118 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK^PART III. 



J. W. Coverdale, secretary of the American Farm Bureau Federation, 

 talked a few minutes, telling of the work of the national organization, 

 and what it hoped to be able to do in the future. 



Solution of the membership problem of Iowa Farm Bureau Federation 

 may come through the wives of members. That women are vitally inter- 

 ested in the organization was evident during the forepart of the after- 

 noon session of Farm Bureau Day. They had been granted or had 

 appropriated, perhaps, as future developments may show, that portion 

 of the day. Mrs. W. A. Tanner, Palo, la., chairman of the women's con- 

 gressional district committee of the state federation, probably revealed 

 the secret in stating that when a man gets in a tight place he hunts for a 

 woman to get him out. Maybe Secretary Cunningham did not realize it 

 at the time, but he probably furnished the entering wedge for a solution 

 of the membership problem when he asked women representatives of 

 the congressional districts to meet with him in Des Moines last April. 

 And now the other half of the farm bureau in Iowa declare that they are 

 going to see it through. 



Mrs. Ellsworth Richardson, Pella, la., presided in the afternoon. Dif- 

 ferent members of the women's committee were asked to report on 

 methods they were using to strengthen the bureau in their districts. 

 These committee women are seeking support of farmers through their 

 wives and children and are managing the farms while their husbands are 

 away on bureau business. 



Mrs. C. C. Schuttler, Farmington, Mo, chairman of the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation committee of five women on rural home problems, 

 addressed the meeting on the woman's part in farm bureau work and her 

 opportunities for community service. The organization made a mistake 

 in not calling upon the women sooner. They now have a vote and wield 

 a bit of influence, she pointed out, so that winning their support is quite 

 is important as converting the heads of families. In the wives of mem- 

 bers, the bureau has an untapped reservoir of power and resourcefulness 

 which she would have turned to account. 



Farm women fail in their calling, she declared, if they do not use at 

 least a part of the pleasure gained through labor saving devices in mak- 

 ing the community the kind of place in which they want their children to 

 live. It is not enough that they train their children properly, but they 

 must throw neighbors in the way of proper upbringing their children so 

 that the entire community may be made better. She urged the wives of 

 Iowa farm bureau members to interest their neighbors in the organiza- 

 tion. But organization alone will not solve all ills. Members must make 

 use of the bureau, else it will not function. Not only must the farmer 

 be convinced that he should join, but he must learn that the bureau is 

 worthless unless he uses it. No one else can use it for him. 



The annual farm bureau day closed with conferences of congressional 

 district executive committeemen. A state-wide membership drive is 

 planned for October 12th. Plans were discussed for collecting delinquent 

 dues and of convincing bankers that they should honor membership 

 checks presented to them for collection. 



In the membership drive the state federation will supply executive 

 committeemen with plans, directions, form letters, contract blanks, and 



