Page 4 



V^ 



The Illinoia Agricultural Association RECORD 



February, 1927 



Nearly 2000 Attend Five 



Cdnferences on Thursday 



I The larMst and most representa- 

 tive gatherings for informal discus- 

 sion of farners' problems ever held 

 [in the stat* described the five con- 

 ferences h«ld Thursday afternoon. 

 Between 250 and 500 men and 

 Women attended each of the ses- 

 sions held on problems pertaining 

 to organisation and information, 

 public relations, marketing, home 

 and community, and financial busi- 

 ness ser\*ice. 



The balll-room of the Pere Mar- 

 quette hotel was nearly filled with 

 delegates ind members who had 

 come to ta k over the problems per- 

 taining to the organization and 

 maintenani e of their association. 

 In each case members of the Ex- 

 ecutive Colnmittee of the I. A. A. 

 presided. 



The discussion in the organiza- 

 tion and publicity conference in- 

 dicated tnat the morale of the 

 thinking farmer in Illinois was 

 never stringer for organization. 

 Several connties reported success in 

 developing! the life membership plan 

 of solicitation. 



The disdussion on the gas tax in 

 the public relations conference 

 revealed (mat sentiment is strong 

 for development of the secondary 

 road systam. Thousands of farm- 

 ers have been left marooned on 

 mud road: through certain seasons 

 and so get little benefit from the 

 hard road sj^tem. 



Prospects Good for 



Surplus Control Bill 



Eight '. llinois congressmen and 

 friends of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Associatio n wired their regrets at 

 l>eing uns ble to attend the Peoria 

 conventioi i. President Earl C. 

 Smith whj presided at the Friday 

 luncheon read the following tele- 

 gram amo ng others : 



"I regr( t that conditions here are 

 such that I cannot attend," tele- 

 graphed (longressman Tom S. Wil- 

 liams fr}m the 24th district. 

 "Prospects for the passage through 

 the Hous< of real farm relief legis- 

 lation ar( brighter now than ever 

 before. The apropriation bills will 

 all, be 01 1 of the way early next 

 week, ard the Haugen bill will 

 be given immediate consideration 

 under a special rule. We have 

 made sui istantial gains since the 

 vote last spring and are confidently 

 expecting victory. The I. A. A. and 

 other fa 'm organizations of the 

 corn belt have made a good fight. 

 I congrat ilate you and wish for you 

 a most sv ccessful meetir^." 



Similai telegrams were received 

 from Coigressmen Chas. Adkins, 

 Wm. E. Hull, Henry T. Rainey, Ed. 

 M. Irvin!, Wm. W. Arnold, and 

 Henry R. Rathbone. Max Murdock, 

 secretary of the Illinois Association 

 of Real I state Boards wired his re- 

 grets at t eing unable to attend. 



Puts Naperville Over 



When Mike Lyons above heard 

 that Ontario township in Knox 

 county had 103 farm bureau mem- 

 bers, which was three more than 

 the records showed for Nafwrville 

 township in Dupage county, he 

 went right out and put Naperville 

 up to 107 members. Mr. Lyons is 

 with the organization department 

 of the 1. A. A., no«r aiding in re- 

 newing memberships in Dupage 

 county. 



Kane Co inty Beard 



of Review Meets Feb. 1 



A special meeting of the Kane 

 County Hoard of Review was held 

 on Tues< ay, Feb. 1, at Geneva to 

 review a id equalize assessments in 

 accordan :e with the recent order of 

 the Illin< is Tax Commission , which 

 followed appeals fronf the Kane 

 County '"arm Bureau and the Ill- 

 inois Ag '{cultural Association. 



A redaction of 10 per cent in 

 valuatior s in the 10 townships of 

 the west two-thirds of the county 

 was agr led upon. This reduction 

 will amojnt to over $730,000 in as- 

 sessed V iluations, or a saving of 

 $28,000 |on taxes of farmers in this 

 area. 



M. G. Lambert, president, W. B. 

 Curtis, nce-president, A. H. Gra- 

 ham, se< retary and E. O. Reaugh, 

 treasure •, are the officers of the 

 Hancock County Farm Bureau for 

 the con ing year. The Executive 

 Committ se is composed of 21 men. 

 One is ( hosen from each township. 



Earl Smith Rcf 

 elected , 



(Continued from page 1, coL'S.) 

 contested for with Frank Barton of 

 Livingston county, and W. C. Mc- 

 Queen of Kane county the nom- 

 inees. The letter's unanimous sup- 

 port from the dairy districts was 

 not great enough to overcome Mr. 

