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Volume 1 



Sept. 5, 1923 



NunlKT 12 



"FOILOWTAXUW," 

 '' SAYS FARM BUREAU 

 TO VERMILION BOARD 



Danville Taxed 36 Percent- 

 Farm Lands 52 Percent 

 Of Sales Values 



"We want you to carry out 

 the spirit of the law," John 

 Watson was saying. "We insist 

 on equalization in Vermilion 

 County. Farmers are asking no 

 favors. They will gladly bear 

 their share of the tax burden." 



Mr. Watson, in charge of tax 

 work for the I. A. A., was talk- 

 ing to the Vermilion County 

 Board of Review at a public 

 hearing. About fifty people 

 were in the room ; farmers, real 

 estate men and representatives 

 of the Chamber of Commerce. 

 On the table was a stack of 226 

 cards, evidence on the tax situa- 

 tion, which the County Farm 

 Bureau bad gathered. 



"The U. S. Government says 

 land values are lower this year 

 than last year or any other year 

 since 1916," Mr. Watson said. 

 "At the same time city property 

 has increased In value. On these 

 cards is the actual selling value 

 of city and country real estate, 

 and on each is the full assessed 

 value for the same piece of prop- 

 erty for this year. We don't 

 care anything about individual 

 cases, but we are mighty inter- 

 ested In the averages. You are 

 welcome to take ihese cards and 

 verify the information on them. 

 We know that this is not a per- 

 fect method to find the value of 

 property, but it is tlie beat way 

 there is. It the Board of Review 

 waits luitil it finds a perfect 

 method jit will never make any 

 change. 



Mr. ""^atson proceeded, to tell 

 the rcsu'lts of the Farm Bureau' 

 investigation. 



Farms Assessed Highest 



The city of Danville is in two 

 townships. Twenty-one sales of 

 , real estate in Danville in Newell 

 township proved to be assessed 

 at 33.8 percent of their actual 

 sales values. Danville in Danville 

 township is assessed at 36.1 per- 

 cent of the actual sale values, 

 based on 98 sales. 



Georgetown is assessed on 43.6 

 percent of the actual sale val- 

 ues, based on 32 sales. In 

 Hoopestown, 36 sales showed that 

 real estate is assessed at 46 per- 

 cent of their sale values. Thirty- 

 nine sales in other towns and 

 Tillages of the county showed 

 that real estate is assessed 43.4 

 percent of their sale values. 

 Farm land is asseaaed 62.7 



No Wheat Price-Fixing, 

 Say L A. A. Delegates 



Voting Delegates at the 1923 

 annual meeting of the I. A. A. 

 were invited by the Record to 

 express their opinions on the 

 wheat situation. Letters have 

 been received from three. Here 

 is what they say : 



L. M. Swanzey, President of the 

 Stephenson County Farm Bureau, 

 says, "We believe the production 

 scare has been overdone. There 

 was too much paper publicity. 

 We feel the Government fixing the 

 prices is wrong either for the farm- 

 ers or for the railroads because 

 other evils are invited. We advise 

 holding reasonably. Also market- 

 ing sympathetically and to keep 

 out of politics." 



TariCr and Leaders 



Matt House of Franklin County 

 says, "Wheat is a crop that can 

 be held on farms for long pe- 

 riods and should be the esisiest 

 to market at satisfactory prices. 

 Farmers had in their possession 

 all the wheat except the carry- 

 over. With the co-operative laws 

 we now have and loans from Fed- 

 eral banks on warehouse certifi- 

 cates, all we need as farmers for 

 any price we ask is a tariff suffi- 

 cient to keep out foreign grown 

 wheat and a leadership that can 



Free Live Stock 

 Shipping For 

 Bureau Members 



By a new ruling made by the 

 Adams County Live Stock Ship; 

 ping Association, members of the 

 Farm Bureau are not charged a 

 fee for shipping. Shippers who 

 are not members of the Farm Bu- 

 reau are charged five cents a 

 hundred pounds in addition to 

 the regular local rate. Formerly 

 all shippers paid a membership 

 fee of $l!*0 a year. 



