The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1916-05-23

In recent years much has been said
and written about how to make the
country a more attractive place for
young people. Older people have been
alarmed at the tendency of young
men to leave the farm and go to
town. Man is a social being and as
long as life on the farm is one OF
Isolation we may expect the rural
districts to lose the most energetic
and promising young men. This
ought not to be for there is no
grander and nobler occupation than
that Of farming. There are three
improvements that will do much to-
ward checking this tendency to leave
the farm. They are good roads,
rural free delivery and telephones.
OF the three the telephone is OF the
greatest help. When the roads are
too bad for the residents Of these
districts to mingle with each other
they may converse over the telephone.
1t is my purpose to show that the
telephone is the greatest agent pos
sible for the removing of the handi-
caps of the farmer.
Last year many men had been read
ing in the paper about the big change
being made in the milk handling
laws. One night at a meeting man
got up and asked how many knew
that these new laws had been put
I,
The man who was telling the news
had gone to small store that day
after some goods and while he was
there the storekeeper had received
the news over the telephone. Now
If it had not been for this man thes
people would never have known that
these laws had been put through.
Not many people have time to ride
for news The thing for these peo-
pie to do is put telephone in every
one OF their homes.
Many men who live in the country
haul their fruit, potatoes and many
other kinds of vegetables to town
far away in hope of getting a better
price for them. only to find the mar
ket low while the price they obtain
would just about pay for the raising
and hauling of their produce. Now
if these men had a telephone in their
homes they could easily call the mar
kets and find the price before haul
ing them all the way to town.
I know a man who operated a, saw
mill fourteen miles from railroad
or town. small piece of machinery
was broken and he Immediately pro-
ceeded to the telephone to order the
new part. but found that someone
had cut down tree and il had fallen
across the wire and put 1t out of
service. This necessitated his hitch
ing IN and driving six miles TO the
nearest telephone. When he did this
he got his message through alright
and the new part was forwarded
by parcel post Had it not been
for the telephone he would have
been compelled to drive the whole
distance, fourteen miles, what p loss
of time, This is one Of the many in
stances l might relate in which the
telephone, in connection with the par
eel post, is a time saver This also
shows clearly the necessity for safe
guarding poles and &ires for tele-
phone communication. Because OF
someone's carelessness this man had
to drive six miles to a telephone when
otherwise he could have telephoned
Immediately.
The weather foTecaster Ia our
neighboring town OF Charlotte, gets
each day numerous reports by tele
graph of weather conditions ell over
the country, from which ne complies
the forecast of probable conditions to
be expected IN this vicinity. II a storm
ia raging on the gulf coast and Is
headed in this direction 1t is often a
great advantage to the farmerss to
know ahead of time in order to
properly secure field products by get