What N.C. Farms Wanted for Christmas in 1937 Was Electricity

From the Editorial Page of The Southern Planter, December 1937 issue

We have just one fault to find with rural electrification. It’s too slow.

We know of communities that have been on the verge of getting current for four years, but it has never come. It should be remembered that less than one farm out of 10 in the states served by The Southern Planter has electric service. The other nine are hopeful.

The farmer who has set aside some money this fall for home improvements will ponder over waiting for electricity when he can buy electric washers, stoves and ice boxes; and going ahead now and investing in gas motors, mechanical washers, kerosene refrigerators and stoves. In performance both lines of equipment are successful. In price the electric appliances are more expensive to buy and operate. It is a decision that the farmer, himself, must make. But we hazard this guess; if he asks his wife which she prefers, she will say, “Life is too short to be spent in washboard slavery. Let’s go ahead and buy it for Christmas.”