Page Six 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



^ I L«1jINOIS 



CVLTUSAL ASSOCIA 



RECORO 



To advance the purpose for uhich Ihe farm Bureau was organized, 

 namely, to promote, protect and reprcunt the hiisjncis, economic, political, 

 and educational interests of the farmers of Illinois and the nation, 

 and to develop agriculture. 



Editor, George Thiem 



Published once a month by the Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 at 124 So. Fifth St., Marshall, 111. Adress all communications for publi- 

 cation to Editorial Office, 608 So. Dearborn St., Chicago, III. Entered as 

 second-class matter June 16, 1930, at the post office at Marshall, 111., 

 under the Act of March 3, 1879. Accepted for mailing at special rate of 

 postage provided for in Section 412, Act of Feb. 28, 1925, authorized 

 Oct. 27, 1925. The individual membership fee of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association is five dollars a year. The fee includes payment of fifty cents 

 for subscription to the Illinois Agricultural Association Record. Post- 

 master: In returning an uncalled for missent copy please indicate key 

 number on address as is required by law. 



OFFICERS 



President, Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-President, A. R Wright Varna 



Secretary, Geo. E. Metzger Chicago 



Treasurer, R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



BOARD OF DIRECTORS 



(By Congressional District) 



-H. C. Vial, Downers Grove 



G. F. TuUock, Rockford 



C. E. Bamborough, Polo 



M. G. Lambert, Ferris 



..A. N. Skinner, Yates City 



1st to nth... 



12th 



13th 



14th 



ISth. 

 16th. 



Geo. B. Muller, Washington 



17th. Geo. J. Stoll, Chestnut 



ISth _ _ _ W. A. Dennis. Paris 



19th _ _ C. J. Gross, Atnrood 



20th _ _ _ Charles S. Black, Jacksonville 



21st... 

 22nd_ 

 23rd.. 

 24th.. 



-Samuel Sorrells, Raymond 



Frank Oexner, Waterloo 



W. L. Cope. Salem 



Charles Marshall 



25th - Fred Diet*, De Soto 



Comptroller.. 

 Finance- 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Fruit and Vegetable Marketing.. 



Grain Marketing 



Information.. 



Insurance Service 



Legal CounscL _ 



Limestone- Phosphate 



Live Stock Marketing.. 

 Office.. 



Organization.. 



Produce Marketing 



Taxation and Statistics.. 

 Transportation.. 



...J. H. Kelker 



R. A. Cowles 



A. B. Leeper 



-Harrison Fahrnkopf 



George Thiem 



V. Vaniman 



—Donald Kirkpatrick 



_ _..J. R Bent 



Ray E. Miller 



C. E. Johniton 



G. E. Metzger 



F. A. Gougler 



J. C. Watson 



L. J. Quasey 



ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Life Insurance Co L. A. Williams, Mgr. 



Farmers Mutual Reinsurance Co _ J. H. Kelker, Mgr. 



Illinois Agricultural Co-operatives Ass'n F. E. Ringham, Mgr. 



Illinois Agricultural Mutual Insurance Co A. E. Richardson, Mgr. 



Illinois Farm Supply Co L. R. Marchant, Mgr. 



Illinois Grain Corp Harrison Fahrnkopf, Mgr. 



Midwest Grain Corp Chas. P. Cummin^s, Gen'l. Mgr. 



Soybean Marketing Assn _ J. H. Lloyd, Mgr. 



I sit Worth the Price? 



CORPORATION farming as a solution to the economic 

 problem of agriculture was advocated by Hickman 

 Price, 30,000-acre wheat farmer from Amarillo, Texas, 

 who spoke before the farm equipment manufacturers in 

 Chicago recently. Mr. Price has become more or less re- 

 nowned for his work in producing low-cost wheat. 



Where the average lUiiiois farmer spends from $15 to 

 $20 in labor, materials, and overhead to produce an acre 

 of wheat. Price grows just as large or larger a crop for 

 $6 to $7 an acre. 



