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October 1, 1926 



The Illinois Agricultural Association RECORD 



Page 3 



Policy of I. A. A. 

 In Aiding Farmers 

 Elevators Outlined 



Wicker Broadcasts From 



WLS Telling Why It is I 



A. A.'s Business to Protect 

 Members. 



Cao. R. Wicker 



'l''HERE are about 550 farm- 

 *- crs elevators in the state of 

 Illinois, many of 

 which have been 

 in continuous and 

 successful opera- 

 tion from 25 to 

 30 years. A large 

 percentage of the 

 grain and corn 

 produced in this 

 state moves to 

 market through 

 farmer-o w n e d 

 warehouses. Most 

 farm bureau 

 members in the grain producing 

 counties also are members of their 

 local farmers elevators. Therefore, 

 the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion has a direct interest in the 

 condition, the improvement, and 

 the success of these local associa- 

 tions." 



This is the message, broadcasted 

 over WLS recently by George R. 

 Wicker, director of business serv- 

 ice in answer to a letter sent out 

 over the state on the stationery of 

 the Illinois Farmers Elevator Man- 

 agers' Club questioning the right of 

 the I. A. A. in showing ai/ interest 

 in the improvement of farmers' ele- 

 vators over the state, 



In outlining the (policy of the 

 state association in sej^ng its mem 

 bership, Wicker said: 



"We are living in A day of or- 

 ganization. Capital is\organized, 

 labor is organized, and industry is 

 organized. It is not surprising, 

 therefore, that farmers are organ- 

 izing. The Illinois Agricultural 

 Association has approximately 65,- 

 000 members who also are members 

 of their respective county farm bu- 

 reaus. The affiliated organizations 

 cover the entire state of Illinois. 

 Their members are engaged in a 

 wide range of agricultural produc- 

 tion, from cotton and fruit in the 

 south to grain, live stock and dairy- 

 ing in the north. 



A Service Organization 



"The Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation is a service organization and 

 as such does not engage directly in 

 marketing or merchandising. It 

 recognizes the need and the value 

 of local co-operative associations 

 and farmers elevator companies, 

 and devotes a large part of its ef- 

 fort to their support and improve- 

 ment. We are also interested in 

 efforts to establish effective farmer 

 controlled marketing agencies in 

 the terminal markets, so as to com- 

 plete the chain of organization by 

 which the producer may come into 

 more direct contact with the buyer. 

 This is not a new or sudden inter- 

 est of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation. The first farm bureaus 

 were organized in counties largely 

 devoted to the raising of grain, 

 corn and live stock. Among the 

 leaders of the farm bureau move- 

 ment are some of the most progres- 

 siva and successful farmers of the 

 state, many of whom are also of- 

 ficers of their local farmers eleva- 

 tor companies. Therefore, it is im- 

 possible to separate or distinguish 

 the purposes of the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association from the inter- 

 ests of its individual members or 

 their local associations. 



Must Help All 



"The officers of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association have no false 



Bent to Muscle Shoals 



At the request of President Sam 

 H. Thompson of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation, J. R. 

 Bent, director of farm supplies is 

 attending the meeting of the Fed- 

 eration directors at Florence, Ala- 

 bama near the site of Muscle 

 Shoals. 



Farm Bureaus of the southern 

 states are deeply interested in the 

 nitrate production possibilitie.^ 

 there, and the meeting was held at 

 their invitation to discuss the farm- 

 ers' interest in the project. 



pride of organization. They know 

 that its continued existence must be 

 justified by a record of service. The 

 extent of that service will be limited 

 only by the interests of its mem- 

 bers, its financial res^ources and the 

 ability of its staff, which has been 

 selected to carry these purposes 

 into execution. To this end the As- 

 sociation maintains several depart- 

 ments which are classified under 

 five divisions. 



1. Administration. 



2. Organization and Informa- 

 tion. 



3. Public Relations. 



4. Business Service. 



5. Marketing and Farm Sup- 

 plies. 



The services of these departments 

 are made available to members 

 through their respective county 

 agencies, and to such co-operative 

 associations as enter into contracts 

 for special service. Throughout all 

 of the activities of the association 

 first and constant consideration is 

 given to the interests of the in- 

 dividual producer. 



