COUNTRY TELEPHONES

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 407, 16 January 1909, Page 5

COUNTRY TELEPHONES

A NEW ZEALAND WANT. ■ -'WHAT IS DONE.ELSEWHERE. ■ For some, reason. New Zealand ■has never been. able' to give its country set-., tiers itho cheap. telopapne - systems in vogue ;in other countries' Where. ;the convenience is I ."supplied at a , cost that even the; most strugP.gliiig' iarraer" ivduld: riot grudge. Tlie secre-; i t?ry to the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association; Mr.' ;E. £Tall, : has letui-ried,' jto. Auokland from a., visit to' America - and.. panada, 'thoroughly' convinced that a cheap system cbuld be established here. ' > .'. .*' . ; ~ Mr. Hall informed a "Herald" representative that : _in levery; country; he' had visited lie found; ' the' farmers . aid theiy'leaders/of agri-;. cultural''thought^'-attaching ;the utmost.. importance: t'6':the value'6f telephones'.One of. I the questions; put to every, witness by .President Roosevelt's Country, liifo Commission,' was, "Do the-farmers' in your neighbourhood .receive from tlio United States postal ser-: vice,: and from ■the- rural telephone system, tlio servico they should reasonably Expect ?'.': 'Even on the. loneliest' 'ranches', on the ranges : telephones were, installed. Rural lifo was often dull and •ufiattractive, and it should not .be . so, and two things that would work wonderful. changes were electric tramways in the country districts and the installation of a universal- country'telephone. ■ • Mr. Edwin Pratt; in liis report on the "Transi.tion ofj;Agriculture in England," said the tekphono widened the area of distribution, land increased tbo prices - realised by something like 25 'per cent. The Scottish* Commission on Agriculture in Denmark reported that a telephone installation, costing only £2 15s. per annum, gave the convenience to al.most .oyery-:creamery,' ; every farmer,-' and -tradesman,.. V The.:, use,:, of the telephone 'envbblcd growers to get' into- direct. ' touch',witli'a'greater range of local markets, iind'tho'expansioil df biisiness in consequence , had. been something,,enormous. 1 Almost- all the Amcricaaiarmors liaj}-tlio telephone. - v - "While; crossing' the "Pacific," said Mr. Hall, "I readv in the -Herald-'-- a- statement made .by." Sir-Joseph;: Ward : to. Maiia- ; tvatii --A; r;and •P. Association - thai; it : ' was dimply; 'impdssiblp' : ':for the Government . to' cope' tyith tiiii deriiawl for country Telephones, : and tlwt to grant all the telephone,; requests no.wjni.ade would, cost £7>,000,000.^-1, asked tlii-ee /farmers •; who - werp: on board.-tho s.s. Moana' how thc' , diffioulty was/got ov,etv; One. came from .Manitoba, another from Texas, ind the other, from Oregon, and thoy stated." therp _ woro n'o*'; insuperablo. difficulties .in the way--of-providing telephones, and .each said .that',',iir. their,i districts all -the >farmers, lull? telephones. :. Tlio 'Manitoba; farmer -informed, me, that'' in his district the! councils erected the- system, arid provided farniefs; with, tek* phones for £3; per annum, and £1 of this 'was vpaid; .to; -tne • Governmentto give the farmer -tlio*. Usd ,'bf, tho > ibng-distanco, trunk lines, arid.;thero,'was now a, reguiai';net-work : , of wires all -/over his district, Tlio . Texas. settler stated, that tho Bell ■ Telephone, Company provided .telephones for 255., a: year J i the faTmers'carriedand.maintaifled the-wires frdrii'itheirrliottseS to the: city^limits; : at » cost to each .farmer for erection",- of.'about--16 dollars.per mile.'.'Tlio''Rell'.Company connected froiri ■ tho 1 city> limits ; to'" t-iioir ex-.; (^h"a"f!ge,' : ■"ahd , ;jpaid-.\6pejr^tflrs",'^\aria""" : 'the_"*"Cpm- i panjv:keptftho r tele^M'nes , iii'.repair,' "arid tho. Bell Company claim to have connected,.with, their,"exqliariges,.'about. 4,000,000./ telephones. The Oregon man sMd the farmers built their oivn lines,and there fivere ten' farms ' con-, necte'd This man paid, '' for his'share of tno:cight"jrnildfe","si sriin of 16. dollars,, and each man.,did so, much of the work. " Tho -company provided the telephones'and the switchman, at a chargp of 5; dollars a year. Tho United States Government senefs. weather forecasts through thetelephone to over 400,000 .people every day.'V "I think it is time we liad some; system here," said Mr: Hall in conclusion. "Sir Joseph Ward sa:id to .a. deputation from the. A. arid'P. Conference that if sonio practicable scheme we're - ' submitted,:• he would consider it, and, if "possible,- give effect te it, ahd I tliinli that a start might be made if the. Goyerririicnt: would appoint an { officer; "to gq.i.round' tho:'country.'.arid' oxplaiii to meetings ..of farmers the advantages, of tlio tpleplibiife, and how easily and how cheaply it could ;bo either' through the- county councils or l 'by. co-operativo, elfort.; • The '-fight; for' the world's' markets'".is becoming .fiercer,' and our primary' producers/ if they 'areto: hold their ;o'wn, : : ought, to br placed' on; as good i footing in this respect as their rivals, and the telcphoilo is: ono of the "most valuable aids to'thc farmer ill his .business. More-, over,'ich'O, -telephone would .riiatcrially rediire. the sinse '.of uttet .lotieliricss and. .anxiety attendant oii tlio life of women in the. baek : (listricte, induce more settlers to take tip land ill the .back-blocks, increase the. pro:;.. pcrity-of the cities by fostcriiig. and: irie."ra>-,-ing.;bi)rintn' trade, and' save juniiv valuable lives "now lost thrpttgh want of iriedieal ad- , vice.""''. ■. '