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Page 2 



The llKnob Agricultural AnocUtion Recerd 



Nov. S, 1923 



Illinois Agricul tur al Association 



Publislt'ed twire a month by the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association. 6u8 South Dearborn Street. Chicago. Illinoia. 

 Edited by News Publicity Department, E. L. Bill, Director. 



Entry as second class matter Oct. 10, 1921, at the post 

 office at Chicago, Illinois, under the act of March 3, 1879. 

 Acceptance for mailing at special rates of postage pro- 

 vided for in Section 1103. Act of October 3. 1917, author- 

 Ued Oct. 31. 19Z1. 



The individual membership fec2 of the JUinols AgrlcuN 

 tural Association is five dollars a year. This fee includes 

 payment of ten cents for subscription to the Illinois Ag- 

 ricultural Association Record. 



OFPICERS 

 Prcsldevt. S. H. Thompcon. Qniaey. 

 Vl«re-Prealdent. A. O. Eokertt Believm*. 

 Treasurer. R. A. Cowlea, Bloomlnstoa. 

 I Secretary, tSeo. A. Fo^, Sycamore. ^ 



I I ■ B-XECtlTIVE COMMITTEE i 



I . I By Congressional Districts « 



I tith Henry McGough, Maple Park 



12th. .\ G. F, Tullock, Rockford 



13th C. E. Bamborough, Polo 



14th W. H. Moody, Port Byron 



15th H. E. Goembel, Hoopole 



16th D. G. Reder, Mendota 



17th I. F. D, BartoB, Cornell 



I 18th 4 C. R. FInley, Hoopeston 



I 19th , D. J. Holterman, Sadorus 



20th Earl C. Smith, Detroit 



21st E. L. Corbin, Carlinville 



22nd Stanley Castle, Alton 



23rd Carlton Trimble, Trimble 



24th Curt Anderson, Xenia 



25th .^ Vernon Lessley, Sparta 



j . — , ' Directors of De|>artments t 



! , I. A.-A. Office t 



I General Office and Assistant to Secretary, J. D. Harper^ 



Field Organization, J. C. Sailor; Organization Pub^ 



llclty, G. E. Metzger; News Publicity, E. L. Bill; 



Transportation, L. J. Quasey; Statistics, J. C. Watson; 



Finance, R. A. Cowles; Fruit and Vegetable Marketing, 



A. B. Leeper; Live Stock Marketing, C. A. Stewart; 



Dairy Marketing, A. D. Lynch; Phosphate-Limestone, 



J. R. Bent. Legal, Newton Jenkins. 



I THE DISTRICT CONFERENCES 



I I At thirteen district conferences representatives 

 ' of the Illinois Agricultural Association, county 

 farm bureaus and cooperative marketing associa- 

 tions gathered to talk over their problems, to dig 

 into th« troubles and to find the reasons for the 

 weak links in the work of organized agriculture. 



Certainly there is great encouragement in the 

 fact that we are facing the problems. Because 

 there are problems is no reason to be discouraged. 

 We should not he ashamed to admit our weak- 

 nesses, nor should we shrink from them. 



The chief topic of discussion at all of the meet- 

 ings was cooperative marketing, and many prob- 

 lems and weaknesses were found. Criticisms were 

 made by friends of the movement and .in a con- 

 structive way, rather than destructive. A hopeful 

 angle of the question is that there are organiza- 

 tions in every district that have avoided many 

 mistakes and are successful. From these organiza- 

 tions, others can learn. 



If the conference idea is worth while, the idea 

 of talking problems together, swapping experience 

 and admitting faults, why not have county con- 

 ferences t Why not make it a year around affair 

 by visiting successful organizations, studying their 

 methods and profiting by the experiences? 



1 V — I 



' IF IT HAD BEEN IN COURT 



At several of the district conferences, officers 

 and directors of cooperative marketing associations 

 were asked when they first found out that the 

 association was in trouble. The usual answer was 

 at the end of the year when the books were 

 audited and a statement of the financial condi- 

 tions made out, long after the mistake had been 

 made. 



This question followed : Do you have a financial 

 Statement once a month, analyzed in such a way 

 that you can tell what part of the business is mak- 

 ing money and what part is losing money ? ' Many 

 times the answer is no. 



