Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 167, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1915 — PLOW HORSE TO GO FOR ELECTRICITY [ARTICLE]

PLOW HORSE TO GO FOR ELECTRICITY

EDISON DECLARES THE CHANGE IS IMPERATIVE UNDER NEED OF INTENSIVE FARMING. THE GERMANS ALREADY USE IT Hundreds of Farm Houses In Illinois Also Utilizing the Current —Doubts Jitney. East Orange, N. J. —Thomas A. Edison, in a talk with newspaper visitor gave glimpses Into the future of electricity, when there would be new methods of generating and every farmer could tap the current to do his spring plowing. Incidentally he talked of rates and jitneys, and the jinx which pursues the poor devil of an inventor. “Electricity in farming,” said he, "it» one of our coming developments. Some thing is being done, but that branch of our industry is only in its inclplency. In many parts of the country, such as Indiana and lUionls, we have got to come to intensive farming. This will be done with electricity from big central distributing plants with circuits all over the state. “In Illinois there are now some 300 or 400 farm towns using electricity. All ought to have it, each with its little substation, if you like, attached to the village grocery store or the local drug store. The whole service can be inexpensively handled. They do it in Germany. I noticed that in many sections nearly every farm had electric poles. “Electricity Is a feature of the intensive farming which has put that country in the forefront of agriculture and made it hard to starve out Plowing by electricity is an everyday matter there. “The public does not realize what an enormous reduction has gone on the last few years. Electricity is about the only thing that has gone down in price. The public so far has had the benefit of all the inventions and improvements in this way, but there is itf'a limit to which the rates can be cut, for the capital needed for growth and service must be invited by fair returns. The rate question Is not well understood, however, and here again is a chance for simple explanation to the plain people. It is absurd to give a man who pays a monthly bill, of only $2 the same rate as one whose bill is >1000.” Shaking of the jitneys, which are supposed to be making such ravages among established transportation systems, the wizard of Orange said that its career was likely to be grief. No Need to Fear Jitney. “Street railways,” he continued, “have little cause for fear. The railroad men got scared once before when the bicycle was all th> craze. A 5-cent jitney will never pay for tires *nd repairs. “When you come to the electric vehicle for general use, and more particularly the electric truck, I see no end to its future. The horse is a very poor motor, Its food is high priced, it is risky property and in the city nobody wants it. It Is as sure as death that the electric truck Is going to have its day. It takes time to Introduce some things. When I helped make the first typewriter it took seven long years to introduce the machine. Then it went everywhere with a rush.” Edison said that he looked forward to the discovery of further chemical reactions which would be used in the generation of electricity. "But as t<f electricity direct from coal,” he resumed, “there is nothing doing. Unhappily, here is the absolute certainty that our present patent laws the poor devil of an Inventor would never receive any reward for IL "I have never made anything out of inventing. The money that keeps all these men busy in the works here I got from manufacturing, and I have long ceased to expect anything else. I suppose I invent as much as ever, but the pathway to the patent office isn’t quite so hot with my footsetps as it used to be.”