The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-04
RURAL PHONES SOLVE
KANSAS CROP PROBLEM
Enable Farmers and state
Labor Bureau TO Make Djstri.
button Of Harvest hands.

TOPEKA. Kan. July z The rur,,
telephone. strung along as part NJ wi,..
fences, home made in many Instance,
using antiquated instruments. has hsen
the best employment agent Kansa. Ma.
found In getting the army Of hary,.,
hands and laborers to the joh. tina,
needed them. There are 32s. 900 toe.
phones in Kansas, one for every family
'"cording to the reports nl'd with 49,
2ubiic Utilities Commission. During
the last two or three weeks the ,ele.
phone has been the most useful machine
on h Kansas farms.
Three weeks ago cane tho high N,.a-
and floods throughout, the central ,,i
eastern parts of the State. Th, ,,r,,
telephones are estimated to have saved
s5,000,0o worth Of farm prt,cf,, from
Hood damage. The central np.f,',r,
were notified of high water Ina tina
streams and they In turn notified hur.
drcds OF farmers TO get tho flrui,ura
out OF the first floors and get tho h,cs
and calves and chickens to high ground
Now the telephones are doing Owe,
more remarkable work. Kansas h,,
made a call for 4s,s0O harvcs, hand,
to take care Of tho big wheat cron. Tina
distribution of this number " mon
who're they could do the mos good AVOID
LABOR congestion in one place and A
scarcity In another only a few mics
away. has been a serious problem con.
fronting the state free emrioymor,
bureau.
The <ural telephone solved II. Mos, q.
the rural lines are owned by the ,srm.
e~ themselves. Virtually all are mn.
tual systems that were built nv TIE
farmers under the supervision o, some
practical telephone men. They are con.
nected with the Bell and Independe-,
systems, and there Is hardly a farm
home In Kansas that cannot talk WITH
every other home and to some ~ IL
larger cities outside the State.
The farmers who own the rural l,ns
demanded help from their manager,
when It came to getting the $500 mar.
vest hands distributed. The manager,
began a system of keeping track eve,y
DAY or the harvest hand situation a.
every farmer on their lines. Each NOR.
ing a general call was sent gu, on s,,h
rural line. Each farmer told n, "a
need for extra men. and the telerho-s
managers got together and made TN A
list OF the men needed, the name. q,
the rme needing the men and the,
q a was made TO tho State enp ~,
ment bureau In Topeka.
BY 10 O'Clock a day the bu-e,,
had received reports from is agents
Kansas City. 81. Joseph. Wichita. Fo-
scott and other railroad centres wh.-s
the men c~ongregated as they entered N,
state When the agents made tho,
reports the director of the bureau. PAU
Mcbride, with the calls for helm From
tho telephone companies before him
was able TO tell each agent jus, vhe-,
10 o a certain number Of mo, ,,i
who TO report to In each town.
Get ffty-seven men together and
send them to John Smith a. Cas,lo,,- "
was the sort of order the director NJ. a
bureau gave. The men would h. he,d.l
IN n the correct number given T.. a
employment bureau cards and told :,
report 70 John Smith, the manage n,
the telephone company.
The next day the manager Of the 'l
phone company would give the hands
cards TO HE former patrons. I, is ss, .
mated that the free employment ir.
reau distributed not less than ~. GOOD
harvest hands this year direct 10 o..
armers by means of tn. rur.I ',f..
phones that reach every township h. ,4
state. II Il the first wear the pr,a VA,
been tried and has been very successr.
There Is no lack OF work II tn nan
could get TO Il, and getting the luforra.
ZION TO the men az to where there Mas
work has always been the chief r,.h.
lem. This has been solved by the rs.
OF the rural telephone.