With Our F. B. 



Presidents 



(Continued from page 19) 

 reau is still as clear in his mind as the 

 day he became a charter member. He 

 says, "I joined the Farm Bureau for 

 protection against other industries who 

 were organized for their own benefit. All 

 we want is an equal economic chance 

 with other groups. I knew that one man 

 couldn't do it alone. I hate to think 

 what agriculture would be today with- 

 out the Farm Bureau. In that way it 

 has protected farm people. In the old 

 days we used to produce and then let 

 the other fellow have it at his own 

 price. We don't do that now. We have 

 our own marketing set ups. 



"Farming methods, have changed, too. 

 The Extension Service has shown us 

 the best methods of farming. I don't 

 know where we would have been if it 

 hadn't been for the experiments of the 

 College of Agriculture. Hopkins, Mann, 

 Dean Davenport and those fellows laid 

 the foundation. Now, we're carrying out 

 some of the ideas they dreamed then. 

 And the reason for it all is proper or- 

 ganization among farmers, working 

 with the Extension Service." 



Gates thinks the Serum service is ex- 

 cellent. He vaccinates his own hogs and 

 has always had good results, with no 

 question but that it saved him plenty of 

 money. The big thing ahead now is 

 rural electrification. He thinks there 

 should be a lot of pressure put behind 

 that by the Farm Bureau. 



"I've always been interested in his- 

 tory," says Gates. "I taught it in school 

 and read every thing now I can lay my 

 hands on. This is mighty interesting 

 country down here and I've lived here 

 during some mighty interesting times. 

 I seem to be able to remember the his- 

 torical things about our county and 

 this section, I guess, because my mind 

 runs that way and I'm interested in 

 it. But," and he pointed to his buckskin 

 saddle horse cavorting about in the pas- 

 ture with a mule friend, "I'm mighty 

 interested in horses too. I used to train 

 them in the old days. Next to history, I 

 suppose that's my big interest." And 

 then he added with a smile, "Of course 

 my family, m.v farm and the Farm Bu- 

 reau are first, but you were mentioning 

 hobbies. Just put down history and 

 horses." — John Tracy. 



Will Rogers always claimed that al- 

 though his folks may not have come 

 over on the Mayflower, they were there 

 to meet the boat. 



HERE'S A CHEAP, QUICK. EASY WAY TO INOCULATE SEED 

 Merle L. Houston, Logan county, near Lln:oln, got tired of the slow methods of Inoculat- 

 ing seed and built this neat little gadget. It's just an old barrel with a hole cut in the side, 

 mounted on ailes and with a crank to give it the spin. Simply put the seed and the inocu- 

 lant in the barrel, close the door and wind it up. It's much faster, Houston says, and more 

 thorough in its treatment of the seed. 



Co-op Briefs 



Ralph Allen of Tazewell county, the 

 "dirt farmer" speaker on the Institute 

 program Friday did a Will Rogers much 

 to the delight of his audience. His wise- 

 cracks and summary of the Institute pro- 

 gram brought a lot of applause. "The 

 cooperative credit problems excited lit- 

 tle interest in me," he said. "I don't want 

 credit. I want the cash." Ralph had four 

 or five speeches in his pocket. As soon 

 as he finished one he would pull out .an- 

 other. When he came to reviewing 

 Charles Ewing's speech, he said it was 

 pretty dry so he poured out a glass of 

 water and handed it to Uncle Charlie 

 who was presiding. 



motor trucks and a large number of 

 these are engaged in Interstate Com- 

 merce.'' 



"Sound management, an active and co- 

 operative board of directors and a loyal 

 membership are three ingredients to 

 make a cooperative association an asset 

 to a community or industry," Talmage 

 DeFrees, president of the Illinois Fruit 

 Growers' Exhange, told the fruit and 

 vegetable conference. 



"Build Soundly" Says 

 Herndon in Address 



"Our biggest problem lies in some of 

 the mistaken ideas producers have .^bout 

 marketing in general .and cooperative 

 marketing in particular. They have been 

 to'-d that competition is the life of trade. 

 True, the farmer wants a certain amount 

 of competition between his selling 

 agencies, but obviously, where he needs 

 the competition most is between buy- 

 ers."— Ray E. Miller. 



Jack Countiss explained the operation 

 of Illinois Producers Creameries in sell- 

 ing butter and buying supplies. "Our 

 federal and state inspection and grading 

 service costs about $6,000 annually," he 

 said, "but we believe it has been one of 

 our best investments — one that has paid 

 good dividends." 



Uncle Ab says that much good con- 

 versation owes most of its success to 

 someone who says nothing. 



G. W. Baxter said that the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission has a rough road 

 ahead in regulating motor trucks. "There 

 are only 1,400 rail carriers, and less than 

 100 of these operate 80 per cent of the 

 nation's mileage. There are 280,000 for 

 hire motor carriers or around 450,000 



There should be no company unless 

 there is a need for it, and if the farm- 

 ers want it, they will buy sufficient 

 capital stock to have a sound company, 

 Fred E. Herndon, president of Illinois 

 Farm Supply Co. said in addressing the 

 Institute of Cooperation at Urbana. 



While the records of patronage divi- 

 dends paid by the county service com- 

 panies in Illinois will compare favorably 

 with any purchasing group in America, 

 the State Company has encouraged local 

 boards of directors to hold down divi- 

 dends to build reserves and to prevent 

 the company from being built on a pa- 

 tronage dividend basis only, Herndon 

 said. "It is erroneous to disregard re- 

 serves for a surplus and declare excessive 

 patronage refunds. Each member of the 

 service company should contribute his 

 pro-rata portion toward building up a 

 sound financial structure for his asso- 

 ciation," he continued. , 



ri 



I. A. A. RECORD 



