February, 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Nineteen 



Women Discuss Living 

 Standards at I. A. A. Meet 



143 from 33 Counties Attend Con- 

 ference in Charge of Home 

 Bureau 



A DISCUSSION of how the woman 

 in the home can help in maintain- 

 ing an adequate standard of living un- 

 der present economic conditions was 

 featured at the women's conference 

 held during the I. A. A. convention 

 at Springfield, January 29. "This is a 

 harder job today • than ever before be- 

 cause of low farm prices," declared 

 Mrs. Henry J. Meis, president of the 

 Illinois Home Bureau Federation, who 

 presided. 

 ; Miss Fannie M. Brooks, health spe- 

 cialist for the University of Illinois, 

 stressed the importance of individual 

 and community health in maintaining 

 a high standard of living. "Give me a 

 good digestion. Lord, and something to 

 digest . . . -.give me a mind that is 

 not bored ..." she quoted in bring- 

 ing out the importance of mental as 

 well as physical well-being. "Millions 

 for prevention and not one cent for 

 pills and cod liver oil," she recom- 

 mended as a fitting slogan for Amer- 

 ican housewives and mothers. ; "Visit 

 your doctor once a year and be ever 

 alert to the needs of your eyes, ears, 

 and teeth if you would keep fit," she 

 said. 



Produce Market 



Mrs. T. E. Newby, Areola, Illinois, 

 told how the Coles County Produce 

 Market has brought income and com- 

 forts to farm homes in that community. 



"The Coles County Market was or- 

 ganized a year ago last October," she 

 said. "When we began, gross sales for 

 the month were $625, for November 

 $1,225, for August, 1930, $1,027; for 

 November, 1930, $1,300; for Decem- 

 ber $1,135, and for January to date 

 $847. . '.■:-,-;;:;/."■•-,/--.•.;" - ,\'<. V: /\ 



"The market provides an outlet for 

 some things we couldn't sell otherwise 

 such as skim milk, corn meal, mush, 

 cooked pumpkin, and garden surplus. 

 We also sell chickens, eggs, hominy, 

 veal, pork, beef, etc. We pay booth 

 rent, for our own supplies, and con- 

 tribute 1 per cent for running expenses 

 which include heat, light, and adver- 

 tising. , . 



"Going to market Is a family enter- 

 prise. It enriches our lives, teaches us 

 _coHpperation, gives us business experi- 

 ence, brings us in contact with new 

 methods and shows us the value of a 

 schedule. 



"A market should benefit the con- 

 sumer as well as the producer. Ma,ke 



fair charges giving consideration to cost 

 of production (including time and la- 

 bor) . 



Women Control Cash 



Women spend 85 per cent of the 

 money that goes into retail trade, ac- 

 cording to Anna Searl, Livingston 

 County home adviser. "Woman's job 

 always has been to provide food, shel- 

 ter, and clothing for the family," she 

 said, "but today she goes about it dif- 

 ferently than her mother did; she made 

 her clothes, you buy them; she made 

 her bread, you buy it. Eight hundred 

 women in Livingston county were 

 asked if they made their own bread. 

 Two replied in the affirmative. 



"Woman's job is harder today than 

 ever before. It takes more training to 

 spend a dollar wisely than to earn it. 

 We continually train people to make 

 more money, but we have neglected to 

 teach them how to spend the added 

 income properly. 



"What your mother and my mother 

 knew will not serve today. What we 

 know will not do tomorrow. Since 

 spending is our job, let's find out as 

 much as we can about it. We need to 

 keep open and informed minds to get 

 as much as possible from our dollars." 



Home Accounts - ''■ 



Mrs. Clyde J. North of Winchester' 

 explained the system of keeping home 

 accounts recommended by the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois- "It is a revelation to 

 many to see " just how much of our 

 living we produce on the farm," she 

 said. "Foods raised at home are valued 

 according to their cash value if sojd in 

 town. One family found they pro- 

 duced 65 per cent of all the food they 

 ate. Another found^they were spend- 

 ' ing more than $50 per month on gas 

 and oil. 



"Home account keeping will tend to 

 maintain our present standard of living 

 and to raise it," continued Mrs. North. 

 "As we see one expenditure against an- 

 other we can plan for the future and 

 double our efforts at right economy." 

 C. E. Hopkins of Pontiac explained 

 briefly why married women should 

 carry a reasonable amount of life in- 

 surance. He gave a resume of the aims 

 and reasons for the organization of 

 Country Life Insurance Company and 

 the cost of policies therein. 



At the close of Mr. Hopkin's talk 

 the following resolution was adopted: 

 "That we as an organization recom- 

 mend to the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation that it give more considera- 

 tion to the homemaker as a prospec- 

 tive buyer of life insurance." .■-■ y.^ 



One hundred and forty-three women 

 from 33 counties attended the meeting. 

 Only 98 were present the previous year. 



Whiteside Sets New 



Record Raising Cash 



Whiteside county is to have a new 

 co-operative oil company. One hun- 

 dred and eighty Farm Bureau members 

 who attended a meeting in Morrison, 

 Feb. 7, to launch the project, broke all 

 records when they raised $11,550 to 

 erect bulk stations and get the com- 

 pany under way. Vv .?..,;. 



L. R. Marchant, manager of the Illi- 

 nois Farm Supply Co., who attended 

 the meeting, states that so far as he 

 knows this is a record accomplishment 

 for capital funds raised in a single 

 meeting for such a project. "I think 

 this was made possible through the 

 eagerness on the part of; those present 

 to do better than any other county in 

 the state," he said. 



Membership in the Whiteside County 

 Farm Bureau is gaining steadily. With- 

 in the next year or two it promises to 

 be up among the leading counties of 

 the state again with well over 1,000 

 members. .:■■•':'■■_''■;'■■.,■■-: 



Fifteen members subscribed for 10 

 shares each in the new company at $25 

 per share, three members for eight 

 shares each, 1 5 members for five shares 

 each, 43 members for four shares each, 

 49 members for two shares e?ch, three 

 members for one share each. Ninety- 

 eight members subscribed for a total 

 of $11,5 50. , 



The subscriptions followed opening 

 talks by President A. L. Goodenough 

 of Morrison, and Farm Adviser Frank 

 Shuman. 



^U, 



Oil Companies Report 



Dividends to Members 



The Christian County Farmers Sup- 

 ply Company, which became associated 

 with the Illinois Farm Supply Com- 

 pany during the past summer, declared 

 its first patronage dividend at the close 

 of its fiscal year, November 30. Six 

 per cent on sales was paid Farm Bureau 

 members in good standing. 



The Fulton Service Company, after 

 a few months operation, declared an 

 8 per cent patronage refund to the 

 Farm Bureau members holding pre- 

 ferred stock and gave other Farm Bu- 

 reau members credit to be applied on 

 one share of preferred stock in the 

 company. 



The Henry County Supply Company 

 closed its second year September 30, 

 declaring a 10 per cent patronage re- 

 fund and setting aside a reserve from 

 which an additional refund can be paid 

 at any time the directors desire to do 

 so. The total business of the company 

 for the period was slightly less than 

 $100,000. 



