Page Two 



U. S. Supreme Court 



Decision Safeguards 



Illinois Co-op Act 



Court Finds For Plaintiff in Burley To- 

 bacco Ass'n Suit Against Old Line 

 Buyer 



THE Co-operative Marketing Act of 

 1923 sponsored by the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association and passed by the 

 Illinois legislature of that year was 

 strengthened in effect by the recent de- 

 cision of the United States Supreme 

 Court upholding the Burley Tobacco 

 Growers' Co-operative Marketing As- 

 sociation contract. 



The decision in effect declared that 

 farmers' co-operative associations shall 

 not be deemed monopolies, combina- 

 tions, or conspiracies in restraint of 

 trade, and that contracts made by such 

 associations with their members are 

 legal. 



The Supreme Court decision grew 

 out of a suit against the Liberty Ware- 

 house Company brought by the Ken- 

 tucky Burley Tobacco Association be- 

 cause the warehouse company received 

 and sold 2,000 pounds of the 1923 to- 

 bacco from a member of the Burley 

 Association although its attention had 

 been called to the penalty provided in 

 the Kentucky statutes for such action. 



Penalty Provided 



The penalty mentioned "from any 

 person, firm, or corporation conduct- 

 ing a warehouse within the State of 

 Kentucky who solicits or persuades or 

 permits any member of any association 

 organized hereunder to breach his mar- 

 keting contract with the association by 

 accepting or receiving such members' 

 products for sale or for auction or for 

 display for sale contrary to the terms 

 of any marketing agreement with an 

 association such person, firm, or cor- 

 poration shall be liable and subject to 

 fine, etc." 



Recover $500 



The Burley Association recovered a 

 penalty of $500 prescribed by the act. 



Referring to the general scheme of 

 co-operative marketing, the Supreme 

 Court said, "Although frequently chal- 

 lenged, we do not find any court has 

 condemned an essential feature of the 

 plan with the single exception of the 

 Supreme Court of Minnesota. But in 

 that case it should be noted the dealer 

 who bought products from a member 

 was passive and apparently did not 

 actively seek to purchase them and, so 

 far as the opinion in the case shows, 

 had no knowledge that the member was 

 under contract with the association." 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Honk! Honklt 



niinoi* Farm Bureau members pay 50e per 

 ton less for rock phosphate than do farmers of 

 other states. Oricanized buying power is the 

 reason. 



Taxpayers' League 



In St. Clair County 



THE Taxpayers' League was recently 

 organized in St. Clair county large- 

 ly as a result ef the tax work of the 

 St. Clair County Farm Bureau and 

 the I. A. A. in revealing inequalities 

 in valuations. The League is made up 

 largely of civic organizations. 



"The organization of the League is 

 an attempt in the right direction," said 

 Farm Adviser Tillman, "and it may yet 

 develop that St. Clair county citizens 

 have learned how to govern themselves 

 intelligently without recourse to the 

 State Tax Commission. 



"The Farm Bureau will co-operate 

 with the Taxpayers' League whole- 

 heartedly in bringing about a fair re- 

 assessment but farmers have a right 

 to expect that revision will mean a 

 lower full valuation on farm land 

 rather than an exclusive revision up- 

 ward to the value of farm lands." 



GETS CHECK FOR $100 



T^ M. WOOD of Bloomington, 

 ^-^' a member of the McLean 

 County Farm Bureau, recently 

 received a check for $100 in full 

 payment for a Guernsey heifer 

 killed on the right-of-way near 

 his farm early last fall. Settle- 

 ment came as a result of the Il- 

 linois Agricultural Association 

 Transportation Department's ef- 

 fort in Mr. Wood's behalf. 



The heifer in question broke 

 out of an enclosure and wan- 

 dered down the road onto the 

 right-of-way which was not pro- 

 tected with cattle guards or 

 proper fencing. The animal was 

 so badly injured that it had to 

 be killed and buried. 



After his own efforts had 

 failed to get a settlement, Mr. 

 Wood appealed to the McLean 

 County Farm Bureau from 

 whence it was referred to the 

 I. A. A. Transportation Depart- 

 ment. 



50 Counties To Renew 



Membership In 1928 



Eleven Counties Adopt Continuing Plan 

 For Maintaining Farm Bureau 



FIFTY Illinois counties will renew 

 their Farm Bureau memberships in 

 1928, states Geo. E. Metzger, director 

 of organization. 



Clinton county in Southern Illinois 

 has already finished its drive with a 

 net total gain of 128 members. This 

 is an increase of more than 30 per 

 cent. Clinton county was one of the 

 first to adopt the continuing member- 

 ship agreement by which the member- 

 ship continues automatically unless 

 the member gives notice to the con- 

 trary 30 days prior to the end of the 

 fiscal year. As a result, the greater 

 portion of the members automatically 

 renewed their memberships and the lo- 

 cal solicitors centered their efforts on 

 non-members. 



The continuing membership plan has 

 been adopted by 11 county Farm Bu- 

 reaus. Edgar county adopted this 

 plan several years ago and at the pres- 

 ent time is testing its effectiveness. 

 This county is expected to finish its 

 renewal campaign with 150 members 

 more than it had during the previous 

 three-year period. 



The counties which have adopted 

 the continuing membership plan are: 

 Edgar, Clinton, Marion, Cumberland, 

 Clark, Crawford, Champaign, Iro- 

 quois, Johnson, Vermilion, and Henry. 



Is Farmer Liable For 



Injury To Employee? 



E. D. McQuire of Union county writes: "I 

 would like to know whether an employer is sub- 

 ject to damages if an employee on the farm gets 

 injured while working for him. I am wonder- 

 ing whether or not it is necessary to carry a 

 Workman's Compensation policy. I itmploy a 

 great deal of help during harvest time and want 

 to protect myself against any possible lawsuits." 



The employer is liable for injuries 

 to employees resulting from the em- 

 ployer's negligence, although contrib- 

 utory negligence on the part of the 

 employee is a bar to recovery. Never- 

 theless this does not prevent a man 

 from bringing action against his em- 

 ployer, causing him considerable ex- 

 pense and embarrassment. 



According to the Illinois Statutes, 

 the Workmen's Compensation Act 

 does not apply to "any work, femploy- 

 ment or operations done, had or con- 

 ducted by farmers and others engfaged 

 in farming, tillage of the soil, or stock 

 raising, or to those who rent or lease 

 land for any such purpose, or to any- 

 one in their employ or to any work 

 done on a farm or country place, no 

 matter what kind of work or service 

 is being done or rendered." 



However, a farmer may elect to 

 come under the Act. This is discre- 

 tionary. By so doing he can relieve 

 himself of the common law liability, 

 which briefly means that recovery can- 

 not be had, in case of injury to or the 

 death of an employee, beyond certain 

 specified amounts. 





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