\ 



March 1, 1926 



The Illinoi* Agricultural A««ociation 



t 



Record 



H .jri-f-f.- 



Pay 3 



EXPOSE EXCHANGE'S SECRET SUBSIBiY TO ANTI-CO-OP PAPER 



National Producers Have Facts on 

 Attempt of Old Line Interests to 

 Kill Farmers 'SellingOwn Products 



Farmers Who Have Received "County Agent 

 Farm Bureau" Magazine in Their Mail Boxes 

 Without Subscribing Will Now Know Why. 



FARMERS who have received the "County A^nt and 

 Farm Bureau" magazine in their mail boxes, and 

 have wondered at its persistence in reaching them even 

 though no subscription fee was ever collected from them can 

 now have their questions answered for the so-called friend 



Here Is the Evidence — 

 You Are Judge and 



aganda from that paper and say, "and that's |rom the 

 'County Agent and Farm Bureau,' your own paper.*' 



To get articles and information to fill up the piper, the 

 corporation subscribes to the United States Press jClipping 

 Bureau at 538 South Clark St, Chicago, for clippings on 

 activities or reorganizations of cooperative n^keting 

 concerns. These are edited in such a ivay tl^at only 

 the unfavorable side of cooperative marketing i" , printed. 

 Other times information is printed that is furni^hcl by the 

 enemies of cooperatives. And, at the same time, infirmation 

 is also printed that comes free to any farm pajxr editor 

 from agricultural colleges and the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. In these the paper is cloalied with 



certain; air of authority. 



Old-line commission houses subscribe liberally fof adver- 



of the farmer has been exposed. To many this expose is 

 simply proof of well-founded suspicions. 



There is substantial evidence in possession of the National 

 Livestock Producers Association proving that the livestock 

 exchanges of several of the principal markets of the United 

 States are secretly subsidizing the "County Agent and Farm 

 Bureau," which has been bitterly and viciously against 

 farmers marketing their own products. The purpose of the 

 secret subsidy has evidently been to defeat the farmers of 

 the country in their efforts to have a voice in the market- 

 ing of the products which they grow. 



Exchanget Represent Old-Line Interettt. 



The livestock exchanges are the organizations of the old- 

 line proprietary commission houses. There is an exchange 

 on each market, and the group of exchanges have a na- 

 tional organization called the National Livestock Exchange. 

 The farmers' cooperative organizations are not members of 

 the exchanges'. 



"The County Agent and Farm Bureau" sails under false 

 colors. Instead of flowing a banner openly representing the 

 old-line interests which are subsidizing it, it sails the high 

 seas through second-class mailing privileges under the name 

 "County Agent and Farm Bureau" which is intended to give 

 it a iriendly approach to the \yould-be cooperative shippers 

 and persons generally interested in the farmers' welfare. 

 Yet it has been denounced, disclaimed and condemned by the 

 National Association of County Agents and the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation, as well as by county and state 

 Farm Bureaus. 



Old-Liners Scared at Co-ops Grovrth. 



The growth of the cooperative selling of livestock by the 

 farmers themselves on the principal market of the United 

 States has cut into the business of the old line commission 

 houses to the extent that the livestock exchanges of Chicago, 

 St. Paul, St. Louis, Buffalo and Sioux City are known to be 

 working against the farmers' interests by subsidizing and 

 furnishing a selected mailing list for the "County Agent and 

 Farm Bureau." 



This magazine is mailed to livestock shippers, managers 

 and officers of the livestock shipping associations, farm ad- 

 visers or county agents, officers of county Farm Bureaus, and 

 many others in positions of responsibility in farmers' organ- 

 izations. This is done for the sole purpose of attempting to 

 shake their faith in cooperative marketing. Thus the old-line 

 interests are working under cover to clamp the brakes on the 

 present healthy growth and progress of cooperative market- 

 ing. 



Many Advisers Get !t Free. 



The magazine is published by the Lightner Publishing Cor- 

 poration at 2721 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, which 

 claims th« subscription rate is $1.50 a year. Reports from 



Illinois farm advisers in response to an inquiry s<nt out by 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association show that th< majority 

 of them receive it month after month and year i f ter year 

 and yet pay no subscription fee. The same is ti ue as re- 

 gards managers of shipping associations and far ners' ele- 

 vators in Illinois and many other states. 



