ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was organized 

 namely, to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, political 

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

 to develop agriculture. 



Gi 



OCTOBER 

 VOL. 16 



1938 

 NO. 10 



Published monthlr by the Illinois AKricuItural Asso- 

 ciation at 1501 West WashinRton Road. Mendota. III. 

 Editorial OBices. 608 So. Dearborn St.. Chicago. 111. 

 Entered as second class matter at post office. Mendnta. 

 Illinois. September II. 1936. Acceptance for mailine 

 at special rate of postage provided in Section 412. Act of 

 Feb. 28. 1925. authorized Oct. 27. 1955. Addre« all 

 communications for publication to Editorial Offices. Illinois 

 Agricultural Association RECORD. 608 So. Dearborn St.. 

 Chicago. The individual membership fee of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association is five dollars a year. The fee 

 includes pa>ment of fifty cents for subscription to the 

 Illinois AgticuUural Association RECORD Postmaster: 

 Send notices on Form 3578 and undeliverable copies 

 returned under Form 3579 to editorial offices. 608 S. 

 Dearborn St.. Chicago. III. 



Editor and Advertising Director. E. G. Thiem ; Assistant 

 Director and Asst. Editor. Lawrence A. Potter. 



Illinois Agricultural Association 



Greatest State farm Organization in America 



OFFICERS 



President. Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-President. Talmage DeFrees Smithboro 



Corporate Secretary, Paul E. Mathias Chicaso 



Field Secretary, Geo. E. Metzger Chicago 



Treasurer, R. A. Cowi.es _ Bloomington 



Atft Treasurer, A. R. Wright Varna 



BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

 (By Congressional District) 



1st to 11th E. Harris, Grayslake 



12th E. E. Houghtby, Shabbona 



13th I.eo M. Knox. Morrison 



14th _ Otto Steflfey, Stronghurst 



15th M. Ray Ihrie, Golden 



I6th Albert Haves, Chillicothe 



17th C. M. Smith, Euieka 



18th W. A. Dennis, Paris 



19th Eugene Curtis, Champaign 



20th K. T. Smith, Greenfield 



21st Dwight Hart, Sharpsburg 



22nd A. O. Eckert, Belleville 



2Jrd Chester McCord, Newton 



24th _ Charles Marshall, Belknap 



25th _ August G. Eggerding, Red Bud 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Comptroller _ R. G. Ely 



Dairy Marketing Wilfred Shaw 



Field Service „ Cap Mast 



Finance. _ _ R. A. Cowles 



Fruit and Vegetable Marketing _...H. W. Day 



Grain Marketing Harrison Fahrnkopf 



Legal and General Counsel Donald Kirkpatrick 



Live Stock Marketing Sam F. Russell 



OflFice. _ C. E. Johnston 



Organization. G. E. Metzger 



Produce Marketing F. A. Gougler 



Publicity. _ George Thiem 



Safety C. M. Seagraves 



Soil Improvement _ John R. Spencer 



Taxation and Statistics J. C. Watson 



Transportation-Claims Division G. W. Baxter 



Young Peoples Activities Frank Gingrich 



ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Life Insurance Co Dave Mieher, Sales 



Manager; Howard Reeder, Home Office Mgr. 

 Fanners' Mutual Reinsurance Co...J. H. Kelker, Mgr. 



Illinois Agr. Auditing Ass'n C. E. Strand, Mgr. 



Illinois Agr. Mutual Ins. Co. ..A. E. Richardson, Mgr. 



Illinois Agr. Service Co Donald Kirkpatrick, Secy. 



111. Farm Bureau Serum Ass'n S. F. Russell. Secy. 



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



Illinois Fruit Growers' Exchange.... H. W. Day, Mgr. 



HI. Grain Corporation Frank Haines, Mgr. 



111. Livestock Marketing Ass'n Sam Russell, Mgr. 



Illinois Milk Producers' Ass'n Wilfred Shaw, Mgr. 



Illinois Producers' Creameries-...F. A. Gougler, Mgr. 