F. A. Gougler, Farm Adviser, 

 says this ruling is not having a 

 material effect on the amount of 

 live stock shipped, by non-mem- 

 bers. 



organize the farmers who grow 

 wheat. To market it collectively 

 through their marketing associa- 

 tion and the same tactics applied 

 to other crops may be equally 

 successful it we control produc- 

 tion." 



Pooling 



"I am opposed to any kind of 

 price fixing by the Government. 

 Price fixing of wheat and failure 

 to restrict the prices of other 

 commodities has already cost the 

 farmers untold millions of dol- 

 lars," writes F. W. Tieken, Presi- 

 dent of the Ford County Farm 

 Bureau. "I believe pooling is 

 the only satisfactory way to con- 

 trol the marketing end of our 

 bu^ness. We should have a cor- 

 poration to handle our grain in 

 an intelligent way. not depending 

 on the refined system of gamb- 

 ling called speculation to make a 

 market for us. Such an organ- 

 ization could keep posted on the 

 food situation all over the world 

 and use this information for the 

 benefit of the farmer instead of 

 the speculator. 



"Some industries sell their 

 products at a loss in foreign 

 fields but by the protection of-a 

 tariff are able to make up for 

 it at home. 



"Labor has an absolute mo- 

 nopoly. Barring imigration re- 

 moves competition to almost noth- 

 ing. Grain prices are down to 

 practically pre-war levels while 

 freight, labor and the things we 

 buy are at a war time level and 

 in some instances more. I be- 

 lieve this is because we do not 

 have the same facilities for mar- 

 keting our products." 



AT THE FAIR 



When you attend the IIM- 

 nois State Fair at Springfield, 

 September 15-22, look for the 

 large tent facing on the main 

 avenue where the t. A. A. 

 and county farm bureaus 

 will provide a rest room and 

 free ctiecking facilities for 

 Farm Bureau folks. The Na- 

 tional Live Stock 4>roducer( 



V 



will b* associated with the 

 I. A. A. with an exhibit and 

 representatives In this tent. 

 Look for it I 



Red Top Growers 

 First To Apply 

 Under Credits Act 



The Egyptian Seed Growers Ex- 

 change was the first Illinois co- 

 operative organization to apply 

 for a loan through the workings 

 of the new Intermediate Credit 

 Act. A loan of )40,000 was asked 

 for to finance the red top- pool 

 through the Federal Intermediate 

 Credit Bank at St. Louis. 



Over $J, 000, 000 has already 

 been advanced through the new 

 credit system. Banks have been 

 established in the same 12 cities 

 as the present farm land banks 

 to lend for periods running from 

 six months to three years on 

 warehouse receipts representing 

 agricultural commodities or dis- 

 count aprioultural paper from reg- 

 ,ular banking institutions. 



The money thus far loaned has 

 gone largely to farmers' co-oper- 

 ative associations in difTeotnt 

 parts of the country <m Such 

 comoiodities as wheat, in Kan- 

 sas; cotton, in South Carolina; 

 fruit, in California; aad live 

 stock, in I{ebraska. 



percent of the actual sale, values, 

 based on 69 sales. Farm land is 

 assessed on about fifty percent 

 more of the sale .lues than 

 property in Danville. 



"Are you going to allow one 

 class of property to pay fifty 

 percent less than another?" Mr. 

 Watson asked the Board. "If so, 

 why did you take the oath of 

 oflBce?" 



There wasn't much left to say 

 when Mr. Watson finished. Or 

 at least there was little said. 



President C. R. Flnley says the 

 Farm Bureau is going throagh to 

 the end to get results. 



THE FARM BUREAU HOPE OF SOLVING PROBLEMS 



There has been some rrlticism of the work of the Ro«k / 

 Phosphate Department, chiefly from outside sources. Some / 

 ~have accepted this criticism at face value and with other* it< 

 has raised an honest queston mark. / , 



This Department tnvited Farm Bureau Presidents and Farm 

 Advisers to meet with it to talk over the tituatioh. The attt 

 tude of the Association was to get full criticisms and sugges- 

 tions. The result was a frank discussion of the problems in- 

 volved. It concluded with a unanimous vote of confidence in 

 the work of'this Department. 