"If I awakened one morning on a typical 200-acre corn- 

 belt farm, the first thing I would do," said the Texan, 

 "would be to seek the co-operation of my neighbors in pool- 

 ing our land, and working it in partnership until we had 

 at least 2,000 acres in one farm. 



By so doing we could cut our overhead expenses tremen- 

 dously, buy for less, sell for more ,and produce larger crops 

 per acre. 



Price would have one large tractor to do the heavy work 

 on each 2,000 acres. Fences would be taken down and 

 fields of several hundred acres in size laid out to facilitate 

 the use of combines and large power-driven machinery. 



If the serious obstacles involved in such procedure could 

 be overcome, the inevitable result would be a decline in 

 farm population infinitely greater than we have seen to date. 

 Farm organization and co-operative action in buying com- 

 modities and selling crops would be simplified. But the 

 nation would see the destruction of its free, independent, 

 home-owning, rural citizenry as we know it today. 



Comparatively speaking, agriculture would gravitate into 

 the hands of a few large operators employing an army of 

 help having the same status as factory workers in our pres- 

 ent industrial centers. Thus we would have something akin 

 to the old feudal system of Europe with its lords and ladies, 

 and laboring subjects — a system which progressive European 

 countries have largely abolished. 



Statesmen who are concerned about safeguarding one of 

 the country's most valuable resources, its independent rural 

 life and people, will not tolerate a system which ruthlessly 

 sacrifices everything to the god of efficiency and economy. 



Irish Philosopher Visits I. A, A, Office 



IF the rural population of America continues to decline 

 as it has in the last 10 years this country will be headed 

 for trouble, according to George Russell, famous Irish poet, 

 writer, organizer and leader of co-operative thought, who 

 visited the I. A. A. offices during a brief stopover in Chi- 

 cago on October 7. 



Russell, famed under his pen name "AE," believes that 

 the United States is making the same mistake that England 

 made in developing an industrial civilization at the ex- 

 pense of its rural life. 



"If America is wise," said Russell, "it will bend every 

 effort toward keeping from 20 to 25 per cent of its popu- 

 lation rural. It is my observation that after the fourth 

 generation, the vitality of city-born people, particularly in 

 the highly developed industrial sections, slackens off and 

 dies." 



The tremendous vigor and progress shown by the United 

 States, according to Russell, is due to the fact that the 

 cities have been constantly fed by a strong, stalwart rural 

 population possessing the energy and vitality to carry on 

 great enterprises and overcome all obstacles. "Germany and 

 France," he said, "established policies of government friend- 

 ly and favorable to agriculture so as to maintain a large 

 and strong rural population for military reasons. Great 

 Britain, to its own sorrow, has not done so." ,, ■' 



The Irish philosopher's account of the widespread develop- 

 ment of co-operative societies for marketing, purchasing 

 and carrying on business among Irish farmers was note- 

 worthy. Speaking before the Agricultural Committee of 

 the Chicago Association of Commerce, he revealed how or- 

 ganization of Irish farmers had changed their social char- 

 acter from selfishness, clannishness and hopelessness to a 

 progressive people with a more hopeful attitude toward 

 life. The 1,100 farm co-operative societies organized in 

 Ireland not only increased the net income of their mem- 

 bers but also improved the standard of living and culture of 

 the Irish farmer. 



"Our farmers were so poor and uneducated in the be- 

 ginning that it was difficult to teach them the advantages 

 of organization," said Russell. "The education of 90 per 

 cent of our men stopped at the age of 12. A few moneyed 

 men interested in the welfare of Irish agriculture donated 

 sums of money at first to get the organization started. 

 Now, after 2 5 years of successful co-operation the funds for 

 carrying on the work are supplied by farmers themselves. 



"Some of our very successful co-operative societies donate 

 as much as 500 pounds ($2,500) annually to help the im- 



