While on vacation, I came across a letter to the editor (Delaware Pilot newspaper) dated March 27, 1897 that is too good not to share.
"About these new ideas--electric lights and sewage and dear know what all. What do we want these things for? Those people say they want to have the streets better lighted at night just as if the good old coal lamps ain't good enough. What do they want more light for? People won't be able to sleep nights."
"What do we want to have sewers run over the town for? Just because some people have built fine houses with their 'modern conveniences' they want to make us put in sewers. We don't want people meddling with us. We are conservative oldtimers and if we are asleep we don't want to be waked up."