THE ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



h 



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. 



DECEMBER 

 VOL 16 



1938 

 NO. 11 



Published monthly by the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciition at noi West Washington Road, Mendota, 111. 

 Editorial Offices, 608 So. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 

 Entered as second class matter at post office. Mendota, 

 Illinois, September 11, 1956. Acceptance for mailing 

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

 Feb. 28, 1925, authorized Oct. 27. 1955. Address 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 payment of fifty cents for subscription to the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association RECORD. Postmaster: 

 Send notices on Form 5578 and undeliverable copies 

 returned under Form 5579 to editorial offices, 608 S. 

 Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 



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

 Director and Ass't. 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 Chicago 



Field Secretary, Geo. E. Metzger Chicago 



Treasurer, R. A. CowLES Bloomington 



Ass't Treasurer, A. R. Wright Varna 



BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

 (By Congressional District) 



1st to 11th E. Harris, Grayslake 



12th E. E. Houghtby, Shabbona 



13th Leo M. Knox, Morrison 



1 4th „ Otto Steffev, Stronghurst 



15th _ JA. Ray Ihrig, Golden 



16th _ Mheit Hayes, ChUlicothe 



17th C. M. Smith, Eureka 



18th w. A. Dennis, Paris 



19th _ Eugene Curtis, Champaign 



20th K. T. Smith, Greenfield 



2 1st Dwight Hart, Sharpsburg 



22nd _ j\. 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 Fahmkopf 



Legal and General Counsel Donald Kirkpatridc 



Live Stock Marketing Sam F. Russell 



Office. 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. 

 Farmers' 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. 



III. 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. 



III. Grain Corporation Frank Haines, Mgr. 



III. 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 TfflEM, Editor 



£S THRILLING a story 

 .j /JM, of coopetation as you'll 

 ^'^^ t ever read is that about 

 the poverty-stricken fisherman of 

 the bleak and rugged Atlantic- 

 swept shores of Nova Scotia re- 

 lated by Bertram B. Fowler in his 

 book, "The Lord Helps Those. . ." 

 (Vanguard Press, New York.) 



How these Scotch and English 

 fisher folk, living in a far away 

 land remote from markets, were 

 prompted to help themselves as 

 an outgrowth of adult study groups 

 organized by two college profes- 

 sors, Dr. J. J. "Jimmy" Tompkins 

 and Dr. M. M. Coady of St. Francis 

 Xavier University, is a tale well 

 worth reviewing this fall and win- 

 ter in Farm Bureau and Home Bu- 

 eau community clubs. 



Conditions that gave rise to a 

 wave of cooperation both in sell- 

 ing and processing their catch, and 

 in purchasing needed supplies are 

 told by the author as follows: 



"At the opening of the century 

 there was a system of wholesale 

 fish marketing that did give the 

 fisherman something of a chance. 

 In the fish buying season the big 

 dealers of Halifax sent agents to 

 buy the catch. These men by bid- 

 ding against each other, kept the 

 prices at a decent level. Also, the 

 fisherman dealt directly with these 

 men when he wanted to buy fish- 

 ing gear and supplies. Therefore 

 he got something better than re- 

 tail (quotations on his supplies. 



"A system of local agencies grad- 

 ually superseded this method. The 

 big dealers themselves began to 

 show the trend of centralization. 

 They merged more closely, became 

 more powerful and self-centered, 

 and functioned purely as whole- 

 salers. Local agents took over the 

 business of selling to the fisher- 

 men at retail prices. These local 

 agents used the credit they con- 

 trolled in the stores to impose 



upon the individual fisherman their 

 dictated prices for fish. 



"The revolt that grew out of 

 the study clubs appeared first in 

 words. Men met at their boats 

 and wharves and talked over what 

 they had learned, not in the old 

 growl of helpless resentment, but 

 with a new, vibrant note of hope- 

 ful determination. 



"One such gathering met at 

 Whitehead one day and talked over 

 the lobster situation. Their large 

 lobsters went ultimately to a Bos- 

 ton dealer. The local dealer bought 

 these lobsters in crates of 140 

 pounds each. With lobsters selling 

 for seven cents a pound the fisher- 

 man got $9-80 for his crate. 



"The studies of the small group 

 at Whitehead had taught them that 

 there was a way to get more. Now 

 a few of them met to study how 

 to utilize that way. The leader 

 suggested that they make up a crate 

 of lobsters and send it direct to 

 Boston. But they did not know 

 anyone there who would handle 

 their lobsters when they arrived. 

 Boston was a faraway place, its 

 methods of marketing unknown. 

 To these poor fishermen the whole 

 idea was vague and rather frighten- 

 ing. 



"But these few men were deter- 

 mined to do something. One of 

 them got a copy of a fishing ga- 

 zette and at random picked the 

 name of a lobster dealer. They 

 made up their crate of lobsters, 

 iced it, and shipped it to his ad- 

 dress. Then they sat back and 

 waited to see what would happen. 

 Some of them feared that nothing 

 would hapjjen, that they would 

 never hear of that crate of lobsters 

 again. But they had made up their 

 minds to gamble on that hundred 

 and forty pounds of shellfish. 



"When a letter arrived from the 

 Boston dealer, they gathered to- 



DECEMBER, 1938 