Strong Local Units Needed 



"Co-operative grain marketing in 

 this state is still in the local phase 

 of development. Several unsuccess- 

 ful efforts have been made to es- 

 tablish co-operative grain market- 

 ing agencies in the terminal mar- 

 kets. Each failure has pointed out 

 the fact that the successful ac- 

 complishment of terminal market- 

 ing must be built upon the founda- 

 tion of successful local units. The 

 job immediately at hand, therefore, 

 is to promote the improvement and 

 the success of the local unit. This 

 can be done only by close applica- 

 tion to the problems of local asso- 

 ciations, including the form of or- 

 ganization, method of financing, 

 character of administration, man- 

 agement, facilities, membership and 

 the general strengthening and im- 

 provement of business practices. 

 Some of these problems cannot be 

 solved by or within the local unit. 

 Therefore, the principle of co- 

 operation must be extended and 

 made more effective through groups 

 of local organizations. There is 

 nothing new or revoluntionary in 

 this suggestion. It is the method by 

 which modern industry has been 

 built up. There is not a successful 

 industry in America today that does 

 not support this fact. Centraliza- 

 tion for the purpose of providing 

 better methods of financing, a 

 larger volume of sales, increased 

 purchasing power, better adminis- 

 tration and more efficient manage- 

 ment is the only means of a broader 

 and more advanced form of co- 

 operation. 



"The Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation does not hesitate to accept 

 its responsibility in supporting this 

 policy. We have no criticism to 

 make concerning the past. For the 

 present we will not shut our eyes 

 to conditions which require atten- 

 tion and understanding. For the 

 future, we have a hopeful optimism 

 and, we believe, a cheerful pros- 

 pect." 



A person good at making excuses 

 is seldom good at making anything 

 else. 



U. S. Chamber Comes 

 To Rescue Farmer 

 For $7.50 Is Story 



Farm Bureau Secretary Ad- 

 vises Members to Read 

 Carefully Before Signing 

 List. 



Salesmen claiming to represent 

 the United States Chamber of Com- 

 merce have been working in Middle- 

 sex County, Mass., recently, collect- 

 ing $7.50 each, from a large num- 

 ber of farmers. 



They tell a long story about 

 farmer co-operation, and farmer 

 representation in Washington, and 

 how the United States Chamber is 

 taking a survey of the farmers. 

 They say that the Chamber is anx- 

 ious to place certain literature in 

 the hands of the farmers, and the 

 $7.50 is to help pay the cost of all 

 this good work. 



What they actually sell you is a 

 three years' subscription to the 

 magazine of the United States 

 Chamber of Commerce, The Na- 

 tion's Business. 



Secretary Russell of the Farm 

 Bureau Federation has advised 

 Farm Bureau members that if they 

 want to subscribe for a magazine 

 for three years, well and good, but 

 he wants them to know what they 

 are paying for, as the agents are 

 said not to mention the word maga- 

 zine. 



Here is the story as President 

 Leon A. Wetherbee of Stow tells 

 it: 



"As I remember it the story of 

 our U. S. Chamber of Commerce 

 man runs like this: The Chamber 

 has been asked by the President 

 (Coolidge) and Secretaries Hoover 

 and Jardine, none of whom were 

 in favor of the farm relief meas- 

 ures which have been before Con- 

 gress, to undertake a survey, the 

 object of which was to help the 

 farmer to market his crops to ad- 

 vantage through co-operatives or 

 other organizations in each market 

 which would work together to pre- 

 vent gluts by proper distribution of 

 reshipping and to discover what 

 other ways and means there were 

 for placing the farmers' dollar 

 more nearly on a par with other 

 dollars. The Chamber was going to 

 all the expense of the work in- 

 cluding the force of men like him- 

 self and cars for them (Essex Se- 

 dan), he was on his second having 

 worn out one, and intended to pub^ 

 lish such information as they gath- 

 ered together with such publicity as 

 might later be needed. All they 

 wanted of the farmers was to be 

 sure that they were back of the 

 thing and would give it their mora! 

 support. 



"You were willing to do that of 

 course, and would you sign your 

 name below a list of your neighbors 

 and other influential farmers (which 

 you did). Then of course, there 

 was a large expense to all this and 

 if you wished you could pay the ex- 

 pense of getting out this litera- 

 ture which the Chamber figured to 

 be $7.50 for the period. 



"He then produced a large bunch 

 of checks signed by your neighbors, 

 etc., and if you were in the field 

 he had plenty of blank checks with 

 him. 



"This is all a whole lot smoother 

 to hear than read and he was the 

 slickest thing I ever saw, and I 

 thought I had seen a few." Look 

 out! — Farm Bureau News in the 

 August number of "Middlesex 

 County Bulletin," Waltham, Mass. 



Cartoon of the Month. 



