budding co-operative I.itcr tried to hack 

 out. Pressure had hcen hroui;ht hv com- 

 petitors to hold up the building. But the 

 farmers were iletermined to iiavc the new 

 elevator ready for the oncoming grain 

 crop. They had matle their down pay- 

 ment, fulfilled their end of the deal, and 

 could not he hlutTed. They stood their 

 ground, put one of their directors. Tom 

 McCue, a militant Irishman who knew 

 his business, in charge of supervising 

 the erection of the new plant with direc- 

 tions to the contractor to speed ahead and 

 get the new elevator up and ready by 

 threshing time. 



By the middle of |uly the new elevator 

 was completed. Threshing machines 

 in the community delayeil a few days to 

 wait for its completion. The opening day 

 the highways into Sterling were busy 

 with grain trucks and wagons. The 

 elevator handled 110 loads of grain tliat 

 day. Wagons and trucks were lined up 

 for blocks with wheat, barley and oats 

 to give the new co-operative a good send- 

 off; 



The Sterling-Rock Falls Flevator 

 started making money from the bei^in- 

 ning — $3,000 the first six months. The 

 Central National Bank extended ample 

 credit for working capital for which the 

 directors signed personal notes. 



During the seven years of its opera- 

 tion, the Sterling-Rock Falls Flevator 

 made money every year except one 

 \9^^ when it went in the red $276. il. 

 It started p.iying eight per cent dividends 

 on the common stock at first. This later 

 was reduced to five per cent because some 

 of the stockholders who had given notes 

 at five per cent for their stock had paid 

 in no cash. The directors wanted to en 

 courage stockholders to pay for their 

 stock. 



Profits have not been large but they 

 have been adequate to pay all the o\er 

 head, interest, dividends on stock and 

 leave something for reserves. In the two 



DIRECTOR TOM McCUE 

 "He told the contractor to go to it." 



A MODERN CONCRETE ELEVATOR 

 Built Seven Years Ago, It's Paid For Today. 



VICE PRESIDENT FRANK G. PLAUTZ 

 "Farmers here were ready to support 

 a cooperative elevator." 



drought years, 1931 and 1936, net profits 

 were $3,7 36 and $7,821 respectively - 

 not so bad for a beginner that the op- 

 position bo.isted would be out of business 

 within two years. 



Last year a new 2-4 x 48' brick ware- 

 house for mill feeds and other supplies 

 was built at a cost of Sl.iOO. Space for 

 a coal yard is leased at $25 per month. 

 Last year grain sales amounted to $2t1.- 

 223.49; sales of merchandise $16, "Sl 3.91. 

 Trading income was $13,459.13. The 

 net worth of the company was $36,- 

 128.51. With approximately $27,000 of 

 stock outstanding, the stockholders have 

 a substantial ecjuity above par value. The 

 stock, now on an eight per cent dividend 

 basis, is in demand throughout the com- 

 munity but there is none for sale. Tliere 

 is a limit of 2'> shares ($20 per share) 

 per stockholder. 



The farmers' elevator, it is estimated, 

 takes in at least 50 per cent more grain 

 than all the other elevators in the two 

 cities combined. In addition to grain, 

 the cooperative handles large cjuantities 

 of coal, mill feeds, seeds, bethanized wire 

 fence, fence p>osts and other minor items. 

 It has one delivery truck and employs 

 one regidar man in addition to the man- 

 ager. 



Ellis H. Williams, the president of the 

 elevator, said that when they first organ- 

 ized he went around to other successful 

 farmers' elevators in that part of the state 

 to learn their methods of operation 

 and to get tips on the best bookkeeping 

 system. He kept the books for the first 

 few months because the original man.iger 

 who stayed only four months was inex- 

 perienced in this end of the business. 



Williams drove 10 miles from his farm 

 to Sterling each day to work on the 

 books. A less careful board of directors 

 might have let this important feature of 

 successful elevator operation get them 

 into trouble. Tlie same year the elevator 

 joined the Illinois Agricultural Auditing 

 Association which has furnished annual 

 audits from the beginning. 



The Sterling-RcKk Falls Co-operative 

 Marketing Association was one of the 

 first members of the Illinois Grain Cor- 

 poration. During the last few years most 

 of the grain the elevator takes in has been 

 going to millers and other buyers at Clin- 

 ton. Keokuk, Burlington and some even 

 to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Bids from these 

 points have been running two to six cents 

 higher than the Chicago track bid at 

 Sterling. 



Manager Kitzmiller avoids running up 

 heavy charge accounts. On December 

 31, 1936, the end of the fiscal year, he 

 h.id only $1,878.60 on the books. Sl,- 

 666.60 of which was one to 90 days old. 

 Accounts more than a year old amounted 

 to only $1 1 3.93. In seven years less than 

 $100 has been charged off. Contrast that 

 record with the many thousands of dol- 

 lars some elevators carry for long periods 

 much of which they eventually fail 

 to collect. 



' VX'hen I came here in 1930 we had 

 notes outstanding for around $22,000," 

 said Kitzmiller. "The directors were per- 

 sonally liable for most of it. We paid 

 off the last outstanding note in June. 

 The loan from the government is paid in 

 full. We have all the credit we need at 

 the bank. There is no outstanding cu- 

 mulative stock. We have every opportu- 



L A. A. RECORD 



