November, 19 Tl 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Fifteen 



-How to Cut Costs of 



Rural Electrification 



Commerce Commission Engineer Be- 

 lieves Lines Can Be Built for 

 $600 a Mile 



Howard MnthewN 



ADJUSTING construction costs to 

 make possible rural electrification 

 without over-large investments of 

 farmers is one of the major problems 

 now being studied by the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association. 



It is the opinion of L. J. Quasey, di- 

 rector of transportation, that worth- 



while re- 



d u c t i ons 

 might be ef- 

 fected in at 

 least three 

 ways: first, 

 the c o n - 

 struction of 

 lighterlines; 

 second, 

 elimination 

 of the de- 

 tailed sur- 

 veys made 

 by highly 

 paid engi- 

 neers; third, 

 use of farm labor as far as possible on 

 rural lines. 



"Many lines are substantially heavier 

 than is reasonably required for rural 

 service," he declared. "Rural electrifi- 

 cation should be considered primarily 

 as a pioneering enterprise and whatever 

 reductions can be made in the cost of 

 bringing service to the farm will great- 

 ly expedite the extension of rural ser- 

 vice. 



Overhead Too High 

 "We observe that the engineering 

 and overhead expense comprise about 

 17 per cent of the total estimated cost 

 of rural lines. Some of this is undoubt- 

 edly necessary, but the type of line re- 

 quired for distribution in rural districts 

 has been quite well standardized and we 

 think it possible to appreciably reduce 

 the engineering expense. 



"Construction costs might also be re- 

 duced by making the proper allowance 

 for work that could be done on the 

 lines by the farmers themselves. In our 

 judgment this would be practicable in 

 many cases." 



J. Howard Mathews, chief engineer, 

 Illinois Commerce Commission, in a 

 recent address to utility leaders stated 

 that studies made by state engineers in- 

 dicate rural lines adequate in every re- 

 spect to handle rural service can be 

 built for $600 a mile, and still offer a 

 factor of safety well beyond minimum 

 requirements. He pointed out that com- 

 panies that once spent $1,500 to $2,000 



_a. mile for rural lines are now building 

 them for $900, which is still too high. 



Why So Much? 



"We have analyzed some of these 

 costs," he said, "and from a study of 

 the figures it is apparent why there is 

 still such a wide variation in rural line 

 costs. Material costs alone vary from 

 $365 to $1,000 apparently without any 

 particular reason. Labor costs range 

 from $100 to $450, again with no ap- 

 parent reason. 



"The final costs, where low, seem to 

 be explained by good judgment in the 

 selection of material, low overhead and 

 an efficient use of labor. It goes with- 

 out saying that construction costs 

 should be kept as low as possible be- 

 cause these costs have an important 

 bearing upon rates, as depreciation and 

 interest on the investment are figured 

 in the charges." 



Low^ Cost Best Salesman 



"What is needed to increase rural use 

 of electricity on Illinois farms," said Mr. 

 Mathews, "is further modifications in the 

 construction standards and in the rates, 

 which would encourage the extension of 

 lines and permit the transmission of 

 energy at a lower cost. 



"From a study of the experience of 

 about 3,000,000 gas and electric cus- 

 tomers in Illinois," he said, "I am con- 

 vinced that while a number of things 

 influence the extent to which an in- 

 dividual will use gas or electricity, there 

 is one outstanding influence which pre- 

 dominates and that is the amount paid 

 per unit of service. There is so sales- 

 man like low cost." 



Note: This is the first of a series of articles 

 on the subject of rural electrification. 



Buy Corn in Iowa 



Pay 60 Cents a Bushel 



A Des Moines, Iowa, dispatch of 

 October 31 stated that a state-wide 

 corn purchasing campaign, resembling 

 the war-time liberty loan campaigns, 

 intended to put from $8,000,000 to 

 $10,000,000 in the hands of Iowa 

 farmers, was started on October 30. 



The plan calls for the sale of a mil- 

 lion bushels of Iowa corn at 60 cents 

 a bushel, the campaign to start early 

 in November. Every Iowa business man 

 and salaried person receiving $2,400 or 

 more annually will be asked to buy at 

 least one unit of 10 bushels. 



On Serum Board 



Circuit Judge Advocates 



■■f-:p^'^.^ Acreage Regulation 



Advises Farmers to Organize to 

 .Secure Fair Prices . , 



A. B. Schofield, director from the 

 17th dstrict, was selected by the I. A. 

 A. Board of Directors to serve on the 

 board of the Illinois Farm Bureau Serum 

 Association in the coming year. 



GOVERNMENT regulation of acre- 

 age planting of the" principal 

 farm crops, cotton, wheat, and corn, is 

 recommended by Circuit Judge Louis 

 Bernreuter of Nashville, Illinois, as a 

 solution to the agricultural problem. 



"If the Farm Board notices any of 

 these crops running into surplus pro- 

 duction, then let it issue an order that 

 the acreage of such crops be decreased a 

 certain percentage at the next plant- 

 ing. If after such reduction a shortage 

 occurs for one year, little harm will be 

 done," according to Judge Bernreuter. ;■ 



Buy the Surplus ' 



"If with these adjustments of the 

 acreage a small surplus happens to oc- 

 cur, the government 

 should buy it at a 

 fair price on the 

 open market and 

 carry it over to the 

 next year, when it 

 might be needed to 

 cover a shortage. If 

 this plan had been 

 adopted a few years 

 ago," he says, "we 

 would not now have 

 the ruinious surpluses 



I.ouiM Bernrt'iiter of xhesc CropS tO 



contend with. We 

 have enough cotton on hand to last us 

 two years. At the same time an enor- 

 mous new crop is now standing in 

 southern fields ready to be picked. 



"My plan deals only with the maxi- 

 mum acreage to be allowed each farm. 

 If a farmer sees fit he may put in a 

 lower acreage or none at all. The plarv 

 is not to apply to farms below a cer- 

 tain size. Each county is to have its 

 own records and a supervisor. The plan 

 could be gradually extended to other 

 farm products. 



Only Sound Solution 



"I believe government regulation m 

 all lines is the only sound solution to 

 our own problems. If one of the old 

 political parties were to advocate this 

 idea it would sweep the country in 

 1932. 



"The government must step in and 

 regufate the production of the machine 

 so that the burden of the laborer is 

 lightened. The laborer should not be- 

 come jobless on account of inventions." 



Judge Bernreuter delivered his farm 



relief ideas before a recent session of the 



Farmers' Institute at Hamel in Madison 



county. "'■'-■•;■ ■-•■■^ '.' ;■■: 



(Continued on Page 17, Col 2) 



