ry 21, 1924 



stock to mar- 

 dations must 

 i before Pro- 

 !ss they must 

 ire. 



eers Commis- 

 n business of 

 in hogs and 

 ix months in 

 ■iod in 1922. 

 5 carloads of 



: commiasion 

 e siw of the 

 : does denote 

 t. Louis an-^ 



CUT 



■eau selected 

 X)m 17 town- 

 the county 

 10.46, and in 

 the 34 farms, 

 It concludes 

 ,000 acres of 

 I total saving 



irms in 1923 

 ,'$107,120, a 

 !res in these 

 reduction in 

 of the coun- 

 ation of $8,- 

 £ rate of 50 

 s a saying of 



in concludes 

 ual to 2,000 

 ach, and the 

 farm bureau 



rois 



llinois farm- 

 poultry and 



investigate 

 the west and 



larketing or- 

 questions of 

 omes to the 

 ig to quaKty 

 thing which 

 producers. 



1 ones, often 

 m ones, the 

 mes and the 

 groceries at 

 5 they reach 



of the eggs 

 igg shippers 

 nal markets 

 rs were paid 



slipped any- 

 Aa well as 

 mission man 

 de and they 

 he producer 

 the conntiy 

 hare of their 



e, high qual- 

 tr them, but 

 nor does h« 

 >ld by grade 

 10 has good 

 filing to his 

 cares littte 

 to the pro- 

 A. IS work* 



fcoDuy 21. 1924 



The tmnok Agrienltiiral AwodatioB Record 



I 



I. A. A. NET WORTH 

 TOTALS $214,293 



(Continued from page 1> 

 holdings In United States liberty 

 bonds and treasury notes from 

 $80,000 to $120,000, par value. 

 The item Is shown on the balance 

 sheet as $119,202.82 which repre- 

 sents the 'book value' or cost to 

 the association. 



"The U. S. government bonds 

 and treasury notes are 'bearer' 

 securities, coupon form. They are 

 field as the property of the associ- 

 ation, in safe-keeping In the vaults 

 of one of the large Chicago banks, 

 so appearing on their books. The 

 bank has Issued to the association 

 safe-keeping receipts for the se- 

 curities as purchased by the asso- 

 ciation. The safe-keeping receipts 

 are in turn deposited in a safe 

 deposit box by the treasurer of 

 the association. Access to the 

 safe deposit box referred to is had 

 only by your treasurer and in the 

 presence of one of the several des- 

 ignated representatives of the fi- 

 delity and surety company who 

 have bonded the treasurer of your 

 association. 

 ,' Securities Safegnarded 



"The fidelity and surety com- 

 pany keep an accurate list of the 

 contents of the box, noting all ad- 

 ditions and withdrawals. This 

 protective feature, properly re- 

 stricting access to the box, is en 

 tirely self-imposed by the present 

 Incumbent. It has been accepted 

 by your Executive Committee as a 

 permanent policy of the associa- 

 tion by resolution addressed to 

 the Safe Deposit Vaults Company. 

 No deviation in any particular 

 from this policy In the future 

 should ever be made except to fur- 

 ther strengthen its protective fea 

 tures, It possible. It is fully as im- 

 portant to the membership of this 

 association, or any organization 

 to know that its securities are 

 properly safeguarded, as It is to 

 know of what they consist and the 

 amount thereof. The interest cou- 

 pons are clipped by the bank as 

 they mature and its cashier's draft 

 remitted to the association to 

 cover. 



Long Term Loans 

 "Dnder 'long term loans,' are 

 listed advances to affiliated organ- 

 izations. These advances are evi- 

 denced by six and twelve month 

 sotes, but in practice must be paid 

 out of income or through possible 

 refinancing. Liberal reserves have 

 been set up for possible losses in 

 these Items. 



"The 'liquid' assets of the asso- 

 ciation are represented In 'Cash 

 on Hand and in Bank' and 'U. S. 

 Government Liberty Bonds and 

 Treasury Notes' — a substantial 

 sum. Immediately available, and 

 in very favorable ratio to current 

 liabillUes." 



Malone Appointed 

 Head of Illinois 

 Tax Commission 



Wm. H. Malone, Cook county, 

 has been appointed as head of 

 the State Tax Commission by the 

 Oovemor. Mr. Malone has been 

 friendly to the I. A. A. and 

 county farm bureaus In their 

 light for equalized tax valua- 

 tions. It win be remembered 

 that he severely flayed the chair- 

 man of the commission In Oc- 

 tober when the latter failed to 

 order reassessments In the seven 

 counties where the local boards 

 failed to equalize, after the tax 

 body had promised the I. A. A. 

 that reassessments would b« or- 

 dered. 



