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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . j 



(By Congressional Districts) [ 



IsC to 11th .* William Webb, Route One, Joliet 



12th ; G. F. TuUock, Rockford 



I3th C. E. Bamboraugh, Polo 



|4th W. H. Moody, Port Byron 



15th B. H. Taylor. Rapetee 



Ifcth '. .■ A. R. Wright. Varna 



17th F. D. Barton, Cornell 



18th R. F. Karr, Iroquois 



19th « * J. L. Whisnand, Charleston 



20th ■ Charles Borselt. Havana 



21st . ., Samuel Sorrells, Raymond 



22nd .....: Frank Oexner. Waterloo 



23rd W. L. Cope, Salem 



24th CharlesMarshall, Belknap 



25th R. K. Loomis, Makanda 



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The Chicago Producers Situation 



IE 



hearing on the citation concerning 

 tie Chicago Producers Commission As- 

 sociation has been concluded. The reams 

 tesi imony, much of which was simply hear- 

 the part of sorrje witnesses and would 

 been admitted as evidence in a regu- 

 now lies before Secretary Jardine 

 review and final decision which is ex- 

 shortly. 

 Duijing the nine-day hearing, three hog 

 salesn len — Fred Zeiss, George Parmenter and 

 CJranston — confessed to receiving money 

 John Reilley and R. Shefler, yard 

 for the privilege of operating 

 alleys, and for receiving "throw- 



of 



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for 



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 court, 

 hi; 



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OFFICERS 



President, E«rl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-rresident, Charles R. Finley Hoopcston 



Treasurer, R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



Secretary, Geo. A. Fox Sycaxnore 



iLiLiiNois m 



[CCLTURAL ASSOCIAXfWN 



=R E C O RO— ^^ 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was organ- 

 ized, namely, to promote, protect and represent the business, 

 economic, social atui educatiotutt interests of the farmers of 

 Illinois and the nation, and to develop agriculture. 



',; ■■'•,■',. DIRECTORS OF DEPARTMENTS 



Co-operative Accounting Geo. R. Wicker 



Dairy Marketing — . ..3 A. D. Lynch 



Finance .; R. A. Cow lea 



Fnjit and Vegetable Klarkcting A. B. Leejjer 



General Office J. H. Kelker 



Grain Marketing Chester C. Davis 



Information Harry C. Butcher 



Legal Counsel Donald Kiikpatrick 



Live Stock Marketing J Wm. E. Hedgcock 



Organization G. E. Metiger 



Phosphate-Limestone J. R. Bent 



Poultry and Egg Marketing F. A. Gougler 



Taxation and Statistics J. C Watson 



Transportation L. J Quasey 



Published once a month at 404 North Weglcy Ave, Mount Morris, Illinois, by the Illinoia AKrictilturftl Araooiation. Edited by Department of Information, Harry C. Butcher, Director, 608 South Dearborn 

 Street, Chicago, Illinois. Kutered as second-class matter Ortober 20, lUJj at the post office at Mount Morris. Illinois, under the Act of March 3. 1879. Acceptance for niaiUnit at special rate of poetaee provided 

 for in Section 412, Art of February 2S, 192.5, authorized October 27, 192,>. The individual membership fee of the Illinois Agricultural Association is five dollars a year. The fee includes payment of fifty, cents 

 for subscription to the Illinois .\gricultural Association Kecobd. Postmaster; In returning an uncalleil for or missent copy, please indicate key ntunber on adorcas aa is required by law. 



JJ^BjUiSUS 



Imnediately following their confession, 



were discharged. In order to continue 



care o^' ^he Producer hog business, the 



.i . a .-i Indianapolis sister organiza- 



loaned Lug salesmen who are serving 



)ermanent, competent salesmen are se- 



they 

 taking; 



lions 

 until 

 cured 

 Cocperative marketing is a comparatively 

 system, but it must necessarily, at least 

 beginning, draw its employees from 

 those who have received their train- 

 the employ of old-line commission 

 Unfortunately a few of these men 

 )roven to be dishonorable and dishon- 

 n this case it is the misfortime of the 

 farme "s' organization to have had to shoulder 

 the blame — and they are not dodging their 

 share af it — and the employee's moral down- 

 fall is being used by old-line interests against 

 the pr nciples of cooperative marketing. 



The facts disclosed by the Hearing sink 

 home the ever existing responsibility of any 

 board of directors and the managArient to 

 whom it delegates authority. The manage- 

 ment and directors who hold the reins of 

 authority and have the responsibility of guid- 

 ing a cooperative dare not let those reins es- 

 cape tieir constant attention, or else the or 

 ganization will get off the road which the 

 membors want it to travel. The Chicago Pro- 

 ducers bo^d of directors is meeting its re- 

 sponsijility courageously, • has the confidence 

 of the farm organizations and I. A. A., and 

 merits the utmost confidence of the country. 

 The inter, * of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation in :.i 3 matter is that oxir coopera- 

 m; irketing enterprises shall be conducted 

 y and efficiently. There is absolute 

 ty of employing men who are thor- 

 infoiTOed on the principles of cooper- 

 njiarketing and who have the ability and 

 to honestly represent the farmers' in- 



y t 



Speaking of the 1925 annual report of the niinois Agri- 

 cultural Association, the Springfield Journal recently stated: 

 "Every farmer would find something in this report to in- 

 terest him; certainly it is enough to inspire hope in the 

 ability of farmers to conduct so great an association for 

 their mutual benefit. The pity is that every farmer in the 

 statt is not a member and giving aid to the movement." 



