The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988 Page: 281

Book Reviews

the ways of Stone Age warriors to those of citizens of the United States.
He was, as some understood, more a chief, and a greater chief in defeat
than he had been as scourge of the plains.
Symbolically, Quanah's life spanned the entire era of Anglo-American
confrontation with Comanches. Born of the first raid against an Anglo-
Texan settlement (1836), he fought through the last wars on the south-
ern plains, surrendered the last important war band (1875), and lived
long enough so that when he died (1911) he could be honored by both
peoples. He was more than a tragic-romantic figure of the Old West;
unlike most of his contemporaries he became part of the new South-
west that is still in the making.
Too much of this book is devoted to retelling the Indian wars, per-
haps inevitable considering popular tastes. But the book is much more
than that. Extensively but minutely researched, it draws upon unpub-
lished sources and obscure materials as well as the usual run. Neeley
has not written just another book on Indians or frontier days but a
useful work for anyone who desires to follow the Comanche story be-
yond the days of bloodshed.
San Antonio T. R. FEHRENBACH
Trucking and the Public Interest: The Emergence of Federal Regulation, x914 -
I940o. By William R. Childs. (Knoxville: University Hof Tennessee
Press, 1985. Pp. xiv+ 243. Preface, introduction, acknowledgment,
notes, bibliography, index. $19.95.)
In a compact, readable volume, William R. Childs addresses the eco-
nomic, political, and legal issues that shaped trucking. Delineating
three phases through which the industry passed between 1914 and
1940, Childs shows how truckers and government regulators brought a
stable cartel structure to what had been a highly competitive industry.
Initially stability proved difficult to achieve, as economic and tech-
nological forces encouraged competition among the numerous, small-
scale, owner-operators who dominated trucking. In these years efforts
to supervise the industry came largely from state governments, often
with conflicting and confusing results. Different states set different
standards for truck weight and design. Worse, trucking policies con-
flicted with railroad regulation-such as that of the Texas Railroad
Commission-preventing rail carriers from meeting truck competition.
Despite a clear need for a national trucking policy, neither the gov-
ernment nor the truckers were able to provide one. The courts offered
no more guidance, at times encouraging federal regulation, at times
keeping power in state hands. Organization finally began in the 1930os

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