 Barton's lead downstate, sojBarton 

 was elected by a substantial ma- 

 jority. The unofficial count showed 

 1 54 for Barton and 32 for McQueen. 



Four new executive committee- 

 men were elected at the [district 

 caucuses held Thursday afte^Tioon. 



The following committeeni|en sub- 

 ject to reelection were retuijied for 

 a new I wo-year period : — C. E. Bam- 

 borougli. 13th district, J. li Whis- 

 nand, 19th district, Samuel $orrells, 

 21st district, W. L. Cope, 28rd dis- 

 trict. 



The new men elected are! as fol- 

 lows: H. C. Vial, 11th districjt, A. H. 

 Skinner, 15th district, Geo. JT. StoU, 

 17th district, and Fred Diets, 26th 

 district. 



Brand Is Popular. I 



Congressman Charles Brahd, who 

 delivered the principal address at 

 the Friday luncheon where ISenator 

 Charles L. McNary haf been 

 scheduled to speak, was loudly ac- 

 claimed. His presentation! of the 

 farmers' fight for farm relief, and 

 the operation of the iMcNary 

 Haugen plan was clear and force- 

 ful. His humorous and informal 

 style, coupled with his deliberate- 

 ness in explaining every point by 

 maps and illustrations, vfon the 

 hearts of his 1700 listeners. 



Baseball League Chooses Cline 

 President, Thiem Arbitrator 



George R. Cline of Cass county 

 was reelected president of the Illi- 

 nois Farm Bureau Baseball League 

 at its annual meeting in Peoria on 

 Wednesday, Jan. 26. W. G. Griffith 

 of Marshall county was chosen vice- 

 president, and E. G. Thiem, who 

 automatically resumes the position 

 of secretary-treasurer, was elected 

 to act as dictator or arbitrator in 

 settling disputes and arguments re- 

 quiring prompt action. 



Between 50 and 75 farm advisers, 

 baseball captains, and members of 

 the 14 county teams in the League 

 attended the meeting. 



The Constitution was revised to 

 clear up questions about eligibility 

 of players. The majority sentiment 

 was strong for limiting players to 

 farm bureau members and their 

 sons whose residence and occupa- 

 tion is on the farm. 



Several new districts expect to 

 come into the League this year 

 which promises to bring its strength 

 up to 20 to 25 teams. Membership 

 dues for teams are $5 per year, 

 after the initiation fee of $5 is paid. 



Piatt County Latest 



Claimant to Title 



Cerro Gordo township in Piatt 

 county has the largest farm bureau 

 membership in the state according 

 to Farm Adviser S. S. Davis. The 

 list shows 130 members. 



A complete list of the member- 

 ship from this township received by 

 the department of information veri- 

 fies Piatt County's claim to the title. 

 Dupage, Knox, and Marshall-Put- 

 nam were other competitors for the 

 honor. 



Cerro Gordo township is the ban- 

 ner township of Piatt county and 

 is one of the best agriculturally in 

 the state. 



7 Michigan Counties 

 May Join Ohio Co-op 



Seven counties of southeastern 

 Michigan may set up local poultry 

 marketing associations and pool 

 their produce with that of the Ohio 

 Poultry Producers Association ac- 

 cording to a recent announcement 

 of the Michigan State Farm Bureau. 



At a meeting held at Jackson, on 

 Dec. 10, a committee was appointed 

 to develop a plan of organization 

 which may lead directly to a con- 

 nection with the Ohio co-op in the 

 marketing of poultry and eggs. 



John A. Gage, president; W. H. 

 Norfleet, vice-president, W. E. Page, 

 sec'y., and Onis McPherson, treas., 

 are the officers of the tJefferson 

 County Farm Bureau for the com- 

 ing year. Directors chosen were E. 

 A. Walker, W. L. Wimber|y, J. L. 

 Porter, Xavicr Kiefer and Stanley 

 W. Norris. 



Mutual Reinsurance Co. 

 To Meet At Springfield 



On Thursday, Feb. 10 



Following the two-day session of 

 the Illinois Association of Mutual 

 Fire and Windstorm Insurance 

 Companies, on Feb. 9 and 10 at 

 Springfield, the Farmers' Mutual 

 Reinsurance Company will hold a 

 session in the Springfield Y. M. C. 

 A. on Thursday afternoon to discuss 

 its problems and future program. 



