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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 



(By Concessional Districts) 



1st to lltfl WUlUm Webb. Route One, Joliet 



llth G. F. Tullock. Rock/ord 



13th C. E. Bamborough, Polo 



14th W. H. Moody. Port Byron 



15th B. H. Taylor, Rapatee 



16th A. R. Wright. Varna 



17th F. D. Barton. Cornell 



18lh R. F. Karr. Iroquois 



19th J. L. Whisnand, Charleston 



20th Charles Borgelt. Havana 



21st Samuel Sorrells. Raymond 



27nd Frank Oexner. Waterloo 



2Jrd W. L. Cope. Salem 



24th Charles Marshall, Belknap 



2SU> R. K. Loomis, Makanda 





4 ■t;-::>v->;- J 1 



OFFICERS 



President, Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-President, Charles R Finley Hoopeston 



Treasurer, R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



. Cowles 

 Secretary, Geo. A. Fox. . 



. Sycamore 



N 



I LiIjINOIS 



ICCLTVRAL ASSOCIA 



^RECORD 



To advance the purpose f(tr which the Farm Bureau was organ- 

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

 economic, social and educational interests of the farmers of 

 Illinois and the nation, and to develop agriculture. 



DIRECTORS OF DEPARTMENTS 



0>K](>erative Accounting , Geo. R. Wicker 



Dairy Marketing A. D. Lynch 



Finance i R< A. Cowles 



Fruit and Vegetable Marketii^ , A. B. Leeper 



General OCfice J. H. Kelker 



Information E. G. Thiem 



Legal Counsel Donald Kirkpatrick 



Live Stock Marketing Wm. E. Hedgcock 



Organization G. E. Metzger 



Phosphate-Limestone J. R. Bent 



Poultry and Egg Marketing F. A. Gougler 



Taxation and Statistics J. C. Watson 



Transportation .........<*. L. J. Quasey 



PuUished onoe a month at 404 North Wcslry Ave, Mount Morris, Illinois, by the Illinois AKricuItur»l Aaaoriation. Editrcl by Departrurnt of Information, E. G. Thiem, Dtreetor, 608 South Dearborn Street, 



, IIUnoiH. Entered as second-riass matter October 20, 1925, at the post ofhre nt Mount MorriB, Illinois, umler the Act of March ',i, 1.H7!). Acceptance fur maiUng at special rate of poataRp provided for in Section 



412, Act of February 2S, Vji^, authorized October 27, 1025. The individual membership fee of the Illinois Airricultural Association is five dollars a year. The fee includes ])aymciit of fifty cents for subscriptioD to the 



Chicago, 



412, Act _,___. 



Iflinnix Agricultural Association Kecord. Postmaster: la returning an uncuUc<l for or miescnt copy, picaae 



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Tariff Bunk 



MIS-STATEMENTS and misleading 

 propaganda about the protective tariff 

 and its effect on farm prices have been 

 bobbing up periodically since the com belt 

 first innounced its intention to make the tariff 

 effective for agrlctlure. 



Tl e old line protectionists sound the trum- 

 pet £ nd rally around the flag whenever an in- 

 nocent bystander raises the question, "Is the 

 tarifi ' fair to all classes ; does the farmer share 

 equally in its benefits?" Their answer is a 

 broadside characterized more by its volume 

 than its accuracy. Probably the most flagrant 

 illus ration was the tariff bunk in President 

 Coo] idge's Chicago speech. The jokester who 

 supilied this information by a wonderful 

 seri( s of deductions, concluded that the cost of 

 manufactured goods to the farmer was raised 

 only two to three per cent as a result. 



T le story on page one in this issue is based 

 ujKJ] t thf jimt' gs of two of the nation's lead- 

 ing ecunw..^„ following a distinterested 

 stud y and analysis of the Fordney-McCumber 

 tarif r schedule. The information is untainted 

 by ]iolitieal interest. The farmer is not dis- 

 pose d nor ready to swing the axe on the tariff 

 but he would like to see an honest attempt 

 mac e by the administration to accord its 

 ben jfits to farm products. 



thei e 

 him 



A Hard Job 



Vl/ ILL ROGERS, cowboy comedian, says 

 '" the trouble with the farmer is that 

 are toi many middlemen between 

 and the consumer. "Cut out the 

 middle, bring the two ends together, and the 

 fan lers' trouble will be solved," is his advice. 

 Many a gi-eat truth has been said in jest. This 

 is a 1 example. Our expensive system of dis- 

 tribution, however, has a bull dog's grip on 

 countiy and the cutting out process is a 

 diss gieeable and difficult task. 



Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska, in 

 an article on "The Tariff and the Farmer," 

 published in the current issue of "The Na- 

 tioij," says the trouble with agriculture is the 

 ine(iualities of the tariff and the high cost of 

 distribution. His suggestions for correcting 

 the latter condition is expressed as follows : 



"Ev^n if the farmer ivere given the full 

 ben efit of the tariff, he tvould still be suffer- 

 ing binder handicaps not applicable to other 

 clatses of citizens. The cost of distribution 

 in many of our principal food products is 

 greiter than the <;ost of production. The re- 

 8\fl\ is that the farmer frequenUy gets too 



Ten Commandments of Business 



By George R. Wicker 



1. Treat every person with the same honesty, fair- 

 ness and consideration that you would like for your- 

 self. Gold and silver, stocks and bonds, and other 

 forms of property are much to be desired, but a profit, 

 able business is built upon a ffood reputation. 



2. Do not be Jealous of your competitors and do 

 not look vrith covetous eyes upon their business. The 

 public is discriminating and will reward you according 

 to your merits. 



