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THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seven 



OUR REAEiERS' FORUM 



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Likes The Record 

 Editor, I. A. A. Record: 



"Permit me to congratulate you on the 

 March 'I. A. A. Record.' The issue was 

 interesting from beginning to end. 



"My humble opinion is that you had a 

 number of articles remarkably well writ- 

 ten. The colors on the cover are very at- 

 tractive. 



"I think the present publication is indeed 

 a credit to our state organization and many 

 are the comments in Logan county on the 

 recent issues. Keep up the good work." 

 L. R. Welk, Lincoln, Logan County, 111. 



A Word for the Managers .. . , , 

 Editor, III. Agric. Assn. Record: 



I READ the letter of Earl Ericson of 

 Knox County, published in the March 

 issue of the I. A. A. Record with much in- 

 terest. As far as the general trend of 

 things is concerned, I can vouch for every- 

 thing he said about the annual meeting of 

 our state Farmers' Grain Dealers' Associa- 

 tion at Peoria. 



I hope no one will get the impression 

 from this account of the meeting that all 

 our farmers' elevator managers are like the 

 ones he talked about who try to run the 

 whole show and play into the hands of the 

 grain commission men opposing the best 

 interests of their farmer employers. 

 ' I have become acquainted with a great 

 many managers while attending these meet- 

 ings, and I believe you will find the ma- 

 jority of them fully in sympathy with real 

 co-operative marketing and ready to sec 

 the program carried through to the termi- 

 nal markets. I know that our elevator 

 manager here at Beason is one hundred per 

 cent loyal, and is always ready to do his 

 best for the interests of the farmer patrons 

 and stockholders. 



Majority O. E. 



There is considerable talk going about 

 the state to the effect that the plan of mar- 

 keting as laid down by the 111. Grain Corp. 

 is tp go forward to the excliuion of the 

 elevator manager. In fact, there are those 

 who would try to prejudice the elevator 

 managers against the Farm Bureau and Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association. I believe 

 that farmer elevator managers in this state 

 whose interests lie more closely to the grain 

 trade than they do to 'the farmers of their 

 own community are in the minority. And 

 because a few elevator managers have sold 

 out to the grain commission men, the ma- 

 jority may suffer for the shortcomings of 

 the minority. 



In any system of marketing an able and 

 loyal manager is needed who has the inter- 

 ests of the producer at heart. Even though 

 the grain trade interests would have all the 

 managers believe to the contrary, the di- 

 rectors and members of the Illinois Grain 



Corporation have a high regard for man- 

 agers as a whole and know that a great 

 many of them are outstanding men and 

 have the best interests of their communi- 

 ties at heart. 



Our Own Fault 



Mr. Ericson made a good point when he 

 urged farmers who are patrons and stock- 

 holders of farmers' elevators to take more 

 interest in their business and see that a real 

 grain marketing program is developed. The 

 grain trade has stolen a march on us and 

 a lot of commission men are closer to the 

 manager and the business than the elevator 

 owners are themselves. We'll never get 

 anywhere until we do take a more active 

 interest in the marketing end. That has 

 been the trouble with tis. We've kept our 

 noses to the grindstone producing food at 

 prices set by the other fellow while he 

 carries off the profit. If we can't succeed 

 now in getting organized and having 

 something to say about the price of our 

 product, may the Almighty help us. 

 (Signed) Chas. Schmitt, 

 Beason, Logan County, 111. 



(Mr. Schmitt is president of the Beason- 

 Skelton Elevator Co.) 



75 to 70 ■ '•' ■' ■■■■'■ ^ 

 Editor, I. A. A. Record: 



SEVENTY-FIVE to seventy was the re- 

 ' result of a hot contest at the annual 

 meeting of the Farmers' Grain Dealers As- 

 sociation at Peoria the 11th, 12th and 13th 

 of February and the vote that placed a slate 

 of officers in charge of the Association that 

 is friendly to the grain trade. 



For many years, we understand, it 

 has been customary for the election of of- 

 ficers to be held over to the morning of 

 the third day after most of the real farm- 

 ers have gone home, leaving the control in 

 the hands of a few elevator managers and 

 grain commission men. At no time before 

 had credentials been recognized. 



All Real Producers 



But at the last session real farmers, di- 

 rectors and presidents of farmers' elevators 

 thought it was high time that the board 

 of directors who control the organization 

 be men whose interests Ue with true co- 

 operative methods. In the district caucuses 

 on the afternoon of the first day a nomi- 

 nating committee was elected representing 

 the farmers' best interests. They submit- 

 ted a slate of men for directors and of- 

 ficers, every one of whom was a president 

 or director of his local elevator. 



A minority ticket was submitted by an 

 elevator manager and seconded by a man- 

 ager. Through clever political work in- 

 volving questionable tactics the enemies of 

 co-operative marketing managed to get 

 enough so-called credentials in their hands 

 to swing the vote 75-70 in favor of the 



grain trade ticket. We know of no other 

 organization that allows its paid employees 

 to dictate the policies of the organization. 



Votes Four Times 



One hostile manager voted four time*. 

 They reelected a manager by this method 

 who is said to hold a seat on the Chicago 

 Board of Trade and seldom has a bushel 

 from his elevators gone through the chan- 

 nels of the Rural Grain Company, the 

 farmers' own commission firm. 



Though real fanners lost their slate they 

 forced a show-down on the condition of 

 management of the Illinois Farmers' Grain 

 Dealers Association. We are told that it 

 has been customary in past years for com- 

 mission men to pay expenses of many of 

 the voting delegates. i 



The Real Issue 



Since seventy real farmers' elevators 

 voiced the fact that they were ready to 

 help the farmer get control of his grain 

 marketing facilities, there will be some ef- 

 fective work done in 1930. The I. A. A. 

 plan, (Illinois Grain Corporation) which 

 has been endorsed by the Federal Farm 

 Board, is going ahead rapidly. A board of 

 directors has been elected and policies 

 adopted. . y 'J 



Even though there seemed to be quite a 

 disturbance at the Peoria meeting on 

 "slates," the real issue simmered down to 

 the question as to whether or not eleva- 

 tors should contract their grain to the 

 Farmers' National Grain Corporation, or 

 whether they would have the option to 

 sell to them or other commission firms, j .. 

 G. L. Potter, Pres., 1" 



Livingston County (111.) Farm Bureau. '■' ■ 



(Mr. Potter is a director in the Kurd 

 Grain Co. and was formerly on the board 

 of directors of the Farmers Grain DeaUn 

 Association of lUinois.) 



For Collective Farming 

 Editor, I. A. A. Record: 



" Mr. Legge compares the 



'buying by means of the Sears Roebuck 

 catalog and the chain store' and says that 

 the farmer is not at a greater disadvantage 

 than the city man. Agriculture can be di- 

 vided into the farmer's home and the farm- 

 er's business, just as manufacturing can be 

 divided up into the manufacturer's home 

 and his business. Mr. Legge has confused 

 the buying for the home and that for the 

 business. I do not think that the super- 

 intendent of the shipping department of 

 the International Harvester Company buys 

 the supplies needed for his department 

 either thru chain stores or the mail order 

 catalog, even though he may buy a suit of 

 clothes or his groceries from one of these 

 organizations. I think the L A. A. with 