The Farmers' Mutual Reinsur- 

 ance Company has had a steady 

 growth since its formation a year 

 ago and plans are underway to 

 develop a larger program of serv- 

 ice in the coming year. 



Vernon Vaniman and J. H. 

 Kelker will represent the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association at the 

 meeting. 



/. A. A. Executive 

 Committee Votes 

 For "Bureau Farmer" 



(Continued from col. 4, page 1.) 

 tion RECORD will be continued as 

 before. Its date of publication, 

 however, will be changed to the 

 middle of the month so members 

 will have news of their organization 

 every two weeks. 



The insistent demand from the 

 membership for publication of the 

 RECORD more often than once a 

 month added to the need for more 

 direct contact with the national or- 

 ganization led to the adoption of 

 the new publication. The agree- 

 ment signed by the I. A. A. will go 

 into effect with the March issue. 



The great saving effected by co- 

 operating with the A. F. B. F. and 

 other state farm bureaus in se- 

 curing this direct contact with the 

 membership was important in the 

 decision of the Committee. 



Ames Abe Says: 



As I was tellin' Maw the other 

 day, when she bawled me out for 

 hangin' my hat on her broom 

 handle, married life is like farm 

 machinery. When it's right new 

 it's pretty hard puUin' and takes 

 a lot'a adjustin', when it gets 

 well broke in it runs along purty 

 smooth an' nice, but when it be- 

 gins to get old it take lots'a 

 watchin' to keep it from rattlin', 

 squeakin' an' knockin'. 



Standard of Living 

 Is Measure of Farm 

 Efficiency — Taylor 



Declares Fanners Haven't 

 Advanced in Living Con- 

 ditions Commensurate with 

 Efficiency 



"The rural standard of living is 

 a measure of agricultural effi- 

 ^■^fc-^^ ciency," declared 



^■F^ Dr. Carl C. Tay- 

 ^1^ I y lor. Dean of the 

 ^^^L^^ L Graduate School 

 Hv|n# of North Caro- 

 ^^^^^^]g l'"^ Agricultural 



J^^Bf College, before 



^^^^^^^^^ the Illinois Agri- 

 ^^^^^S^^^l cultural Associa- 

 ^^^^^^^k^^H tion 

 ^^^^^^^^^1 at 

 ^^^H^^^^l week. 



"It constitutes 

 Dr. c«-l C. Tsylor f^^ monuments 



which have been built to the suc- 

 cess or failure of agriculture. Rur- 

 al people, like all others, carry on 

 their occupations in order to obtain 

 the necessary and desirable things 

 of life. The standard of living is 

 the human yardstick and is meas- 

 ured in terms of: food, clothing, 

 shelter, health, education, religion, 

 recreation and social contacts. 

 People have these satisfactions to 

 the degree they can afford them. 



Standard of Living Test. 



"While American agriculture can 

 b« measured in various ways, such 

 as acres, farms, by value of crops, 

 rural population, farm population, 

 and the kind of lives those who till 

 the soil live, yet the standard of 

 living of the people who farm is 

 the best and ultimate test of agri- 

 culture," said Dr. Taylor. 



"It tells whether the system of 

 farming pays over long periods of 

 time. It tells whether the present 

 status of agriculture is satisfactory 

 or not. And it is the thing by 

 which to measure the success and 

 status of the individual farmer." 



"There have been great gains in 

 agriculture but no commensurate 

 gains in the rural standards of liv- 

 ing," said' the speaker. 



American Farmers Efficient. 



"American farmers are produc- 

 ing more per man and more per 

 acre today than ever before. In 

 1850 they represented 67 per cent 

 of all gainfully employed, but in 

 1920 only 29 per cent. Their gain 

 in efficiency is seen by the fact 

 that in 1830 it took three hours 

 and three minutes of human labor 

 to grow a bushel of wheat. But in 

 1894 the same production required 

 only 10 minutes. Here are the fig- 

 ures on corn and seed cotton. 



"In 1855 it took four hours and 

 34 minutes to grow a bushel of 

 com. In 1894 it took only 41 min- 

 utes. In 1841 it required 10 min- 

 utes to grow a pound of seed cot- 

 ton. In 1895 only 7/10 minute to 

 grow the same amount. 



Need Higher Standard*. 



Dr. Taylor argued that the Unit- 

 ed States can't build an acceptable 

 civilization unless rural standards 

 are held up, sines rural people are 

 the producers of much of the pri- 

 mary wealth of the world. 



