The Rural Motor Express To Conserve Foodstuffs and Labor and to Supply Rural Transportation.

In the spring of 1918, a government bulletin laid out a bold plan to reshape the way America’s farms moved their goods. The text explains how the war had swelled the demand for food, raw materials and manufactured items, stretching both railroads and the labor of farmers themselves. By championing the motor truck as a “rural motor express,” officials urged state authorities to clear the way for daily, scheduled routes that would ferry produce to city markets and bring supplies back to the fields.

Listeners will hear a vivid snapshot of a nation scrambling to conserve labor and maximize efficiency while still feeding troops overseas and civilians at home. The document details the three key challenges—rising food volumes, a shortage of farm hands, and the need to boost local production—while outlining how coordinated highway transport could relieve pressure on the rails. It offers a rare glimpse into the practical, grassroots side of wartime logistics, where trucks became the lifeline linking farms to the wider economy.