The. 'Auto MM- Mosi uB- 



I.A.A. Comes to Rescue 

 As Hog Cholera Serum 

 Shortage Is Threatened 



OUTBREAKS of cholera through- 

 out central and northern Illi- 

 nois have kept many farm advisers' 

 on the jump during the past few 

 weeks supplying members with 

 serum and virus for immunizing 

 shoats against the dreaded disease. 



Appeals to the I. A. A. for help 

 in the cooperative purchasing of 

 more serum sent director of live- 

 stock marketing W. E. Hedgcock 

 out scurrying for new supplies. 

 Many farm bureaus already have 

 exceeded their original quotas or- 

 dered early last spring, and serum 

 companies unprepared for the de- 

 lugre of orders have sent prices sky 

 high in some instances with the 

 veterinarians and unorganized 

 groups at a sorry disadvantage. 



Companies whose supplies have 

 been sold largely to Illinois farm 

 bureaus have stood by them in all 

 instances and have refused flatter- 

 ing offers from outside parties and 

 even other companies whose stocks 

 have not kept up with demand. 



The I. A. A. was able to buy late 

 orders of serum for as low as 81 

 cents per 100 c. c. when private in- 

 dividuals were selling for between 

 $1.50 and $2 per 100 c. c. Henry. 

 Whiteside, DeKalb, Knox and other 

 central and western Illinois countier 

 were the hardest hit. Losses from 

 cholera were not many due to the 

 prompt action of the county advis- 

 ers and farmers in immunizing all 

 hogs in the areas where outbreak? 

 occurred. 



J. W. Whisenand, adviser in 

 Henry County, reported the sale of 

 140,000 c. c. of serum and virus in 

 one day with a total of 200,000 c. c 

 distributed in four days. 



Farm Adviser Wise of Whiteside 

 county distributed between 30,000 

 and 50,000 c. c. of serum daily in 

 the busiest period in late August 

 and September. 



Endorsement and 



Active Support 



(Continued from col. 6. paire 1.) 

 property uniformly far taxation. TTie effort 

 to do so has in reality been abandoned. The 

 Constitution of 1870 wan adopted when prmc- 

 ttcally afl property in the State was tangible, 

 and could be assessed and taxed in the same 

 manner. This is no longer the cate. This 

 proposed amendment is intended to remove 

 the obstacles in the way of Bane, equitable 

 and fair tax taw-s, and to permit the adop- 

 tion of ft more satisfactory tax system. 

 Two-thir4* Necessary 



The broader powers conferred upon the 

 General Assembly by this proposed amend- 

 ment are fully safemiarded by the require- 

 ment of a two-thirds vote of all members 

 elected to both houses of the General As- 

 sembly. The proposed amendment permits 

 the General Assembly by a two-thirds vote 

 to classify personal property and to provide 

 for proper deductions and exemptions for 

 purposes of taxation. Rates of income or 

 other taxes which may be established under 

 this amendment will require a two-thJrdt; 

 vote of the General Assembly. Should an 

 income tax be established under the pro- 

 vifions of the present Constitution, no legis- 

 lative authority exists to make exemptions 

 or deductions and credits from such income 

 tax because of other taxes paid by the same 

 person. An income tax must, under the 

 present eonstitutioiuU provision, be in ad- 

 dition to other taxes. Under this proposed 

 amendment it may be in substitution for 

 other taxes, and the General Assembly will 

 have authority to make allowances, exemp- 

 tions or deductions and credits rendered 

 proper by justice to the taxpayer. 



The proposed amendment will appear upon 

 a separate balk>t at the s^neral election of 

 November 2. 1926. Here it is in part: 

 AmendiBCBt Ballot 



This proposed amendment imposes no new 

 taxes. It affects no existing exemptions 

 from taxation. The provision concerning 

 the "two-thirds" vote (conUined in the 

 proposed Section 14) applies only to such 

 future tax and exemption legislation as may 

 be pursuant to. that ■ "under the autborKy 

 of this section." It does not apply to past 

 leirislation. nor to such future legislation as 

 may be under the general powers of the 

 General Assembly nor as may be only under 

 one or more of the oW thirteen sections. 

 The rates under new methods of taxation 

 authorized by the amendment will require « 

 two-thirds vote. The proposed amendment 

 permits two-thirds of the members of the 

 two houses to adopt methods of taxation, 

 free from limitations in the present Con- 

 stitution, adopted fifty-five years aco. which 

 now pre\-ent an equitable adjustment of the 

 burdens of taxation. For this reason the 

 two houses of the General Assembly propose 

 this amendment to the people. 



