Evening star., 1902-03-05
IN THE COUNTRY.
They Are Putting an End to Isolation
on Farms.

From the New York Tribune
Old western plainsmen say that the barb
ed wire fences have done away with the
Oil life Of the prairies. So too, in the
farming country of Western New York has
the telephone wire wrought a change which
would be astonishing to the householders
who occupied the homesteads and cottages
in the valley Of the Genesee and along the
south shore of Lake Ontario even a decade
ago. People who live in crowded cities,
where distance is reckoned by the time 1t
takes rapid transit car to whirI from one
block to another do not understand what
such an apparently slight innovation
means. There the grocer. the doctor and
the caterer can be summoned or instructed
al moments notice. Conveniences these
little things are called. In the country. dis
tance Is anywhere beyond the front door
that only horse can cover with satisfac-
tory rapidity. 1t is true that electric rail-
ways are joining village to village with
steel bands. but electric cars run only on
stated schedules, and sometimes not even
then. Besides. only main travelled thor
oushfares' are followed by the lines" and
crossroads are an unavoidable necessity.
Suppose. then. that John Smith lives on
a crossroad miles from the nearest village
Johns baby. on a dark tempestuous night
suddenly develops unmistakabe symptoms
Of Group. What did John do ten years ago.
He left the baby with its terrified moth
and plunged through the storm and the
darkness to the village after DR.. Squillem
and then back again. three hours later
wet. weary and woeful. Or, suppose that
Johns house caught fire or was broken into
by burglars. Again. he had to ride miles
for assistance. If he had an important
business engagement which he couldn't keep
that day in the city. something about pay
ing off the mortgage or reducing the note
or any Of those little matters which farm
ers sometimes find themselves forced to
bicker with, he had either to trust to the
mails or take the train to town." just to
return again.
That was in the old days. What does he
do now? Just steps to the phone calls up
central and In a minute is connected with
Whomsoever he desires to converse with.
The doctor comes on the jump, the grocery
man brings the flour, the lawyer receives
the explanations, all for a small expendi-
ture. John understands this pretty thor
oughly now. as Is to be seen from the re-
markable Increase in the thickness of the
subscribers books Of the telephone ex-
changes.
Another evidence of the rapid extent Of
country service Is noticeable in the insti-
tuition of scores of so-caled 'independent'
companies. which supply service for GER
tain districts. generally In the neighbor-
hood Of large central city, from which
radiate in all directions, like the threads
connections to small villages, which in
turn connect with the farm houses in their
vicinity. 1t is weak and unenterprising
part Of country these days that cannot
boast Its telephones by the dozens, with
urban connections" In many cases this
system Is extended by a scheme of co-op-
Grafton. whereby half a dozen independent
companies combine their lines, so that the
service may stretch half way across state.
This assimilation by the rural districts
Of what have hitherto been considered
purely city conveniences is rapidly chang
ing the condition Of the countryside The
people are becoming more closely knit in
their relations. the characteristics Of the
community and the benefits which spring
from such association Of interests are
slowly taking shape. and little by little the
old-time insularity, If the word can be used
In such connection, is disappearing. 1t
will not be long. at the present rate Of
progress. before the country as a separate
feature Of modern life will disappear
Every city will have it's "attic plain and
the clover meadow will be the dooryard of
the department store.