E. St. Louis Co-op 

 Plans To Refund 

 $80y000 Earnings 



The Producers Live Stock Com- 

 mission Association of E. St. Louis 

 will refund more than $80,000 

 saved this year in commissions on 

 livestock sales made for its mem- 

 bers, according to H. D. Wright, 

 manager, who made his report at 

 the annual meeting of the associa- 

 tion, January 16. 



This saving is made in spite of 

 the fact that the agency reduced 

 its rates during the year 20 per 

 cent from those generally saved 

 thus effecting additional saving 

 Approximately 450 shipping as- 

 sociations are members of the 

 agency. i 



l>«ie3 



THOMPSON SPEAKS 

 ON ORGANIZATION 



Metzger and Cowles 

 To Represent I.A.A. 

 At Regional Meeting 



G. E. Metzger, Director of Or- 

 ganization, and R. A. Cowles, Di- 

 rector of Finance, will represent 

 the I. A. A. at a regional confer- 

 ence of organization workers at 

 Lansing, Mich., February 21 and 

 22. The A. F. B. F. has called 

 the conference and organization 

 and collection programs will be 

 considered. 



Representatives from the Ohio, 

 Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and 

 Wisconsin state farm bureaus have 

 been Invited to the conference. 



(Continued from page 1) 

 his neighbor in the marketing of 

 farm products. 



"Up to the present time, farm- 

 ers could never conscientiously 

 say that they have really bad any 

 influence to make a higher or a 

 lower market for any farm prod- 

 ucts. The only influence that has 

 really created higher or lower 

 markets has been droughts, freeze- 

 outs, war, failures in other coun- 

 tries or something over which 

 they have never had any control 

 themselves. 



All jTotn Together. 



"There is no business that could 

 successfully thrive if It could not 

 have anything to say as to what 

 the price of the commodity or pro- 

 duction of the factory was to 

 bring. The time has come when 

 farmers of this country, if they 

 are going to put their business on 

 a substantial basis, must Join 

 themselves together in a strong 

 organization, thus affording an op- 

 portunity to study the markets _bs 

 to scope and supply and demand, 

 and to use the same business in- 

 telligence to the distribution of 

 the products of the farm as every 

 other line of business is doina to- 

 day. 



"The future of our organization 

 depends on the hearty and loyal 

 support of the members back on 

 the farms." 



Start Co-Op Accounting Or 

 State Must Step In-Frazer 



Oeorye Wicker 



Illinois now has over- 1,000 co- 

 operatives in active business and 

 the time is now at hand for these 

 cooperatives to organize a central 

 auditing service 

 of their own, 

 said Geo. A. 

 Frazer, Consult- 

 ing Accountant 

 of the I. A. A., 

 at the annual 

 meeting where 

 be talked on 

 the subject, 

 "Financial Re- 

 sponsibll i t i e s 

 for Farmers' 

 Cooperatives." 

 "These • cooperatives should 

 have established standards of busi- 

 ness practice set forth in the form 

 of a uniform bookkeeping system," 

 declared Mr. Frazer. "They 

 should also have authoritative 

 auditing conducted by the leaders 

 among the cooperatives and not 

 merely casual and private auditing 

 under the control of those audited. 



A Business Corporation. 



"A farmers' cooperative is first, 

 last, and aill of the time a'business 

 corporatiob. The fact that it is 

 cooperative does not change any 

 of the fundamental laws of econ- 

 omics and trusteeship that apply 

 to all business corporations. Farm- 



ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION 



BALANCE SHEET— AT DECEMBER 31, 1923 



ASSETS 



(Torrent Assets: 



Cash on Hand and in Bank 



Accounts Receivable: 



County Farm Bureaus for Memberships $18,409.93 

 County Farm Bureaus for Miscellaneous 



Items 2,067.47 



Phosphate Accounts 852.70 



f: 88,704.78 



Others 



Total .- 



' Less: Provision for Bad Debt8„._ 



Inventories: 



Blankets at Warehouse 



Blankets on Consignment 



Signs 



6,802.69 



$28,132.79 

 4.625.83 



4,964.00 



1.502.14 



320.40 



Accrued Interest Receivable ^* 



Illinois-Missouri Cooperative Milk Produc- 

 ers association _ „ 



U. S. Government Treasury Notes and Lib- 

 erty Bonds 



Total Current Assets 



Long Term Loons: 



Due from Agricultural Organizations for 



Advances ' 



Provision for Probable Loss. 



Fixed Assets: ** 



Office Furniture and- Equipment $25,076.99 



Less: Reserve for Depreciation 11,421.20 



23,60S.M 



6,786.54 

 1,514.58 



31.368.00 



11S.202.8;t 



48,826.47 

 8«,U<'.47 



Automobiles ~...__ ,, 



Less: Reserve for Depreciation 



Deferred Charges: 



Prepaid Rent 



1,875.97 

 1,425.97 



$ 13,655.78 



450.00 



$206,033.68 



i,7M.M 



^. 



