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What's the Law? 



Keeping the Business Enterprises of the Farm Bureau on Solid Legal Ground is one of the 



Chief Tasks of the Legal Department 



IT'S EASIER to keep out of trouble 

 than to get out after you are in. 

 This is one of the maxims of 

 Donald Kirkpatrick, general counsel of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association. 

 For more than 14 years as director of 

 the I. A. A. legal department, "Kirk" 

 has devoted his energies toward de- 

 veloping and keeping the many busi- 

 ness and co-operatjve enterprises of 

 the I. A. A and County Farm Bureaus 

 on solid legal ground. 



"What's the law on that," is a ques- 

 tion -rtiat bobs up frequently in all 

 sorts of business activities of farmers. 

 It has been Kirk's job not only to 

 answer the question but to find a legal 

 way to do what needed to be done in 

 serving the interests of organized Illi- 

 nois farmers. 



One of the first tasks to which he set 

 himself early in the life of the state as- 

 sociation was to place on the statutes 

 of Illinois a modern, co-operative law 

 clearly defining the principles of true 

 co-operative organization, and paving 

 th€f way for establishing real cooper- 

 ativ«s which fully protect the rights 

 and interests of members. The Illinois 

 Co-operative Act of 1923, sponsored by 

 the Illinois Agriculti^al Association, 

 was the result. And today hundreds of 

 successful co-operative associations, 

 organized under this act, are operating 

 in Illinois to the great benefit of Farm 

 Bureau members. 



The legal department has drafted or 

 assisted in drafting a great many other 

 measures a number of which have been 

 enacted into law and are now among 

 the Illinois statutes. 



The mass of detail of a legal nature 

 connected with the launching and op- 

 eration of the three I. A. A. insurance 

 companies, the state purchasing or- 

 ganization and the 60 affiliated county 

 service companies, the various mar- 

 keting institutions state wide, county, 

 and local, and the parent association 

 itself including the 94 County Farm 

 Bureaus has called for great diligence 

 by the legal department. A special 

 knowledge of co-operative law and co- 

 operative principles has enabled it to 

 serve all these organizations well that 

 they may effectively carry out the pur- 

 pose for which they were organized. 



Mr. Kirkpatrick has been more than 

 an adviser on legal problems connected 

 with launching the hundreds of busi- 

 ness enterprises of the Farm Bureau 



Donald Kirkpatrick, general counsel and director of the legal department. 



in Illinois. He has taken an active part 

 in studying and analyzing the possible 

 fields of service, and later in forming 

 and developing the various companies 

 and associations owned and controlled 

 by the Farm Bureau members of this 

 state. 



As legal counsel and secretary of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Service Company 

 board which acts as general manager 

 of the various associated companies 

 and co-operative groups established by 

 the I. A. A., he presents the service 

 company reports each month to the 

 board of directors of the parent organ- 

 ization. 



The many legal problems connected 

 with settlement of major auto acci- 

 dent claims, certain life insurance 

 claims, contracts running between the 

 various corporate bodies, agents and 

 other individuals go to the legal de- 

 partment for the attention of Mr. Kirk- 



patrick,. Paul E. Mathias, and other as- 

 sistants. 



Obviously, the department does not 

 have, time to represent and serve in- 

 dividual members in their personal 

 matters and problems except as these 

 are merged with those of other mem- 

 bers. The fact that it is illegal for a 

 corporation in this state to practice law 

 means that the legal department may 

 serve only the group interests of Farm 

 Bureau members rather than their per- 

 sonal private interests. 



Because of the close relation of most 

 transportation matters to law, the 

 transportation and legal departments 

 were merged several years ago. Tech- 

 nical matters of transportation con- 

 cerning rates, interests of members in 

 public utilities and collection of claims 

 are being ably handled and represented 

 by G. W. Baxter. 



(Continued on page 9) 



JILY, 1935 



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