Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-12-09
Dapid Jay Tells Wapello County
Farmers of Value of Tnterurbans

the interurban to all farmers and
urging them to assist In every way
possible to connect their rural homes
with the city by electric lines, David
Jay, a well known farmer of Blakes-
burg, delivered the following interest
ing paper on 1.-THE Farmers View of
the Interurban" to those present at
the Farmers institute:
AS we understand it an interurban
railway line Is for the purpose of con-
Meeting the country towns and villages
with the larger business centers;
| to bring the propositic- Of the
rural districts in closer relations and
touch with each other and with the
smaller towns and villages along the
line, the same as the suburban lines
in the large cities bring the residents
of the outer parts of the city in closer
touch with the business center Of the
city.
when the street cars were first
introduced in the cities 1t was only in
an experimental way, but they We're
soon found to be useful and con-
Ivenient to the business man who lived
in the suburbs; also in conveying the
tired laboring man and the overwork-
/ ed clerks from their offices and places
OF business by furnishing them quick
and easy transit to their homes at a
minimum expense; they were also
found to be source Of profit to the
investors and builders OF the different
lines.
4 81 remember hearing people years
ago, upon returning from Chicago and
other large cities speak OF the coaches
j half as large as the coaches used on
the steam car lines being pulled
through the streets by horses and
mules carrying loeds Of passengers tc
their different points Of destination
: Later on, when visiting the cities,
saw the cars go flying by, by means Of
cable to propel them and 1T seemed
strange to an Iowa farmer how such q
thing could be used with no visible
power to propel them; it seemed
VI still more of 4 wonder to me few
rIvears afterwards to see them goine
: at a high rate of speed and only con
, nected by little wheel running on {
steel rod above. That moving was
caused by that wonderful power, tht
1 electric current AT that time no per
son could see far enough into the fu
r tire to think it possible that such
thing as an electric car line would bt
!. built and the cars speeding across
: the country with their loads Of passen
. gers aud light traffic, connecting thu
country with the towns and cities No
Z did one think of It stopping on IT'S W.,
!. to pick up the farmer who wanted 4
make quick trip to the little town o
9 city to do some trading or get som
. needed rerair for the farm machiner
that may have been broken right 4
: the busy time.
Q my friends, say the occupation 9
;. the farmer las always been one of tn
y most noble ca1ljngs on earth. Far1
!. ing has been carried on in some fort
t or other ever since the creation c
o man, either in tilling the soil, grow
ing VINEYARDS, or raising large bard
and herds OF cattle, horses, sheep an
goats. Then as now, they We're m
grating from one place to another I
try to better their conditions as Ar;
ham and OF when they found tn
llelds and pastures of Canaan Wer
oyerstccked ard their herdsmen Wei
uuarreling over their posture right
Abraham said, We had better sepa
ate, and one went to the right an
the other to the left. Whereupon La
moved his family ard herds to the fe
tile valleys of the Jordan So the farn
er of the present time Is trying to ir
prove himself, Intellectually, social
and financially. While the farmer OF
II en- gets taken in b. the smooth al
oily tongue OF the travelling agent {
he goes through the country sellir
him something that is of I
value to anyone, am glad to SO
n those fellows do not find so mar
y easy victims among the farmers ;
u Waterloo After Visiting Nurse.
r. Waterloo, Dec. IA meeting of Il
Associated Charities in Waterloo WI
held last week, when the matter of a
pointing a trained nurse for sanital
sr inspector Of Waterloo was discusse
The plan is to hire a woman traint
in maintaining sanitation among tt
poor Of the city. Five Iowa cities nc
now supporting the visiting nurse.