Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1904-04-16

/ DNht" hnu ENGnln =
Concerts by Wire.
The telephone has ceased TO be q
purely urban convenience. says the
New York Times. II has become an
important factor in the rural life of
many sections. A talk by wire with
the farmer of New England is an every
day occurrence. Calling up planta-
ton owner in the blue grass region
OF Kentucky has ceased to be novel.
~ and perhaps before very long the
farmers OF the far south will be say
ing 'Hellol'' to New York.
In Connecticut alone the telephone
companies have established about G.0O0
farm stations and the number is rapid
| ly increasing. AT cost Of SIS year
the farmer can place himself in con
slant and immediate touch with the
town and city. receiving market quota.
tons and advice every day, and sell
ing or ordering goods without moving
outside of his own home.
The farm telephone is the outgrowth
of a crude system, which bad Its in.
! ception in the discovery that the ordi-
nary wire fence could be utilized for
telephone wires. By Insulating the
top wire of the fence messages could
be sent from one part Of the farm to
another. Crude transmitters and re-
ceivers were connected, and in a short
time farmers co-operated in extending
their private wires. In the west, where
many miles of barbed wire fences were
used. contiguous farms were connect
ed by telephone at comparatively little
expense. BY running wires over the
highways. stringing them from trees.
a pretty effective system could be OBJ
tanned. Hundreds of thousands of
farms were connected by telephone
through the cooperation of the owners.
and the fence suddenly became an i'm
proving factor that the manufacturers
never anticipated.
The telephone companies have now
entered into partnership with the farm
ers, and the rural service of many of
the companies is more extensive and
valuable than the town service. Bet
ter wires are used, superior instru-
ments employed, and better general
service is maintained all around The
whole country is In a fair way to be
gridironed with wires.
1t is estimated that nearly million
farms have telephone service supplied
to them, either by companies or pri-
vate wires. In parts OF the west
where the telephone systems were nrst
Installed by the farmers II Is mot un-
usual TO have a complete service, sup
piled for 50. 81 or So year. The fn-j
dependent telephone systems operated
by the mutual process range In diff
ferent parts of the country from s. to
SIS month,~and those operated by
companies do not cost much more.
The farmers telephone makes him
Independent of the rural free mail de-
livery and the railroad and telegraph
companies. Market quotations are re-
ceived in tens of thousands of country
homes only few minutes after they |
are sent over the ticker to the offices |
OF commission men. No bull or bear |
move on the market can be made by |
operators in grain, provisions or dairy |
products without instantly being com |
municated to the producers. The farm |
service attempts TO spread the news |
of the market each day so that the |
farmers can draw their own conclu- |
sions respecting any violent break or
advance in prices.
To make the service more complete
the rural companies have arranged
for sending a complete gist Of the |
days news happenings TO their Gus
toners. Thus farmer after the days
work can sit in his own home and |
listen to an intelligent description Of
the chief events IN the world.
further step in bringing the farms
into closer communication with the
town has been agitated by congress.
This is faeetiously called the telephone
mail and il intended to make rural |
free delivery antiquated and slow In
When a farmer expects
q telephone letter be directs the post
master ut the nearest Office to open IL
upon receiving II and
telephone the contents TO him. Tele-
phone letters can be sent with a spe-
cial delivery stamp attached This in
dicates that the postmaster is TO open
the letter and telephone fits news to
the farmer. situated anywhere from a
mile TO fifteen or twenty miles away.
IL the telephone letter system is
by the government. thou.
sands of miles of farmers telephone
wires will be available Immediately
for the purpose. There will be no ex-
pense on the part of the postoffice de
partment in building wires or estab.
fishing costly rural free delivery routes.
The lines are already in existence and
the farmers simply ask that the gov
cooperate with them in facili-
tating the delivery of important let
tiers.
With these improvements effected.
the farmer becomes an up 10 date bust
ness man, with all the facilities for
his work with the com.
mercial world as expeditiously and
promptly as the city merchant There