THE I. A. A. R£CX)RD 



Paf^e Five 



Grocers Succeed by 



Contract Co-Operation 



President of Independent Group 

 Tells How Merchants Are Meet- 

 ing Competition by Working 

 Together 



HOW more than 9,000 independent 

 grocers throughout the United 

 States are succeeding by compulsory 

 co-operation under the contract plan of 

 membership was disclosed by J. Frank 

 Grimes of Chicago, president of the In- 

 dependent Grocers' Alliance of Amer- 

 ica, who spoke recently before the In- 

 dependent Oil Men of America at St. 

 Louis. 



So successful have the 9,000 or more 

 merchants in Grimes* organization been 

 that their profits this year, despite busi- 

 ness depression, are 45 per cent larger 

 than last year, continues the newspaper 

 report of his address. 



Compulsory, Not Voluntary 



The touchstone of their success was 

 co-operative buying and uniform mer- 

 chandising and display methods, but it 

 was a different type of co-operation 

 than that ordinarily envisioned. 



It w^as compulsory rather than 

 voluntary. 



When members entered the alliance 

 they signed contracts to follow the 

 policies outlined by the directing heads 

 so that in effect the alliance is a chain 

 store organization composed of inde- 

 pendent merchants. 



The fatal weakness of most co-oper- 

 ative business attempts, according to 

 Grimes, is that they lack competitive 

 leadership and the power to enforce 

 policies that will bring success. 



"It is of the greatest importance to 

 this country to see that individual own- 

 ership of business and the continuance 

 of opportunity for individual owner- 

 ship be safeguarded as a national heri- 

 tage," said Grimes. 



Individualism Is Obstacle 



"The power that lies in the hands of 

 the independents so far exceeds that of 

 the organized corjwrations that it is ap- 

 palling to see it going to waste for lack 

 of use. Probably the greatest diflSculty 

 that confronts independent business 

 men is the peculiarly individualistic 

 ideas and ideals that have developed 

 around the individual business. They 

 seem somehow to resent taking sugges- 

 tions' and following the example of 

 others. 



"It is only within the last four or 

 five years that definite steps have been 

 taken to harnessing the power of the 

 independents and combining great num- 

 bers of individuals so that things may 



be done which no single individual 

 could do alone, but which all can do 

 together." 



Grimes related how the early at- 

 tempt to organize the independent gro- 

 cers failed because they lacked "the 

 directing organization powerful enough 

 to draw to itself keen minds, the finest 

 talent and to evolve a program com- 

 plete in every detail that would match 

 or excel that of the strongest competi- 

 tion." 



$500,000,000 Business 



Members of Grimes' alliance are 

 found in 37 states. Last year its sales 

 exceeded $500,000,000. It advertises 

 both nationally and locally. The mem- 

 bers pay $3.50 a week as alliance dues 

 and this pays for the entire services of 

 the alliance, including advertising and 

 purchasing through a centralized agen- 

 cy. All alliance stores are uniform in 

 appearance and unless the member is 

 willing to follow the alliance's policies 

 he forfeits his membership. 



In all respects, however. Grimes said, 

 the individual member is the owner of 

 his own store. He runs the business 

 and pockets the profits, and is a fixture 

 in his community. 



Its members have enjoyed such pros- 

 perity in the last two years that Grimes 

 said applications for membership are 

 pouring in faster than they can be 

 passed upon. 



v/ tv Brought Results 



Editor, I. A. A. Record: 



"Your I. A. A. RECORD surely 

 brings results. We have been simply 

 deluged with mail from people anxious 

 to go up on our 78 acre tract. Also a 

 number of them called on us personally 

 as well as telephoned. 



"Mr. Stolz of Lyle, 111., is going to 

 move up there tomorrow and I think 

 everything will be all fine and dandy. 



"This has reference to my letter 

 which you printed about wanting some- 

 one to go up on our 78 acre place, rent 

 free, in exchange for a little work for 

 me around our cottages in the summer 

 season. I surely struck the right me- 

 dium when I picked your name out of 

 the telephone book. 



"Thanks for your part in this mat*' 

 ten" 



H. C. Williamson, 

 319 N. Crawford Ave., 

 Chicago, 111. 



Illinois Butter Campaign 

 Begins 



A JOINT campaign financed by Illi- 

 nois processors and producers to 

 advertise and boost the consumption of 

 creamery butter was begun under the 

 direction of the National Dairy Coun- 

 cil on November 1. The campaign 

 which will be first tried out in Illinois, 

 was inspired by the success of recent 

 efforts by county Farm Bureaus, dairy 

 associations and other groups in adver- 

 tising the superiority of butter over oleo 

 and other substitutes among consumers. 



A deduction of one cent per delivery 

 from each cream producer will be 

 matched by a similar contribution from 

 the processors in underwriting advertis- 

 ing costs. The Illinois Produce Mar- 

 keting Association, meeting on October 

 10, endorsed the plan and recommended 

 that all affiliated local and county as- 

 sociations co-operate. Creameries which 

 buy from individual farmers, likewise, 

 will make the deduction. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 approved the program, and the Amer- 

 ican Farm Bureau Federation has been 

 asked to help administer the funds to 

 guarantee equity to the farmers who 

 are helping finance the campaign. 



Soybean Harvest Now 

 Completed 



The unprecedented movement of 

 soybeans from farm to market during 

 the harvest season of 1930 is now al- 

 most finished, reports the Soybean Mar- 

 keting association. Favorable weather 

 was largely responsible for expediting 

 the rapid delivery of the crop. 



Reliable information indicates that 

 soybeans in the hands of farmers and 

 seed companies will be inadequate to 

 meet the demands for feed and for next 

 year's seed requirements. Information 

 coming from other states indicates a 

 shortage of seed beans elsewhere. The 

 association officials believe that mem- 

 bers of the organization who have good 

 seed beans will materially profit by 

 holding them in storage. 



The autoist is 13 times more likely 

 to be killed than the railway passenger, 

 according to the Governor's Committee 

 on Street and Highway Safety of Massa- 

 chusetts. The street car is the safest 

 of the three methods of travel. 



Wants a Job 



A. Eilert, 2608 Vega Ave. W., Cleve- 

 land, Ohio, 39-year-old German immi- 

 grant, single, six feet tall, strong, 

 healthy, farm experienced, two and 

 one-half years in this country, wants a 

 job on a farm. 



His letter indicates he is well edu- 

 cated, honest, and not afraid of work. 

 He was raised on a farm in the Province 

 of Hanover, Germany. Write him. 

 He offers references. ;- . 



