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ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was organized 

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

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

 to develop agriculture. 



FEBRUARY 

 VOL. 17 



1939 

 NO. 2 



Published monthly by the Illinois Aericultural Asso- 

 ciation at noi West Washington Road, Mendota, 111. 

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

 Entered as second class matter at post office, Mendota, 

 Illinois, September 11, 1936. Acceptance for mailing 

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

 Feb. 28', 1925, authorized Oct. 27, 1935. 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 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 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 nth „ Arthur States, Elwood 



12th E. E. Houghtby, Shabbona 



IJth Leo M. Knox, Morrison 



14th. Otto StefTey, Stronghurst 



15th M. Ray Ihrig, GolcJen 



I6th Albert Hayes, Chilhcothe 



17th C. M. Smith, Eureka 



18th W. A. Dennis, Paris 



19th Eugene Curtis, Champaign 



20th K. T. Smith, Greenfield 



21st. Dwight Hart, Sharpsburg 



22nd _ A. O. Eckert, Belleville 



23rd 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 



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 E>onald 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. 



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. 



FEBRUARY. 1939 



GEORGE THIEM, Editor 



WAITING AT THE GATE 



lUERlCA spent about 19 



Ju, billion dollars a year 



^^^ I for durable goods 

 (houses, factories, machinery, tools, 

 railroad equipment etc.), from 1919 

 to 1929, says the Bank of New 

 York. Since 1932, however, the 

 average expenditure has dropp>ed to 

 less than 11 billions annually, ac- 

 cording to best estimates. The de- 

 ficiency in the creation of durable 

 goods has therefore totalled more 

 than 56 billion dollars in the past 

 seven years. 



The Bank makes the point that the 

 index of employment in the non- 

 durable industries stood at 98 per 

 cent last September against only 69 

 per cent in the durable goods field; 

 that there is no serious depression in 

 industries that produce non-durable 

 goods. "Encouragement of the free 

 flow of capital into private enter- 

 prise is therefore necessary to revive 

 the durable goods industries, balance 

 our economy and solve the most im- 

 portant part of our unemployment 

 problem," concludes the statement. 



Government policies of course in- 

 fluence the readiness with which 

 people spend their money to build 

 new homes, factories, and buy heavy 

 equipment. But there is a more 

 potent force than government affect- 



ing such matters, and that is PRICE. 

 In building, the cost of materials 

 and labor have been out of all pro- 

 portion to the reduced incomes and 

 the generally lower prices for farm 

 products during the past seven years. 

 Farm purchases of durable goods 

 such as buildings, machinery, furni- 

 ture, and tools have been far below 

 the 1919-'29 average during the past 

 seven years chiefly because of the dis- 

 parity in the exchange value of farm 

 products for the things mentioned. 



It is common knowledge that 

 prices of steel, lumber, cement, ma- 

 chinery, and yes, wage scales all in 

 the durable goods industries, have 

 been maintained at comparatively 

 high levels since 1932 whereas such 

 things as clothing, food and other 

 consumer goods have been selling at 

 a substantially lower level than that 

 of the '20s. While additional as- 

 surance and confidence inspired by 

 leaders of government will be help- 

 ful, industry and labor in the durable 

 field should put their house in order 

 and slash prices and wage rates down 

 to the level of 50c wheat 40c com 

 and 7c cotton before there can be 

 any substantial revival. 



"Large bakeries report best earn- 

 ings since the year 1930," says a 

 newspaper headline. Small wonder 

 with wheat at bargain prices and lit- 

 tle if any reduction in the price of 

 bread. It is interesting to visualize 

 what would happen to the price of 

 wheat if one or more corporations 

 comparable to United States Steel 

 got control of U. S. wheat produc- 

 tion. You would likely see the price 

 stabilized probably at $1.25 to $1.50 

 per bu., the surplus stored carefully 

 in fine big elevators, production 

 tapered off to the volume that could 

 be sold at the set price, and regular 

 dividends paid to stockholders be- 

 cause there would be a steady market. 

 People will eat and wheat at $1.25 

 would still make cheap bread. 



— E.G.T. 



