No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 631 



h»w mauy hogs ho had, and he says, 'a car load in the morning.' " 

 I asked, ''Don't you say anything about the price?" He said: 

 "They know the price of hogs, there is no use to speak of that. The 

 man at the end of the line keeps posted and what one knows they 

 all know." 



This seems to be a great advantage that we do not have in this 

 State. I know in our county we have tiuite a number of telephone 

 lines but they are not within reach of the farmer. We must go intD 

 the towns and cities in order to use them. To illustrate: -About 

 four of us, a jear ago, had a car load of wheat and we were watching 

 the prices and one of the parties happened at the telephone in the 

 morning and was talking to the party that bought it and he tele- 

 phoned to him that the wheat was shrinking, and he had better 

 sell it. He says: "The wheat is on the siding and if you are willing 

 I will let it go." He remarked: "I can pay you so much to-morrow 

 morning and after that I can't pay within ten cents as much." That 

 would have been ninety dollars less, and that man had he not been 

 at the 'phone, there would have been a loss of ninety dollars and a 

 local 'phone would not have cost more than that. 



I don't know anything to-day that would be of greater advantage 

 to the farmer. I don't know of any other means that would unite 

 the farmers so well in a business way, and otherwise, than to have 

 a net-work of telephone lines throughout tlie farming community. 

 The farmers themselves could erect their own lines and I think 

 there would be no trouble to exchange communication with the 

 general telephone lines throughout the State. It seems to me that 

 it is a matter in which there should be much needed legislation with 

 reference to the setting of poles by these telephone companies. Of 

 course farmers could set the poles on their own lands without any 

 trouble; but we are annoyed with the companies who have charters 

 and set their poles on our lands at places where we do not want 

 them set. We have a decision handed down by Judge Beaver, of the 

 Superior Court, concerning them, and this we don't like, there- 

 fore, it seems to me if we could use our own lines at a small outlay 

 it would be a great benefit to us. We have two lines at my own 

 home, the one within about one minute's walk to get to it and the 

 other about two minutes walk and when they come to set my pole 

 there, my farm runs about two hundred feet in the locality where 

 they wanted to set them, and I said if you will not injure me and not 

 tramp down my crops I won't object to your setting the poles, 

 because it will be an advantage to our community; and I don't regret 

 that I gave them the privilege without cost, because I believe it has 

 been a benefit to the farm. My farm has been damaged to no ex- 

 tent at all. 



That is all I have to say about that and I commend very highly 