 J B. Countiss Sales Mgr. 



GEORGE THIEM, Editor 



THEO. F. ELUS 

 He pledged $300 to start the lAA. 



yTl^TO our office the other day 

 l/l came white-haired, 78 year 

 sjj old Theo. F. Ellis of Steph- 

 enson county, keen of eye and with 

 a spring in his step that belied his 

 age. In Chicago with a load of cat- 

 tle, Mr. Ellis paused to look over 

 the baby, now grown to manhood, 

 which he and other Farm Bureau 

 leaders had sent bouncing on its way 

 to the biggest state farm organization 

 in America back in 1919. 



His visit was a reminder that the 

 coming annual convention of the 

 lAA in Chicago, Jan. 30-31-Feb. 1 

 will be the 20th anniversary of the 

 historic meeting at Peoria when the 

 Association, then a loose federation 

 of County Farm Bureaus, was re- 

 born with an individual $5 annual 

 membership of its own. To prove 

 that the delegates to the 1919 con- 

 vention were in earnest, more than 

 100 of them signed pledge cards or 

 notes agreeing to pay $100 each year 

 for three years to help underwrite 

 the cost of a state office, a full time 

 secretary, and other personnel. 



No one knew at that time how 

 the farmers of Illinois would take to 

 the idea of a state association with a 

 membership fee adequate to employ 

 a staff and carry on an extensive ser- 



vice program. The response ex- 

 ceeded expectations. The following 

 year more than enough members had 

 been signed to justify the return of 

 all the $100 a year notes. , 



The only delegate from extreme 

 northwestern Illinois, Mr. Ellis, then 

 secretary-treasurer of the Stephenson 

 County Farm Bureau, signed one of 

 the pledge cards which he prizes to- 

 day among his relics and newspaper 

 clippings in recognition of years of 

 service in farm organization work. 

 A reproduction of the note will be 

 found on page 25. | 



"We had a few meetings of a 

 local farm organization (don't re- 

 member the name) in the school 

 house directly across the road from 

 where I am now living, in 1890, 

 which whetted my longing for a real 

 farm organization," writes Mr. Ellis. 

 "When the Farm Bureau hove in 

 sight, my zeal knew no bounds, for 

 I felt like the old maid, who had 

 long longed for a husband. When 

 asked about the wedding march, 

 she replied that she would take care 

 of that herself. When the march 

 began she started singing the well 

 known lines, 'This is the way I long 

 have sought, and mourned because I 

 found it not.' " 



Like hundreds of others, Ellis con- 

 tributed his time and automobile for 

 nearly five weeks to interest farmers 

 in joining and helping to build an 

 effective organization. Those were 

 days of service and sacrifice for the 

 good of the larger number. With- 

 out such sacrifice then and now the 

 Farm Bureau movement would not 

 be what it is today — the most 

 powerful influence for the welfare 

 of American agriculture yet devel- 

 oped. 



A corn crop 20 per cent be- 

 low normal would be worth about 

 the same as one 20 per cent above 

 normal, but a normal crop would be 

 worth about $83,000,000 more than 

 either according to Prof. John D. 

 Black, Agricultural Economist of 

 Harvard University. — E.G.T. .. •■ i 



I. A. A. RECORD 



w 



OR 



th 



toward secur 

 share of 

 1925 the de 

 Meeting 

 Association 

 and influenc 

 purpose, 

 charged with 

 ship should 

 for an acco 

 this great res 

 It is equal 

 ship of th< 

 county and 

 kept fully ir 

 these efforts 

 constantly ari 

 our reaching 

 If we are 

 as we move 

 that the leac 

 take advanta 

 maintain a i 

 The opposit 

 every opporl 

 slow up ou 

 thwart the re 

 fensible pur 

 farmers have 

 lem was not 

 to become a 

 each election 

 some of the 

 leadership ii 

 peared to p' 

 sider the fa 

 of partisan < 



* Excepts fn 

 reau Leader 

 Peoria, Sept 



EARL SMITH SPEi 



"Production control 



by Republican leadc 



