FARMERS WIN WABASH VALLEY TELEPHONE CASE 



Canadian Co-ops 



Do Big Business 



Local and Terminal Elevators 

 I Co-ordinate 



CANADIAN farmers have gradually 

 developed a group of co-opera- 

 tives which co-ordinate local and ter- 

 minal elevator fa- 

 cilities with cen- 

 tralized selling, ac- 

 cording to a com- 

 prehensive bulle- 

 tin by J. F. Booth, 

 published recently 

 -• TEAMwoan 4i by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. 



The independent local unit has dis- 

 appeared. Several large-scale co-op- 

 erative associations market more than 

 one-half of the grain crop of western 

 Canada. 



This large volume of grain is at 

 present handled by the Canadian Co- 

 operative Wheat Producers Ltd., 

 known commonly as the Central Sell- 

 ing Agency, which handles the grain 

 of the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and 

 Alberta wheat pools, also that of the 

 United Grain Growers Ltd., which 

 combines the activities formerly car- 

 ried on by the Grain Growers Grain 

 Company Ltd. and the Alberta Farm- 

 ers Co-operative Elevator Company 

 Ltd. 



Handled 41,000,000 BusheU 



The United Grain Growers Ltd. has 

 35,000 farmer shareholders. It oper- 

 ates more than 400 country elevators 

 and several large terminal elevators. 

 In 1926 it handled 41,000,000 bushels. 

 Through the parent organization and 

 several subsidiaries the company also 

 handles livestock, farm supplies, and 

 insurance. A farm journal with a cir- 

 culation exceeding 100,000 is pub- 

 lished. The company follows the gen- 

 eral principles of operation followed 

 by the trade. Itbuys from farmers 

 or handles on consignment. It pays 

 current prices and does not pool re- 

 turns. Grain is handled for both mem- 

 bers and non-members. The company 

 is strong financially with reserves ag- 

 gregating nearly $4,000,000. 



140,000 In PooU 



The western Canadian wheat pools 

 were organized in 1923 and 1924 and 

 combined to form their central sell- 

 ing agency in 1924. Their total mem- 

 bership is 140,000 and the volume of 

 grain handled exceeds 200,000,000 bu- 

 shels annually. The members are all 

 signed on five-year contracts. 



The Province of Ontario recently 

 organized a grain pool which now has 

 over 9,000 members. The Ontario 

 pool, likewise, will sell through the" 

 central selling agency. , 



Operate 900 Elevator* ' 



The pools operate more than 900 

 country elevators and terminal eleva- 



tors with capacity exceeding 20,000,- 

 000 bushels. The grain is sold direct 

 to domestic and foreign mills and 

 other users of grain both at home and 

 abroad. They have branch offices in 

 Canada and in Europe, with agency 

 connections in most importing coun- 

 tries. Returns from grain sales are 

 pooled among growers on the basis of 

 grades of grain each member delivers. 

 Deduct 2 Cents Buihel 



The pools are permitted, under their 

 contracts, to deduct two cents per 

 bushel for an elevator reserve and up 

 to one per cent of the gross sales value 

 for commercial reserves. These de- 

 ductions run into millions of dollars. 



The bulletin cites the differences in 

 co-operative methods of selling grain 

 in the United States and Canada and 

 the reasons for the greater success of 

 centralized efforts in the Dominion. 



Lee County Farmers 



In Telephone Case 



LEE County farmers who subscribed 

 to the service of the Farmers Tele- 

 phone Company of Franklin Grove 

 were represented by their Farm 

 Bureau and the Transportation Depart- 

 ment of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation in a hearing before the Illi- 

 nois Commerce Commission a short 

 time ago. 



The Company is seeking to eliminate 

 free toll service. It operates five ex- 

 changes at Franklin Grove, Amboy, 

 Sublette, Ashton, and Lee Center. The 

 Company alleges that neighboring 

 companies are bringing pressure to 

 bear on it to charge toll to adjacent 

 communities now securing free toll 

 service. Some companies are recipro- 

 cating with the Farmers Telephone 

 Company in giving long distance serv- 

 ice without additional charge while 

 others are not. 



Subscribers take the position that 

 the inter-relationship of communities 

 is such that to abolish free toll service 

 to nearby towns and communities 

 would seriously diminish the value of 

 the telephone service. 



The Green River Farmers Club 

 passed a resolution declaring that 

 such charges as are proposed by the 

 Company are uncalled for and against 

 the practice of the last 25 years. It 

 is contended that the farmers built 

 their own lines to Amboy with the 

 understanding that no toll charges 

 would be added for connections with 

 other points within the county. This 

 case is still pending. 



>'^ 



L. J. Quasey 



No, No, Maudie — It is not necessary 

 to use soft water for soft boiled eggs 

 or hard Water for the hard boiled ones. 

 A liberty bond is not a divorce decree. 



* * « 



Hard-Luck Harry Says — "If life was 

 a bed of roses, I'd be picking thorns 

 out of myself all day." 



Commerce Commission Order Sup- 

 ports I. A. A. Rates to Edgar 

 County Subscribers Re- 

 main at $24 



EDGAR County farmers represented 

 by the Transportation Department 

 of the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 and their Farm Bureau, won a signal 

 victory when the Illinois Commerce 

 Commission upheld the contention of 

 over 500 rural subscribers that $24 a 

 year is a high enough charge for 10- 

 party line rural telephone service. The 



Commission's finding 



was recently trans- 

 mitted to the . Wa- 

 bash Valley Tele- 

 phone Co. at Paris. 



The Company had 

 originally petitioned 

 for an increase from 

 the present rate of 

 $24 per year to $33 

 a year for 10-party 

 rural service with 

 p r o p o r tionate or 

 even larger increases to subscribers in 

 the city of Paris, seat of Edgar county. 



The valuations, depreciation require- 

 ments, operating revenue and expense 

 statements submitted to the Commerce 

 Commission by the Company were 

 checked by the Commission's engineer- 

 ing staff. It was found that the Com- 

 pany had set up an excessive amount 

 for depreciation reserve ; that the plant 

 and equipment was in slightly less than 

 90 per cent condition while the present 

 reserve on the books of the company is 

 between 30 per cent and 40 per cent, 

 showing a substantial margin for up- 

 keep, repairs, etc. 



I. A. A. Filei Brief 



In the brief and argument filed with 

 the Commission by L. J. Quasey, di- 

 rector of transportation for the I. A. 

 A., it was pointed out that "the item 

 of $47,565 for going value is improper 

 because it is a mere duplication of the 

 items previously mentioned" . . . : 



The brief stated further that "the 

 company has set aside during the past 

 year some $29,980 annual depreciation 

 for the entire company and allocated 

 to the Paris exchange, on the above 

 basis, amounts to about $19,000. The 

 fact that the Company has accrued a 

 very substantial depreciation reserve 

 by allowing about $19,000 annually 

 for the Paris exchange, shows that it 

 is not now entitled to any more. We 

 contend that the depreciation could 

 properly be less and still be sufficient 

 to enable the company to perpetuate 



its property . 



Deny the Advance 



"Should your honorable Commis- 

 sion," continued the brief, "consider 

 that leaving the rural rate as it is 

 would disturb the relationship of the 

 rural residence rate to other classes of 

 service it could reduce the compromise 

 basis on all classes by $3, which would 



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