The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-31

The spread of what is known as indie
pendent telephony. which followed the
running out of the fundamental telephone
patents in this country, has had many
striking developments, but none more re-
markable than those which have given
every farmer in the land the chance to
rig up a telephone and thus put himself
In direct touch with the outer world The
ubiquitous trolley, running out into the
rural regions from the nearest urban CEN
ters, has done much to change the con-
ditions of rural and agricultural life, but
over and above all the telephone Is prov
Ing the instrumentality of what is, as
matter OF fact. new civilization.
Only those who have Travelled OF late
through the rural parts of the great Mid
die states and of those in the Northwest
can have the renlOtest idea of the manner
In which. finding the telephone available
and cheap. the farmer has seized upon
1t with avidity, and connected himself
with some cooperative system in his own
neighborhood. or again. with bolder effort,
has pushed out and Joined his own line
with the network of some adjoining viii
lase. The cooperative principle has in
this way received new and striking ex-
emplification. while the economic out
comes even at this early stage are so
wide reaching that it is hard to determine
Just where the effects of this change will
stop.
Farmers Appreciate Them
1t is estimated that during the last five
years telephones have been put into near
~ 10000 rural homes. The farmer finds
that with the telephone he can keep in
touch with the market. selling his produce
or life stock when quotations are the most
favorable.
BY sparing himself and his help useless
trips back and forth for the purpose of
delivering his products or of ascertaining
the status of the market, he now saves
vast amount of time in the course Of
the year. When he is assured by infor-
nation over the telephone that he can sell
to advantage he loads up his wagon, and
not till then.
AS illustrating the advantage of keeping
In telephone touch with the market an
incident in last years transactions in
broom corn in Illinois Is related. A pros
pective rise in the market was preceded
by great activity on the part of the brok-
ers.
Buyers from the outside began to clean
up the broom corn at $50 a ton. when a
telephone manager called up the farmers
on his system and told them that the
market was rapidly rising. The result
got $240 ton for their crop. One farmer
reports that in addition to getting nearly
double the usual work out of his teams
through their being saved trips to mar
ket, he has been able to do away with
the hire of two men. as he could spend
more time on his farm and save the di-
minished output of the hands at work
during his absence.
Another farmer saved all his buildings
by being able to summon help quickly
from n nearby town and also from his
neighbors when fire broke out. Still an
other, by getting physician promptly.
saved the life of his only son when the
delay of half an hour would have been
fatal
Doctors Find Them Useful.
II is now q common practice for the
country doctor to give directions by tele-
phone for caring for the patient, both
diagnosing and prescribing. In Illinois the
speeches of a recent political convention
were listened TO by the farmers on rural
system as they sat in their homes from
fifteen to thrty-siX miles away. Being
in speaking distance of his neiShbor, not
only does the farmer feel a new sense or
personal security, but he knows mat ms
belongings are safer from moleStatlon
than they ever were before. The telephone
has been instrumental in causing the ar
rest of many horse thieves and outlaws
and i'm some districts the farmers have
almost broken up chicken stealing and
petty larceny by telephoning the police
and commission merchants OF their losses
and thus enabling prompt arrests to DE
made. =
The women and children come in for
their share OF the benefits OF the tele-
phone During the dreary winter nights
they can gossip with their neighbors and
they no longer live in dread when the
men are away. The tramp is chary Oh
performing his professional stunts wnere
he finds telephone wire running into the
house. for he realizes that II necessary
the whole neighborhood can De caleu III
Tba+ Come women have ingenious Ideas