The lesson in the questions and answers is very 

 apparent, but for the sake of clinching the lesson 

 let us imagine that the scene had been in court 

 before a jury, and attorneys were doing the ques- 

 tioning. 



Question : Then you admit that you served as 8 

 director for a year without knowing the financial 

 Qonditions of your organization? 

 ': Answer: Well no, we had a statement evi 

 I i 



month, but it was so complicated that I could not 

 understand the meaning of it. 



Question : You were aware then, at every meet- 

 ing during the year that you did not know the 

 financial conditions of your company? 

 Answer: Yes Sir. 



Question: Being conscious of the fact that you 

 did not know the financial condition of your com- 

 pany, did you ever admit it to the board of direc- 

 tors, or did you ever demand or ask for an expla- 

 nation of the statement? 

 Answer : No sir. 



A lawyer could make a pretty good speech to 

 the jury on these questions and answers, couldn't 

 he? Let's not give the lawyer a chance to make 

 that speech. — o — 



TAX COMMISSION FAILS TO ACT 

 After waiting six weeks for the Illinois Tax 

 Commission to take action toward equalizing val- 

 uations of farm and city real estate in six counties 

 where wide inequalities were admitted by the Com- 

 mission, the following letter was sent to the Com- 

 mission under the date of October 20. 

 The Illinois Tax Commission, 

 Hon. Percy B. Coffin, Chairman, ', 



Springfield, Illinois. 

 Sirs: 



On September 8, following the hearing given 

 by the Illinois Tax Commission to the complaints 

 filed by the Illinois Agricultural Association, the 

 Commission unanimously sustained the conten- 

 tion of the Illinois Agricultural Association and 

 the County Farm Bureaus participating in the 

 hearing that gross Inequalities still existed In the 

 assessment of farm land In six counties as com- 

 pared with the assessments of ^town and city 

 lots. At that time, also, against the protests of 

 the representatives of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association, you asked that the Boards of Re- 

 view be given further time In which to correct 

 the Inequalities of assessments of the different 

 classes of property, with clear expression of 

 your Intention to order reassessments if the In- 

 equalities complained of were not corrected. You 

 assured us that the delay would not be permitted 

 In any way to prejudice the complainant's case. 



On September 12, your honorable body gave a 

 hearing to the Board of Review of Madison 

 County and to two members of the Board of 

 Montgomery County. In this hearing the mem- 

 bers of the Madison County Board of Review, 

 though not admitting the comparative figures 

 submitted by the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion, did, however, admit that farm land in that 

 county was assessed, full valuations, at 60 per 

 cent of their fair value and that town and city 

 lots were assessed at 40 or 45 per cent of their 

 fair value. The arguments presented by the 

 ^wo members of the Montgomery County Board 

 of Review 'also clearly Implied that they were 

 setting up mere speculation as to the course of 

 future values as the basis of 1923 valuations. 

 They also testified that certain corporation law- 

 yers had aided them not only in fixing the val- 

 uations placed upon the corporate property in 

 the county but upon that of farm lands as well. 

 The Illinois Agricultural Association has In- 

 formation that the inequalities complained of In 

 Cass County have only partly been corrected. 

 It has no information about any action or refusal 

 to act in Marion County. In the other five i 

 counties it is certain that nothing has been done. ; 

 In fact, two Boards of Review, though they knew 

 that a decision was pending, aUjourned on Sep- 

 tember 7, before they could receive any official 

 notice from the Tax Commission. 



More than a month has now passed since the 

 hearings were held. There is widespread com- 

 ment on the delay of the Tax Commission in tak- 

 ing action toward correcting the inequalities of - 

 assessments which were admitted, either openly 

 or by implication, by the Boards of Review. The 

 delay of the Tax Commission has seriously pre- 

 judiced the complainant's case, if the Commis- 

 sion refuses to correct these flagrant inequali- 

 ties in valuations. The land owners in the coun- 

 ties affected, together with the farmers all over 

 the state, are wanting to know why the Illinois 

 Tax Commission has failed to act in this im- 

 portant matter. 



