The Rural Telephone 307 



may have all that she can possibly do to satisfy GO sub- 

 scribers. 



"These facts make it apparent that as a telephone sys- 

 tem grows the cost grows likewise, and all through the 

 country the farmers have found themselves obliged, in 

 order to keep up their plant and furnish the kind of service 

 which they feel they want, to increase their assessments in 

 the case of mutual associations, or to raise their rates in 

 the case of the incorporated companies. The one thing 

 which the farmer has often failed to see is that with this 

 increase in cost has come a great increase in the value of 

 the service. When he was able to reach only a dozen 

 neighbors, and was not connected with any village, the 

 service was of value to him, but still not of great value. 

 After he was connected to the nearest village exchange, 

 and was able to reach 300 subscribers, the service became 

 immensely more valuable, and this service he still obtained 

 for a minimum of cost. As the country filled up and the 

 number of people connected with his telephone system 

 increased up to the thousands, while the cost to him may 

 have increased a few dollars a year, still the increase in 

 the value of the service which resulted from the fact that 

 it reached so many more persons was many times greater 

 than the small additional expenditure required of him. 

 In actual dollars and cents the additional profits which 

 the farmer, in selling his products, may make on a single 

 transaction through having the facilities of quick com- 

 munication with the trading centers would in many cases 

 suffice to pay the cost of a telephone for his entire lifetime." 