Here Is what President S. H. Thompson haici to tell tkat 

 gatheving: 



"The Illinois Agricultuial Association ani all of its deoart- 

 ments invites constructive criticism and suggestions, but I do 

 not believe it Is a good idea to take outside oritlcism fon the 

 truth, without knowing the facts. ' 



"Understand I do not ask you to always follow your leaders 

 on all of._the policies laid dewn, but 1 do ask you to stick.close 

 to the principle that organized agriculture is .our hope of solv. 

 ing problerns. The principal of the farmer trying to solve his 

 problems through orgaiilzation Is absolutely correct, and this 

 method should not be departed from." 



ROCK ISLAND 'CO-OP' 

 OPENS TO RETAH. 

 DAIRYTOODUCTS 



I. A. A. Assists- In Orsanizmg; 

 Company Has Capitalized 

 i At $50,000 



Opening of the new 'R/o/fk 

 Island Oo-operative 'Dairy Com- 

 pany plfnt took place on Sat- 

 urday, August 25, when •▼«• 

 1,500 pelople of that city aad 



vicinity 

 sampled 

 were 



distributed 

 the day, 

 operative 



visited the plant and 



dairy products wkieh 



free during 



farmers 



tributary 

 contract 

 op 

 four 



"The new dairy oo- 

 was organized by 



of the Rock Island 



County ]^arm Bureau, assisted .^ 

 by the I ~ 



A. A. Dairj' Mart»t- 

 inft Department. 



The mi k fmin »J^ tfir^ ts'Z.' 

 to Rock Island is under 

 1 o supply the new "co- 

 Wigons were started on 

 retail milk routes in the 

 city on' the opening day and ^ore 

 will be ailded as the business of 

 the comp my expands. A retail 

 room in tile plant dispenses fluia 

 milk, ice cream, cr«am, soft 

 cheese, bi tt,ermilk, aiW butter./ 



|(S0.000 (apital 

 . Capital i cation of the new dairy 

 co-oper»ti ^e is $50,000, and 

 shares, se ling St $100, are held 

 by oJ-er 200 farmers of tbe 

 counts- aad citizens of R«c|c 

 Ol Beers are Fred Sche»er. 

 pr ?sident; John Sierers. 

 ice-presi4ent; C. A. 

 Rpck Island, eecretarj'- 

 who with John C. 

 Baker. Tbi-lor Rid^e; .'Arthur Van 

 ^ale. T&5Jlor Ridje; John Tin- 

 and Cha% Siaaer. 



Islaifd. 

 MiWn. 

 Milan. 

 Be^rs. 

 treasurer; 



/dall, MiUn 



Directors, 

 ager of 

 years of 



equipment, 

 investment 

 structure 

 and has 

 feet. It 

 handle a 



recording 



th«^mometer«. cooling 



/ 



^^\ 



and refris^ratian.'ayatem. 



Milan; coostitute the Board of 



L. A. Finson is man- 

 he "co-op." His IT 

 I Mierienoe in tHr-Tniik 

 trade in > inneapolis gi^-^s him a 

 good background fof ^lis new 

 worki 



The hoi^e of the company is 

 splendid n»w brick boilding with 

 the latest ind most modern dair>' 

 It represents a total 

 of »55,000. Tbe 

 s 40x60 feet in size 

 floor s^ce of 6,400 

 is now equipped to 

 ^paeity of t.OOO gaN 

 ions of mllli dally, but is built so 

 that 11 cai be easily enlarged if 

 the. vblum< of business demands 

 it. 



The «otilpany is stressing the 

 food value of milk in building 

 up its tra4e. The «^itation ot 

 its product is Insnrad 'by its most 

 modem pasteurization machinery. 



/. 