Emphasize the Last Sentence 



T^MPHASIS should be placed on the last 

 -*-^ sentence of the story on the opposite 

 page concerning the secret subsidy given the 

 "County Agent and Farm Bureau" magazine. 

 If the exchanges have a legitimate fight 

 against cooperative marketing, why not come 

 out in the open? 



"Serving 6.3,000 thinking farmers, the Hlinois Agricul- 

 tural Association, through five divisions, those of adminis- 

 tration, organziation, public relations, financial business 

 service and marketing, seems to have gone far during the 

 year 1925 towards its declared object of bringing about 

 more tolerable conditions and of laying the foundation for 

 a prosperous and contented agrarian population. ... It 

 payt to organize." — Rock Island Argus. 



Are Farm Bureau Members 

 \ "Real Farmers"? 



TTSUALLY the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ^ ciation does not reply to published at- 

 tacks upon the organization because nine 

 times out of ten an attack is its own answer. 

 In the case reprinted below, however, 

 George E. Metzger, I. A. A. organization di- 

 rector, could not bear remaining silent. The 

 fii^st letter was written to and printed in 

 Pi'airie Farmer of Feb. 13 and the second is 

 Mr. Metzger's answer, submitted to Prairie 

 Farmer. 



We Are All Wrong 



[How does it come that you recommend policies ad- 

 vanced by the farm bureau and not those advanced by 

 the real farmers? 

 I Did you know that the farm bureau represents about 

 one-tenth of the farmers, and they have not done, or 

 recommended anything that has the approval of real 

 farmers? 



The bill to take care of the surplus that you say has 

 the best chance of passing in congress is one to reim- 

 burse exporters for any loss they may sustain in ex- 

 porting grain. 



How much of it do you think would reach the farm- 

 ers? I think the best bill yet introduced in congress 

 is the one by McKinley to use grain as collateral to 

 borrow money so we can hold grain off the market. 

 Douglas Co., HI. JOHN E. MAX. 



We can l>Drrow money on grain without any new laws. — Editor. 



Editor, The Prairie Farmer: 



I want to take the liberty to ask John E. 

 Max of Douglas County, Illinois, writing in 

 your issue of February 13, 1926, just who the 

 "real fanners" are. He insinuates that our 

 farm buieau men are not "real farmei-s." 



First of all, Mr. Max's statement that the 

 Fai-m Bureau represents one-tenth of the 

 farmers is incorrect, insofar as Illinois is con- 

 cerned. Our paid-up memberships in 1925 



represent approximately 25 per cent of the 

 farmers in the state, based on the number 

 given by the census, which includes all farms 

 from three acres up. 



Apparently Mr. Max does not belong to a 

 farm organization. If he represents the "real 

 farmers," then cei-tainly the "real farmers" 

 do not believe in organization. The Farm 

 Bureau has had in its program for several 

 years the development of cooperative mar- 

 keting on such a scale that the farmer can 

 have some hope of stabilizing the price of his 

 products. Agencies for this purpose have 

 been established for the handling of live- 

 stock, fruits, dairy products and grain, but 

 there ate a lot of Mr. Max's "real farmers" 

 who do'not see fit to patronize those agencies. 

 Apparently those "real farmers" are not in 

 favor of stabilizing the price of their products. 



The Farm Bureau is standing solidly for 

 some sort of a Government Board which can 

 assist in stabilizing the price of various farm 

 commodities, so that the farmer may take ad- 

 vantage of the protective system in this coun- 

 tiy and prevent a little surplus of some com- 

 modity from depressing the price of the 

 whole crop. Apparently Mr. Max, if he rep- 

 resents the "real farmers," is not in favor of 

 making the pi-otective system available to the 

 American fanner, and thus increase his 

 prices. 



The Farm Bureau has been active in legis- 

 lative affairs, and its work since the opening 

 of the American Farm Bureau office in Wash- 

 ington has been largely responsible for the 

 passing of 26 bills favorable to agriculture. 

 The results of this work helps every farmer 

 in.. America, iiiQluding^Mr. Max's so-called 

 real farmers" ^ well as the farm bureau 

 members. 



The Farm Bureau has k\^o been very much 

 interested in tax reduction and its work in Il- 

 linois has been responsible for a decrease of 

 $225,000,000, in the full assessed valuation of 

 fai-m lands, and a saving in taxes during 1924 

 of $8.04 per farm, based on the high valua- 

 tions of 1920. Apparently Mr. Max's "real 

 farmers are not interested in tax reduction. 



Ifte I'arm Bureau has also stood solidly for 

 a program of efficiency in farm operations, 

 tending to cut down the cost of production 

 Apparently the "real farmers" are not inter- 

 ested in lowering production costs. 



"They say that a real man when he sets forth 

 destructive cnticism always has constructive 

 criticism to offer. We take it that if this is 

 true of a real man it should be true of a "real 

 farmer. After all of Mr. Max's destructive 

 criticism will he kindly come through and 

 offer a constnictive program, stating in con- 

 Crete terms what the "real farmers" want? 

 Yours very truly, 

 (Signed) GEORGE E. METZGER. 