The lack of cultural things in so 

 many rural homes he attributes to 

 inadequate income to buy them. 



The standard of living is low be- 

 cause of lack of institutional and 

 community facilities, he believes. 

 The remedy lies in larger communi- 

 ties with adequate institutions — 

 schools, churches, playgrounds, hos- 

 pitals, according to Dr. Taylor. 

 Ideas only of production or owning 

 land or making money, rob institu- 

 tions. The Value of art and of 

 community life must be empha- 

 sized. Absentee landlordism takes 

 money out of community and sacri- 

 fices dynamic interest of owner 

 resident. 



Light and Power 



Problems To Have 



Attention in 1927 



Electric Light, and power on the 

 farm, a subject which is assuming 

 greater importance each year, will 

 have special at- 

 tention from the 

 Transportation 

 Department o f 

 the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Associa- 

 tion in the com- 



L. J. Quasey 



ing year. 



Studies of 

 power line costs, 

 and relative rates 

 for various uses 

 to which elec- 

 tricity is put will 

 be made with the idea of present- 

 ing intelligent information to the 

 Illinois Commerce Commission that 

 fixes rates when controversies arise 

 affecting the interests of farm bu- 

 reau members. 



"Light and power on the farm 

 is a leading issue before the Illinois 

 Commerce Commission at the pres- 

 ent time," declared L. J. Quasey, 

 who has represented farmers in the 

 past five years in disputes before 

 the Commission. "There is a tre- 

 mendous lot of work to be done in 

 this direction, since more farmers 

 each year are taking advantage of 

 electricity for power and light uses. 



"It will be the department's aim 

 to see that the farmer secures this 

 service at a reasonable rate," he 

 said. "Members having problems 

 of this character are invited to write 

 u* for aid. The Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association believes in light 

 and power from electricity for farm- 

 ers and the sooner this service can 

 be made available to all the better. 

 Bat the Association will be on guard 

 to protect its members against any 

 possible exhorbitant charges or ar- 

 bitrary routing of power lines that 

 work a hardship against them." 



Cooperatives Assn. to 



Indianapolis in 1927 



(Continued from col. 2, page 1.) 



"When we have 300 members, we 

 will have the largest cooperative 

 organization in the world," he said. 



Great interest was expressed by 

 the members in comparative figures 

 which help them check their own 

 Dusinesses with others. The mem- 

 bership favors the continuation of 

 this service. 



New contracts providing for a 

 three-year membership and continu- 

 ous thereafter unless cancelled will 

 be sent out in the near future. 



Directors nominated for two years 

 were H. J. Shaffer, Illiopolis, A. J. 

 Gilfillan, Watseka, and L. P. Mc- 

 Millen, Rock Falls. George Potter, 

 vice-president, presided in the ab- 

 sence of President McMillen. 



Serum Association 

 Elects New Officers 



0. B. Goble of Charleston was re- 

 elected president of the Illinois 

 Farm Bureau Serum Association at 

 its annual meeting in the Jefferson 

 Hotel, Peoria, Wednesday, Jan. 26. 



Sam Sorrells of Raymond was 

 elected vice-president, and W. E. 

 Hedgcock again will serve as secre- 

 tary-treasurer in the coming year. 

 Directors chosen for 1927 were R. 

 A. Norrish, Whiteside county, Adam 

 McWilliam, Stark county, James 

 Gilespie, Lawrence county, and J. 

 H. Lloyd, Hancock county. 



Dr. T. P. White of the bureau of 

 animal industry, Washington, D. C. 

 who delivered the principal address 

 stated that vaccination is the only 

 solution to the hog cholera problem. 

 He recommended that farmers vac- 

 cinate every year against the dis- 

 ease. 



Twelve states showed a member- 

 ship gain on the books of the A. F. 

 B. F. The honor roll states are Ala- 

 bama, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, 

 Kansas, Louisiana, Nevads, New 

 York, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia 

 and Washington. 



, 



Volt 



J. p. Gib 



Mr. Gil 

 reared in 

 lege he 

 secured 

 to enlistii 

 he was re 

 1919. 

 service 

 Liability 

 Mass., a i 

 ford, Illii 



Winne 

 lead witl 

 at time 

 more the 

 this coun 

 quota, 

 the fam 

 county, 

 turned 

 28, whicl 

 quota. 



The pi 

 policy" : 

 of the < 

 by fire oi 

 erl appro 



"The 

 now begi 

 a strong 

 loyalty," 

 of each 

 to make 



