shop from this source." 



Much of this material the Government was urged to sell at junk 

 prices. Its utilization by the States for the useful purpose of 

 highway construction is clear gain to the country. 



An illustration of the advantage to the taxpayers is found in 

 the case of one of the recent offerings. At the end of the war the 

 Army had left over more than a half million pounds of rough 

 castings of spare parts for one of the well-known makes of motor 

 trucks. They were badly rusted and on casual inspection might 

 have been condemned as worthless junk, but it was found that the 

 necessary machine finishing would entirely remove all rust and 



