The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-10-10

his line as surely as his cousin, only
in different way.
The Women Want 1t.
This, then, is one Of the obstacles
that confront the REA ambitions.
They are ambitions, however, that are
worth struggling to attain.
Ask any farmers wife.
The worker in the city puts in 40
hours Of labor every week; she works
"a hours. If she has large family
she probably works longer than that.
If she has a small baby, she works
even longer. He gets paid; she doesn't.
If she hasn't electricity to assist
her she has to do everything the hard
way-the firing way that puts lines in
her face long before she should have
them. Yet homework isn't all she has
to do. About 20 per cent of her time
is taken up with actual farm work.
Eighty-nine out of a hundred farm
wives manage the hen houses. Sixty
six out of hundred make butter. Do
you think their lives wouldn't be
heaven" If they only had vacuum
cleaners, washing machines, electric
ironers, and-the possession usually
dearest to the heart of an electrified"
farm housewife-electric refrigerators
In the state of Wisconsin it has been
found that the farmer spends an aver
age of $3.50 a year on his passenger
automobile. In census of more than
half the farms of the country five
years ago 1t was found that, on the
farms~counted, there were 1.13 passen-
ger automobiles per farm. That would
indicate that the farmer is able to
pay for modern comforts if he wants
them badly enough. 1t must be re-
membered that these were passenger
cars, not farm trucks.
The REA wonders why, if there are
cars on 3,650,0OO farms, it can't put
electricity on a large share of them.
1t has been said that the average
farm income is $500 a year. But the
REAi will of necessity not be looking
to electrify the average farm, but the
one that is above average, for it is the
above-average farm. as rule, that is
located near power service.
Bathtubs Are Luxuries.
One survey made by the government
showed that So per cent of all the
farms of the land have neither bath
tub nor shower. Yet more than half
the farms have an automobile! The
reason for this Anticipated bathroom
equipment is the difficulty in pumping
enough water to provide for modern
equipment. Seventy per cent of farm
! women today have to carry water from
a we'll or spring. If this could be done
with electricity the situation would be
much different
To supply all the American farms
with modern bathroom equipment, the
manufacturers of the country would
have to work without stopping for
seven years, it has been estimated
This is perhaps the most elemental
of all needs for electricity on the farn,.
There are others. Four out of ten
farms are still lighting with kerosene
lamps; there are perhaps or per
cent which either use candles or go
without any artificial light at all.
Shades of Lincoln studying by the
light of the fireplace! We'd hardly
think that was necessary at all today.
OF course the REA is not going to
correct these conditions on all farms,
or even on half of them.
There are farms in neighborhoods
too sparsely settled to afford power"
says Mr.. Cooke. There are farmers
too poor to pay for it. After all,
there are plenty of people in the cities
who do not use electric power yet.
If we can bring wires into the homes
and barns of 100000 farms within
the next year or two, we think that is
not too much to hope for and we think
that will be useful job"
With S1OO,O0O,0OO of government
funds to spend. maybe REA can do it.
If so-and if you'll forgive the pun
more power to REA.
g Western Newspaper Union