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Show '- A if jrxouul V . the rate Into fixed charges and an en- vvft llS rsy charge on the kilowatt-hour basis. "Shyim NVxilfl Following the establishment of a ' l IuJlEa xsJh satisfactory rate, electrlo light and 7f W ivCd ill jILz-- - power companies are organizing to put ' (nil till il XYull I l "jTT- a comprehensive plan behind their rural l , , - i - jfflllfjlji . VoW I " service programs. During the past' " - - I lllllijfly - -Al I year at least six prominent companies 'ft 1 lf, Sr-- have appointed men to have sole J f-irr-' SNlallPl "iiai- charge of this work. One company A Ml li'I W '::S?ii5'5,,' hs Sne further and established a -SSBZZ' AjflM'J ?S - AVk-flL! rural service department. In some SsVSfeJ'fJirV-Li?-''-' v 5a? cases rural electrlo districts are being "L-. "PP out and distribution systems S?2Sg?3k.,VjVjka3 AS3"SaafcicsSS planned to make service available to -5SS ' every resident In the district. - nr. Tflnr. n hla nrlflrftRS to the Bn- 7 By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN I HE expression, "Power on the Farm," increasingly in use everywhere, is the central cen-tral picture of a vision of the day when the American Ameri-can farm community shall be supplied with cheap electrical energy. No man living in the country needs to be told what it will mean to him to have ample low-priced power for use about the farm and home. Nikola Tesla, the "electrical wizard," snys that this power will soon be transmitted by wireless. For the time being, however, electrical energy will continue to be increasingly supplied sup-plied by transmission lines. Many agencies are working to the end that this electrical power may be generally distributed nnder satisfactory conditions. condi-tions. "Home Industries reached by good roadei and motor cars," said Guy E. Tripp, chairman of the 'Westinghouse company, in a recent address to the Euglneers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, Penn-sylvania, "power-driven farms, modern mod-ern appliances In the home and a busy contented unit would mean that the American rural home has been reestablished re-established on a modern basis. For a steady diet Omar Khayyam's paradise would not be a patch on that Utopia, If, as and when It comes." Superpower, over which ninny of our public men are waging wordy battles, Is mere of n tendency than a thing. Superpower Is the growth of the power Industry along lines Involving more elllciont plants, wider Interconnection and a more centralized control. Some denounce superpower as a giant which will strangle America. Others see In It a magic which will work wonders for the people. Superpower certainly has special advantages for the electrical Industry. One basic reason is that the cost of making electricity Is very small compared with the cost of distributing distribut-ing It about 1 to 6. If systems having hav-ing different demands on their service can be so connected that the power can be used at all times of the 24 hours, there are obviously great economies econ-omies In operation and possibilities of reduced rates to consumers. Anyway, the superpower Is already here. For example, Samuel Tnsull says In the annual reports of the Commonwealth Common-wealth Edison company Just made: ChleaKO has become the center of a jrreat pool of power, with large and economical electric generating stations not only in Chicago but in the surrounding sur-rounding territory. The system forms wlth further Interconnections a part of a vast superpower system extending from the upper peninsula of Michigan throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and into Virginia. The Commonwealth Com-monwealth Edison company's capacity is now 886,000 kilowatts, of which 160,-000 160,-000 kilowatts comes from the Crawford avenue ereneratfng station in Chicago. But the capacity of this station will be Increased to 235,000 kilowatts this year and eventually will be expanded to 760,000 or 1,000,000 kilowatts, making It the largest station In the world. The superpower system is meeting the increasing in-creasing use of electricity at relatively lower costs. It Is no secret that engineers see in the near future electrical power quite generally In use in factory, farm and household, furnished by great central power stations run by water and by steam and distributed by Interconnected Intercon-nected systems forming one centralized central-ized and highly efficient system. Electrical companies are In the business busi-ness to make money, of course, but their future prosperity depends largely upon getting many customers. And the big companies are working hard on the problems of rural electrification. Dr. E. A'. White, director of the National Na-tional Committee on the Relation of Electricity to Agriculture, says in part in Power Plant Engineering (Chicago) : Seventeen state committees on