3. Do not exaggerate, misrepresent or speak with 

 a false tongue and do not resort to unfair or deceptive 

 practices, lest your last days be lived in isolation and 

 reproach. 



4. If you would keep your friends and your money 

 be sparing with the extension of credit. If you must 

 transact your business on a credit basis conclude your 

 sale ^vith a definite understanding regarding settle- 

 ment. 



5. Be conservative in your effort for gain, for 

 verily I say unto you that the skids to the bankruptcy 

 courts are greased with the oil of speculation. 



6. Render unto Cnsar the things that are Caesar's, 

 and be honest in your obligation to the Government, 

 since the tax collector is a necessary evil. Look upon 

 his coming cheerfully for the Government loves a 

 cheerful taxpayer. 



7. Be public spirited. Live agreeably with other 

 people and take pleasure in helping to provide for the 

 public comfort and convenience of the multitude, for 

 in the performance of good deeds you shall prosper. 



8. Be prompt in the payment of your accounts, for 

 the virtue of a good credit is multiplied in the prompt 

 settlement of your obligations. 



9. As you hope for gain in your own business do 

 not deny a just wage or fair profit to those who serve 

 you. 



10. Keep your own house in order. Life is un- 

 certain and death in its coming knows neither time nor 

 season. Keep your records as for the Day of Judg- 

 ment, and it shall be well with you and your children. 



little to pay him for his investment and his 

 labor, ivhile the consumer pays a price so high 

 as to be almost prohibitive. There is no 

 doubt that this excessive cost of distribution 

 decreases greatly the amount of consumption. 

 . . . The farmer ought to get more and the 

 eonstimer ought to pay less. Cooperative or- 

 ganizations of producers and consumer ought 

 to be encouraged by law. It will require leg- 

 islation to bring about the elimination of this 

 great army of middlemen. Our producers 

 as well as our consumers are so tvidely scat- 

 tered and so difficult to organize that noth- 

 ing can bring about the elimination of this 

 waste except the strong arm of the Govern- 

 ment." 



rienced men. It would give the efficient man- 

 ager greater responsibility in handling the 

 business transactions of two, four, six, eight, 

 ten or even more elevators. There would be 

 local managers in each elevator working un- 

 der the group manager. But authority would 

 be centralized. Overhead expense would be 

 reduced by making unnecessary a high-priced 

 manager at a small elevator. Successful 

 methods and practices based on experience 

 would be followed. ' 



The plan is among the most constructive 

 suggestions ever offered. It is based on 

 authoritative information secured from the 

 audits of 65 downstate farmers elevators. It 

 would go far to stop losses and bankruptcies 

 which audits show are all too frequent. 



And yet, "keep it dark, soft pedal the shady 

 side, don't mention the losses," is the advice 

 of one manager. It will hurt us and the ele- 

 vator movement^ he says; what we need is 

 optimism and boosters. Forget the group 

 management plan, we are admonished. 



Leave the rotten apple alone, put on the lid, 

 and trust to luck to save the rest of the barrel. 

 Shall we poke our heads in the sand like the 

 ostrich, or shall we rout the danger by a bold, 

 common-sense attack? Write your own an- 

 swer. 



Shall We Play Ostrich? 



'T'HE nation-wide attention and publicity 

 given to the plan for improved man- 

 agement of farmers' elevators devised by the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association through 

 George R. Wicker, director of business serv- 

 ice, has resulted in much favorable comment 

 from many sources. 



The I. A. A. plan would coordinate and 

 strengthen the entire farmers' elevator move- 

 ment by placing the management of groups 

 of elevators in the hands of top-notch expe- 



Why Farmers Should Support the Tax 

 Amendment to Illinois Constitution 



(To be voted on in November, 19 



6) 



1. Real estate, although less than one-half — many 

 I say less than 40 per cent — of the property in the state, 



is now paying about 80 per cent of all of the taxes for 

 most purposes. 



2. Tangible property, although probably not more 

 than one-half of the property in the state, is now pay- 

 ing more than 92 per cent of all the taxes for most 

 purposes. 



3. A minority of the people of the state are now 

 paying all of the taxes for most purposes. 



4. Owners of some kinds of property easily can 

 and do add their taxes to the prices 'of their services or 

 products. Owners of other kinds of property, notably 

 land, cannot shift their taxes to others to pay. 



5. Owners of mortgaged property arc now paying 

 double or multiple taxes. They pay taxes not only on 

 their equities, but also on the value of the mortgages, 

 and pay a higher rate of interest on taxable mortgages 

 whether the mortgages pay taxes or not. 



6. Lack of personal interest on the part of most 

 people in the economical and efficient use of tax 

 moneys, and their belief that they are paying no taxes 

 of any kind, promote extravagance and a rapid increase 

 of deferred taxes in the form of bonded indebtedness. 



7. Taxes are rapidly increasing in Illinois partly 

 because the population is increasing, bat chiefly be- 

 cause of the demand for new forms of service. 



8. Under the present constitutional limitations 

 none of the inequalities of the present taxing system 

 described above can be fairly or properly corrected. 

 The proposed amendment is a grant of power to the 

 General Assembly, enabling it from time to time to 

 correct inequalit^s in taxation and to establish a 

 modern and equitable svstem of taxation. 



&.<-^ 



j^^^^^L..^.^ 



Preaident, Illinois Agricultural Aaaociation. 



[Brief articles in support of the Ooints stated above will be 

 printed in later iaaum of Thb Rbcorb. Questioni relative to tba 

 proposed tax amendnwnt are invited and will be answered throngh 

 Thb Rbcoko.] 



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