The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

n u m b e r 5 5 • 5 1business that most likely otherwise would have gone tosuch middlemen as general stores, express companies,and railroads. A lot of emphasis, though, was placed onhow the farmers themselves could benefit from this maildeliveryundertaking. “Every possible thing has been doneto give the farmer an equal chance to compete with thecorner grocery store on equal terms,” reported an April1915 article entitled “Butter from the Post Office” in TheIndependent. “Special fast auto service is used in manycities to effect immediate delivery of perishable goods.” 8An example of this transportation service could be seen inCleveland, Ohio, where in the fall of 1914 the postmasterobtained five new automobiles to facilitate deliveries fromfarms in the region. 9By 1916, the groundwork was laid for the program’senlargement. A joint congressional resolution that summerauthorized new routes, and postal officials beganplanning accordingly. Meanwhile, however, the UnitedStates found itself being drawn more deeply into the warin Europe. The nation formally entered that brutal conflicton April 6, 1917, when Congress declared war on Germany.10 President Wilson, in a subsequent address to theAmerican people, appealed to the nation’s farmers for helpwith food conservation efforts. He asserted, “Withoutabundant food, alike for the armies and the peoples nowat war, the whole great enterprise upon which we haveembarked will break down and fail . . . Upon the farmersof this country, therefore, in large measure, rests the fateof the war and the fate of the nations.” 11With those words, Wilson voiced the need to produceand preserve ample food for the duration of the war. Theconservation of food became one of the most crucial goalson the homefront and, in terms of wartime mobilizationefforts, among the most far- reaching. U.S. Food Administrator(and future president) Herbert Hoover firmly andconsistently exhorted his fellow Americans not to wastefood so that enough of it could be shipped overseas to feedAmerican troops and others.Under Hoover’s leadership, the Food Administrationused every means, medium, and method possibleto promote its message to the public and make sure thateveryone did what they could to ensure the availabilityof adequate rations abroad. “Meatless Mondays” and“Wheatless Wednesdays” became a regular part of eachperson’s calendar. “Food Will Win the War” was a familiarrallying cry, and posters and signs carrying that mantraand others blanketed the nation. A host of likeminded slogans,which regularly showed up in newspapers, included:“Don’t let your horse be more patriotic than you are—eata dish of oatmeal!;” “Wheatless days in America makesleepless nights in Germany;” “U- boats and wastefulnessare twin enemies;” “Serve beans by all means;” and “TheBattle Cry of Feed ’Em.”As Wilson underscored, however, a special burden wasplaced on farmers when it came to this entire campaign.They were under pressure, stronger than ever before, tonot only produce enough food but also make sure that asmuch of it as possible went to market without rotting orsimply going unused. 12 The Post Office Department, havingalready received authorization for more farm- to- tableroutes, stood ready to help accomplish those aims. FourthAssistant Postmaster General Blakslee, who both dreamedand talked big anyway when it came to motorized transportation’spotential role in mail delivery, pushed for motortrucks rather than automobiles on those new routes.A total of eight motor truck routes came into existenceafter postal officials wrestled extensively with logisticsand unsuccessfully sought to secure additional fundsfor the endeavor. The routes, located mostly in the MiddleAtlantic region, took effect between December 1917and June 1918. They were specifically situated betweenPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic City, New Jersey;Baltimore, Maryland, and Solomons Island, Maryland;Washington, D. C., and Leonardtown, Maryland; Washington,and Baltimore; Baltimore and Lancaster; Philadelphiaand Washington; Savannah, Georgia, and Statesboro,Georgia; and Columbus, Ohio, and Zanesville, Ohio.The Post Office Department, which kept thoroughrecords of all expenses for this part of the farm- to- tableprogram, announced that the net profit for these routes intheir first few months of operation was substantial. 13 In addition,Blakslee stressed how at least some of these routesprovided essential transportation services that could notbe easily duplicated. “There is no rail or water transportationpossible between Baltimore and Solomon’s Island norbetween Washington and Leonardtown,” he offered as anexample of this, “and there are over 1,000 similar localitieseast of the Mississippi River.” 14Overall, though, the most salient feature of thesemotor trucks was how they could pick up and deliverlarger- than- before quantities of farm goods for city residents.The Lancaster- New York City test run during thistime further confirmed that advantage. That shipment wastaken, within 45 minutes after reaching the New YorkCity post office, to the customer—a produce dealer namedHarry Atlas. His order, incidentally, included 400 newlyhatched chicks, 18,000 fresh eggs, 200 pounds of honey,500 pounds of butter, and 500 pounds of smoked sausage.This experimental trip was the longest postal run ofits kind up to that time. The trip was also noteworthy due