The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-07-30
TELEPHONES FOR FARMERs

The time doesnt seem ripe for an
agitation of the matter just at this
time, but after are people shall have
learned and come to appreciate fully
the advantages of good public
schools and rural free delivery Of
mails, we hope to join in a movement
for the introduction of the telephone
throughout all we'll settled rural dis
tricts. In Iowa, Illinois, andmany
other western States at this time the
neighb0rhood which has not or is
making no effort to get the advan-
tages of these farm telephones, is re
garded as backward and unprogres
sive. And these advantages r in
deed great. Neighbor can speak
with neighbor without delay; in
case of fire, accident or sickness
friends or physicians can be imme
diately summoned and the cOnnec-
ton with the nearest town or vii
lage enables the farmer to keep in
touch with the markets-in short he
is no longer isolated, in a social or
business sense. The Boston Youths
Companion a few weeks ago editori-
ally discussed the problem as follows /:
s'The loneliness of farm life, which
has been considerably reduced by
rural mail delivery, has been still
further lessened in q number Of
Western communities by the intro
duction of the telephone.
"The chief obstacle to the wider
use of this great modern convenience
has been the high rates charged by
the regular companies. Several
plans to obviate this difficulty have
been tried. The simplest is the &C
tual building of a line and the in
stallation of a small circuit by those
who wish to use it.
"Groups Of Western farmers have
themselves cut and set the poles and
strung the wires for their own lines,
and after buying receivers, insula-
tors, batteries and other material,
have divided the cost and shared the
expense of maintenance.
"Lately another plan has been
tried with excellent results in a num-
Der of Wisconsin towns. A stock
company is formed of those who de-
sire to use the service. The shares
sell for a uniform price of fifty dol
lars, the average cost for installing
each telephone in a good exchange:
but no stock is sold to any one ex-
cept those who rent a ''phone," and
only one share is allotted for each
receiver in use. The charges are so
regulated that the stockholders re-
ceive a dividend Of one per cent. a
month. This is applied to the re-
duction Of the regular rental. In
one of the Wisconsin towns, for in
stance, the rent for a phone in a
business Office is two dollars and a
quarter a month, and in a residence
One dollar a month. The dividends
0EO40SO SONO0bJ i've C0nbS d u
so that the actual cost of the coon
sumer'' is only a dollar and a half
for a phone in an Office and twenty
five cents for one in the home. This
is less than half the usual cost.
"ManY a farmers wife, tied to her
work and cut off from social oppor-
tunities, would gladly pay twenty
five cents a month merely for the
luxury Of hearing a neighbor's voice
at will and the farmer himself. if
he is alert, finds constant advantage
in closer connection with his mar
ket."
More than once this year has The
Progressive Farmer called attention
to the rapidly increasing use of farm
machinery in North Carolina. One
instance is mentioned bv the
S~tatesville Mascot: "More machin-
cry has been sold at this place this
year for taking care of the wheat
crop than was ever known before-se-
venty- three harvesting machines and
sixteen threshing machines. Four
teen traction engines have a1so hoo.