I am writing, therefore, to ask that the Tax 

 Commission give me a statement of what it has 

 done Ar why it has failed to act, or of what it 

 proposes to do to correct the Inequalities com- 

 plained of. Respectfully yours, 



Newton Jenkins. 

 Legal Counsel, Illinois Agricultural Ass'n. 



Copies of the above letter were sent to all mem- 

 bers of the State Tax Commission. As we go to 

 press a week after this letter was mailed, no ans- 

 wer or explanation has been made by the Commis- 

 sion. — 



HALONE FLAYS THE COMMISSION 

 Wm. H. Malone, member of the State Tax Com- 

 mission forwarded the Record copy of a letter 

 which he sent to Chairman Percy B. Coffin of the 

 Commission. The letter follows: ^ 



Colonel Percy B. Coffin, Chairman, 

 Illinois Tax Commission, 

 306 South Wabash Avenue, 

 Chicago, Illinois. . 1 C. 



My dear Colonel Coffin: 



I have just been advised by Mr. Newton Jen- 

 kins, who represented the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association before our Commission, that you had 

 not ordered the local assessors in the counties 

 complained of to make a re-assessment. ThI* 

 information was indeed a surprise to me for you 

 will recall that It was understood and unani- 

 mously agreed upon by our Commission that In 

 all of the counties where the testimony cleariy 

 proved the law was violated to the detriment of 

 the farmer, a re-assessment would be ordered. 



The Commission agreed that the element of 

 time or expense could not justly be raised by 

 the various local assessors as an excuse to avoid 

 the work of re-assessing In their various dis- 

 tricts. 



The witnesses representing the farm bureau, 

 as well as the members of the various Boards 

 of Review, established very definitely the fact 

 that the local assessors did not comply with 

 the law to the end that the farmer in the dis- 

 tricts complained of is carrying more than his 

 fair shareof taxation. 



The various Industries of the country are In- 

 deed prosperous, work plentiful, wages good and 

 most of odr industries running overtime. This 

 prosperity, however, is unknown to the farmer. 

 All the goods which he buys are at peak prices, 

 and yet he is compelled to sell everything he pro- 

 duces at a much lower price then for years past. 

 Coupled with this is the fact that his taxes are 

 higher than ever In the history of our nation. 

 SOMETHING MUST BE DONE FOR THE 

 FARMER. Particularly do I believe that we, as 

 Tax Commissioners, ought to do everything In 

 our power to protect him. 



The great industries of the nation are not 

 paying their Just share of taxes in spite of the 

 fact that they are enjoying an unusual run of 

 prosperity, and when these large industries, 

 railroads and public utilities escape paying their 

 just part, the burden fails upon the shoulders 

 of those less able to pay. The corporations of 

 the State, as you know, employ the best legal 

 talent money can afford to watch and protect 

 their every Interest. The farmer has no such 

 talent at his disposal. This bejng true for so 

 many years, tho burden has been skillfully and 

 deliberately shifted to those who can least af- 

 ford to carry it. 



I am one of those who believe that the very 

 foundation of our government rests upon the 

 great open fields of farm land, and that it is the 

 duty of every patriotic public servant to direct 

 his attention toward the protection of this foun- 

 <latlon. With this thought in mind I urged a 

 re-assessment in all of the assessing districts 

 complained of by the representatives of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association- I recognize the 

 weaknesses of the law under which we operate 

 and realize that even though a re-assessment Is 

 ordered the same assessors will do the work. 

 However, that does not relieve tbe Tax Com- 

 mission from its responsibilities, and I know of 

 no better way to make the weaknesses of a law 

 apparent than by its enforcement 



The law under which the Tax Commission is 

 operating stipulates that "whenever it shall ap- 

 pear to the Tax Commission that the real or 

 personal property in any county or any assess- 

 ment district thereof has not been assessed in 

 substantial compliance to the law, or has been 

 unequally or improperly assessed, the Tax Com- 

 mission may^ in its discretion in any year order 

 a reassessment for such year of ail or any class 

 of the taxable property In such county or as- 

 sessment district thereof." 



I urgently- request that we notify at once all 

 the assessors in the districts complained of to 

 re-assess with the hope that the farmers may 

 receive some relief from a condition which I 

 believe to i>e unfair. 



Very respectfully yours, 



Wm. H. Malone. 



J 