the relation of electricity to agriculture spread from New Hampshire on the east to California on the west, from Alabama In the south to Minnesota on the north, with a goodly representation representa-tion in the corn belt Study of the possibilities for the use of electricity on the farm has become an established project In agricultural experiment stations. sta-tions. Farmers, agricultural leaders, electrical men, manufacturers are at work on this problem. It Is no longer a question of whether this thing should be or not: it is. The real problem prob-lem is how to secure maximum results at minimum expense. Today there are at least 1,500,000 farms within reasonable reach of primary pri-mary distribution systems. This Is somewhat less than one-fourth of the total- With an average of three farms per mllo this means rural distribution lines to reach 170 times across this continent and. at the minimum figure of J1.000 per mile, will represent an Investment of J500.000.000. It is safe to predict that, to make electric service a dominant factor In agriculture, twice as much will be spent on the farms as In the building of rural distribution lines Thus It appears that this is a Jl, 600. 000. 000 undertaking. It Is coming to be recognized that the first step Is the development of a rate system adapted to agriculture. A number of rural rates have recently been developed. The general tendency is for these rates to contain a minimum mini-mum charge In some form considerably higher than in the cape of urban rates and to taper off rapidly to low energy rates. The attempt Is made to divide the rate into fixed charges and an energy en-ergy charge on the kilowatt-hour basis. Following the establishment of a satisfactory rate, electrlo light and power companies are organizing to put a comprehensive plan behind their rural service programs. During the past' year at least six prominent companies have appointed men to have sole charge of this work. One company has gone further and established a rural service department. In some cases rural electrlo districts are being mapped out and distribution systems planned to make service available to every resident in the district. Mr. Tripp In his address to the Engineers' En-gineers' society called attention to the fact that there has been an application applica-tion of power to practically all Industries Indus-tries except the farming industry, and that in consequence the latter has lagged behind. He also made this point : "Every Douy Knows, ur suumu that the standards of living and wages of the world, expressed In common purchasing power of money, are almost al-most in exact ratio to the amount of power placed at the disposal of the worker; . . . the fact often overlooked over-looked Is that the use of machinery and modern appliances has been a great Influence Id developing the masses of men Into more alert If not more Intelligent human beings." Mrs. John D. Sherman, president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, applied the same thought to the American housewife in an address ad-dress before the National Electric Light association last fall at San Francisco. The General Federation Is now completing a "Survey of the American Home" with a view to Increasing In-creasing the efficiency of Its housekeeping. house-keeping. Mrs. Sherman said: "There Is nothing that will furnish this efficiency effi-ciency as quickly and effectively as electricity the cheapest Item In the family budget," and added: In the heart of the home-maker performing per-forming her dally tasks in the old and wasteful way lurks a discontent, a sense of Injustice, a resentment over the drudgery Involved In home-making. Over other inadequately equipped home-makers spreads an apathy and resignation which argues arrested growth and an Indifference to standards stand-ards of living. Home-making In the United States today Is the greatest Industry In-dustry In the world and Its Improvement Improve-ment Is a challenge to Uncle Sam and to such groups as are represented In the National Electric Light association and the General Federation of Women's Wom-en's clubs. The National Electric Light association asso-ciation a noncommercial organlza tion has long been working on ways and means of applying electrical service serv-ice to farming communities. Many of the Public Utilities are co-operating. The Alabama Power company, for example. ex-ample. Is building 117 miles of experimental experi-mental lines to serve 1,940 rural customers cus-tomers and will try out the many problems In connection with experl- ment stations. I "Power on the Farm" looks like a reality of the near future. Its ef-I ef-I fects, direct and Indirect, will be In-' In-' terestlng. It should Improve the con-' con-' ditlon of the farmer. Will It tend ! to the industrial decentralization ot cities? Will it stiil further decrease the farm population? |