y might carry their share of the war burden, the Highways Transport
Committee was appointed by, and forms a part of, the Council of
National Defense._

_The object of the committee is to increase and render more effective
all transportation over the highways as one of the means of
strengthening the Nation's transportation system and relieving the
railroads of part of the heavy short-haul freight traffic burden._

_National policies are directed from the headquarters of the national
committee in Washington to the highways transport committees of the
several State Councils of Defense. These State organizations, which by
proper subdivisions reach down through the counties to the
communities, are grouped together into 11 regional areas, as shown by
the map used above. The State committees of the different areas are
assisted by and are under the direct supervision of the 11 regional
chairmen of the Highways Transport Committee, Council of National
Defense._

COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE.
HIGHWAYS TRANSPORT COMMITTEE.
WASHINGTON, D.C.

ADDRESS BY HON. WILLIAM C. REDFIELD, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE,
BEFORE THE REGIONAL CHAIRMEN OF THE HIGHWAYS TRANSPORT
COMMITTEE, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1918.

MR. CHAPIN AND GENTLEMEN: It would be a truism to say that I have
always been interested in transportation. It has always been a subject
of keen interest to me, I presume, because I was born with it. By the
fortune of birth I came to live in a region where transportation has
been through every one of its stages in this country. If you go back
into the history of the Colonies, you will find the two first lines of
through transportation in America were east and west--the St. Lawrence
River and the Lakes--while for over a century the one great central
north and south line was the Hudson River, Lake George, and Lake
Champlain. In that entire length from the St. Lawrence to New York
Harbor there was but about 13 miles that could not be traveled by
water with such boats as they used. You will recall that great
historic events of our early history centered about this
transportation line. Burgoyne's surrender, Arnold's treason, the great
contests of the French wars, Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain
were all associated with this water route. Such names as Montcalm,
Schuyler, and Champlain are linked to it. Historically, it is true
both for war and