Inventory of Supplies.. 

 Prepaid Insurance ..«. 



TOTAL ASSETS 



Current Liabilities: 



Accounts Payable 



American Farm Bureau 



LIABILITIES 



3,428.00 



1,427.27 



300.70 



14,106.71 



5,155.97 

 8234,045.44 



Federation 



Accounts Receivable — Credit Balance... 

 Accounts Payable — Farm Bureaus 



.._ $ 



10,430.49 

 1,840.99 

 5,581.^3 

 1,343.69 



Total Current Liabilities .. 



KTneamed Membership Income. . 



General Fond Reserve: 



Balance at January 1, 1923 _ k „. 



Add: Excess of Income over Expenses for the Tear 

 Ended December 31, 1923 



$172,621.43 

 41,672.22 



19,196.80 

 666.00 



214,293.64 



$234,045.44 

 We have examined the books of account of the above association for the year 

 ended December 31, 1923, and hereby certify that, in our opinion, subject to the 

 comments included in our report submitted herewith, the above Balance Sheet and 

 accompanying Statement of Income and Expenses prepared from the books of ac- 

 count and records truthfully show the financial position of the association at Decem- 

 ber 31, 1923. 



John R. Bartizal SWANSON OOILVIB COMPANY 



Certifled Public Accountant. By A, W. T, Ogllvie. 



ers' cooperatives simply must have 

 correct accounting asd authorita- 

 tive auditing or else their direc- 

 tors and officers are Iblindly exer- 

 cising their trusteeships. 



"The cooperative it a public In- 

 stitution in the same category as 

 the bank or the insurance com- 

 pany. Banks and insurance com- 

 panies are under the strict regu- 

 lations of state laws.: They must 

 make detailed financilil statements 

 under oath to state officers and 

 must submit to inquisitorial sUte 

 audits. It is to the credit of banks 

 and insurance companies general- 

 ly that in addition to state examin- 

 ations, they insist spon outside 

 auditors employed b]* themselves. 



State May St^ In. 



"Farmers' cooperatives must 

 get good accounting and good au- 

 diting for the protection of their 

 members or else.' like other public 

 institutions, the state must step 

 in and regulate thei*. There is 

 no more reason for a farmer los- 

 ing money in a coqperatlve be- 

 cause of the lack of proper ac- 

 counts and proper audits, than 

 there would be for a farmer to 

 lose money in a savings bank t>e- 

 cauae of the lack of proper ac- 

 counts and proper autHt." 



Mr. FAzer suggested that the 

 directors and officers of Illinois 

 farmers' cooperatives would do 

 better to organize an authoritative 

 accounting and auditifig service of 

 their own rather tha|i.to depend 

 upon casual private lauditors on 

 the one hand or upon (inquisitorial 

 state auditors acting under laws 

 as the other altematSre. 



Ckrald Exchange Hxportenc- 

 "With an authoritative central 

 auditing service established by the 

 cooperatives themselves, the lead- 

 ers of the cooperative movement 

 can exchange compamtive statis- 

 tics as to costs and margins of 

 savlBgs," declared Mr. Frazer. 

 "Such informtaion wbuld be im- 

 mensely valuable to the new and 

 unsuccessful cooperatives and 

 would be a fair contribution to 

 the cause from the ssecessful co- 

 operatives." 



Mr. Frazer closed by declaring 

 that a man has as much right to 

 protection when be Invests his 

 crops 'in a cooperative elevator or 

 creamery as if he invested his 

 money in a savings bask or in Wr- 

 ing securities approved under the 

 Blue Sky Laws of Illnois. This 

 can only be assured when direc- 

 tors and officers of cooperatives 

 actually put into pnactice good 

 bookkeeping and accounting meth- 

 ods, he said. 



VTIcker Speaks 

 "In cooperative cogipanies not 

 large enough to employ a compe- 

 tent bookkeeper, the manager is 

 generally required to perform all' 

 the duties," said George Wicker, 

 who is in charge of cooperative 

 aeeounting for the Minnesota De- 

 partment of Asrieolture. "Often 

 the manager has no knowledge of 

 bookkeeping and the records wiU 

 be inadequate. 



State Control In Mliimisim 

 'It was the recognition of this 

 condition that brought about the 

 legislation nnder wbdeh an ae- 

 eounting division for cooperative 

 associations was esUblished in the 

 Minnesota Department of Agrienl- 

 tare. The development of coop- 

 erative business will require maa- 

 agers speetally trained In business 

 practice, accounting, and a knowt- 

 edge of the esseiftlals of ooopera- 



m 



mi 



1 



iB^aiii 