42 Counties Join in 

 Fire Protection Week 



(ContirfaM] from col. 2. p«c« l.t 

 with reasonable care are prevent- 

 able. Following are some of the 

 questions each county will present : 

 Can the farmers in our county 1k' 

 accused of carelessness Y>r negli- 

 gence? If not what are we going to 

 do about it or is there anything that 

 can be done about it? 



Do we believe in spontaneous 

 combustion? What has bieen the ex- 

 perience in our county* Have there- 

 been any bam fires started by spon- 

 taneous combustion? 



Matches and Smoking 



The average number of firejt per 

 year for the past seven years 

 through matches and smoking is 

 1,789 and the loss per year is |I771,- 

 217. It is estimated that, of farm 

 fires, 6';c can be attributed to care- 

 lessness with matches and smoking 

 materials. 



A downstate farmer related this 

 experience. On coming home from 

 town he noticed smoke at the kitchen 

 door and upon opening the door he 

 found the floor on fire. After con- 

 siderable effort the fire was put out. 

 While thinking about the matter he 

 remembered that on leaving the 

 kitchen he knocked the ashes out of 

 his pipe on the side of the door cas- 

 ing. This fire caused him to stop 

 smoking. 



Liffatnint Rods 



Lightning rods and their value 

 will come up for discu.ssion. 



Many insurance companies are 

 charging less for insurance on red- 

 ded buildings. 



There is still some prejudice 

 against lightning rods. Estimated 

 farm fire loss caused by lightning is 

 18 per cent of the toUl loss. In Ill- 

 inois for the fiscal year ending June 

 30, 1926 there were no fires and no 

 losses by lightning on rodded build- 

 ings. On unrodded buildings light- 

 ning caused 316 fires with a total 

 loss of $593,424. 



How to Protect 



Some farmers have ladders al- 

 ways in place that can be used in 

 case of fire. A large farm house in 

 Macoupin County burned down be- 

 cause there was no ladder available 

 to get up on the roof. A neighbor 

 passing by saw the fire start from a 

 spark from the chimney. Also a 

 number of farmers have a fire hose 

 attached to the force pump ready 

 for use. 



At Hastings, Michigan 400 farm- 

 ers formed an association and pur- 

 chased a fire truck. Farmers with- 

 in a radius of eight miles of Hast- 

 ings are members. 



Officers and directors of the 

 Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance 

 Companies have rendered a valuable 

 service in calling attention to fire 

 hazards. Gasoline, coal oil stoves, 

 gas engines, automobiles, electric 

 irons, electric toasters, and cigar- 

 ettes are all sources of fires. 



Because of the fact that the farm 

 bureau covers the entire county, di- 

 rectors and members of mutual fire 

 insurance companies have asked the 

 farm bureaus to call meetings to dis- 

 cuss fire problems. A fire prevented 

 brings a benefit to ever>'one. With 

 farm fires in Illinois amounting to 

 2^4 to three million dollars per year 

 and with 75 per cent of these fires 

 preventable the opportunity to save 

 the farmers of Illinois about $1,- 

 800,000 per year in fire loss is a 

 challenge. It is hoped the Fire Pro- 

 tection Week will be fruitful in re- 

 ducing fire losses in 1927. 



FARM FIU.KRS 



The KAunruL TsANarAiteKT "ncrtnts 



showing eicht purebm) Perchepon hones 

 puUins a harrow, which hancs in the 1. A. 

 A. office wa« made from a photosraph taken 

 by J. C. Allen of Lafayette. Ind.. on the 

 farm of William Freitas in Tatewetl county 

 many years aao. Mr. Freitajc was in the 

 office recently and rrcocnized his horses and 

 farm in the picture. 



WiiiUjnu or thb Naarn pACinc oruATiMi 

 from Vancouver. B. C. will use seaplan..K 

 this cominjr season is helping them locau- 

 their prey. I.ookinc down from an altitudc 

 of IMO feet, a ranse of 2fi ta .10 miles can 

 he obtained, and an airman will be able t^> 

 pick out the mammals and communicate his 

 find U) the fleet by means of sienala. 



Drying thmk AcmKS or DiRHn a yaatt. 

 walkinfT a quarter of a mile to hake a lemon 

 pie. and pumpinjr IS tons of water in a 

 year are some of the domestic feat* perform- 

 ed by the avenwe rural housewife who does 

 not follow cood methods of home maiiese- 

 ment. 



Cbewino gum valuip at S47.1t4(M0 WAS 

 manufactured In the IJnit*^ States in XKfi. 

 accordiiic to tile Department of Coinmeroe. 