The total circulation is approximately 10,500. iThe bona 

 fide subscription is only a small fraction of the tctal circu- 

 lation. The South St. Paul exchange has been 'specially 

 active in ci.culating the paper. It is reported tha; this ex- 

 change is paying for 1000 subscriptions and has piid some- 

 thing like $750 in advance for this priWlege. The ri te in this 

 case was 75 cents per copy per year in this instancp, but the 

 advertised rate is $1.50. 



Fights Co-ops (or Own Profit. 



When the "County Agent and Farm Bureau" vias estab- 

 lished several years ago, its publishers tried to repi esent the 

 thought of the farm bureau movement. Howev* r, a few 

 years later it changed hands, the present publi iher, the 

 Lightner Publishing Corporation of which O. C. L ghtner is 

 president, gaining control. The motive for publisi dng anti- 

 cooperative marketing articles is defined as simply bne from 

 which the cori)oration can reap commercial gain. 

 Gloats over Failures. 



Certain interests opposed to the producers and tlie cooper- 

 ative movement generally were found ready and ' rilling to 

 assist the paper in a financial way. The name "County 

 Agent and\Farm Bureau," gave these old-line interests, es- 

 pecially their field men, a fine opportunity to quite prop- 



tising space. Much of this is printed under a hcaHing of 

 "Direct Marketing." 



Sister Paper Excluded from P. O. 



The "Peanut Promoter," one of several trade papdrs pub- 

 lished at. one time' or another by the Lightner Publi.«hing 

 Corporation, was recently excluded from second-claSs mail- 

 ing privileges from the Chicago post office by sqtion at 

 Washington. 



While the Nation^ Livestock Producers Association real- 

 ises thatthe "County Agent and Farm Bureau" h»s been 

 so radically- opposed to cooperative marketing that its voice 

 has had but little weight with those who are informed, the 

 association also realizes that many readers who t^Te not 

 fairly well acquainted with the facts of the co-op(erative 

 movement get an unfairly presented picture of thei whole 

 development. 



Why Not Come 0«t in tke Open? 



Farm onganization workers have been suspicious for some 

 time thatithis organ has been grinding out tunes to (he lik- 

 ing of old-line interests. However, in the past the fonnec- 

 tion has been so carefully concealed that no one hrif been 

 able to establish definite proof of a financial oonrcction. 

 Now the connection has been definitely efstablished. 



If the pid-line inrterests have a legitimate fight i gainst 

 cooperativje marketing, why not come out in the open? ^} 



Five Bureaus Getting Into Poultry 



and Egg Marketing as Project 



The first week in March was set as the time to hold a 

 series of educational meetings at 14 points in Clay <ounty 

 on the poultry and egg marketing plan sponsored ty the 

 Qay County Farm Bureau and I. A. A. poultrj- aqd egg 

 marketing department. A committee of 40 men and Von>en 

 have been named by Curt Anderson, president fcf the 

 Bureau, to make a study of the project and assist w^th the 

 meetings. , j 



Ford and Fulton County Farm Bureaus have been con- 

 sidering pAoltry and egg marketing nearly a - <>ar, but othM- 

 important projects have delayed action. ' ^ counties now 

 report that plans are being made to beg. "active organiza- 

 tion work SDon, according to Frank A. Gougler, direator of 

 the department. j 



Knox and Warren counties have voted poultry ar^d egg 

 marketing into their programs as projects for 1926 anjcl con- 

 template SB organization with its concentration point at 

 Galesburg. Meetings were scheduled" at Monmouth Fpb. 2.S 

 and Galesburg, Feb. 27 to explain the plan to repre^nta- 

 tives from each community in the two counties. | 



DnI.T 10,S40 SEN'S WSXK WTTHDRAWX mOM^E PaCTPTC Ot>-OPntAT1VX FoTLTmT 



Pnxlucnv. Potuand.Orccon, during thf> withdniwikl period, out of the 307 .Son htm» 

 Under oontrsrt in 1*V24. The roanon Kivrn l>v -the owrtefs of more thsaj hslf of 

 tbt number %'ithdrawn wa« that they nsvc sold out ur (|uit tbe pvullr> I 



I., 



ii 



u 



