April, 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Fifteen 



Farmers National Gram Profit $666,266.8^ 



Annual Report to Stockholders Reveals Corporation Had Good Vear 



in Spite of Depression .v^f^^vA,:;::-^:';'/^-:?.^-:':^^ 



A PROFIT of $666,266.84 in the 

 fiscal year ending February 28, 



Jess Wade of Ogden, Utah, is the only 

 new man on the Board. S. J. Cotting- 



to keep in close contact with all the 



operations of the organization. McKel- 

 1931, was reported by Walter I. Beam, vie predicted that at the coming meet- ton, Iowa; Sam H. Thompson, Chicago; 

 treasurer of the Farmers National Grain ing of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce L. J. Taber, Columbus, Ohio, and E. G. 

 Corporation, to the Board of Directors' at Atlantic City much time would be McCollum, Indianapolis, were not re- 

 meeting in Chicago on April 6. spent by the organized middlemen dis- elected. The report of the nominating 



At the annual meeting of stock- cussing how the purpose of the Agri- 

 holders held the following day at the cultural Marketing Act can be defeated. 

 Sherman Hotel, President C. E. Huff Reports Brief 



stated that the net profits of the cor- ^he reports of President Huff and 

 poration represented ^ore than 100 per Manager Geo. S. Milnor were very brief. 



cent earnings on the outstanding capi 

 tal stock. Pres. G. C. Johnstone of 

 Bloomington represented Illinois Grain 

 Corp. at the stockholders' meeting. 



Directors of the corporation voted 

 to set aside 50 per cent of the net 

 profits for reserve and declared a 6 per 

 cent stock dividend. The remainder of 

 the profits will be distributed in patron- 

 age dividends in the form of paid up 

 capital stock. The corporation handled 

 approximately 111,000,000 bushels of 

 cash grain of the 1930 crop. 



McKelvie Speaker 



Ex-Governor Saifeuel R. McKelvie of 

 Nebraska was the principal speaker at 

 the stockholders' meeting. The Farm- 

 ers National is the largest handler of 

 grain in the United States, said Mc- 

 Kelvie, by reason of the large bushelage 

 handled in its first year of operation. 

 "I want to urge that every stockholder 

 support your National Grain Corpora- 

 tion with all your receipts. By with- 

 holding a part of your grain you only 

 weaken your organization. While it is 

 true that some other concern may from 

 time to time offer you a higher price 

 for a few carloads of grain, don't for- 

 get that your national agency contracts 

 to take all your grain. 



"There are too many agencies taking 

 a toll of the farmer's production," con- 

 tinued McKelvie. "There is too much 

 duplication in machinery, too much 

 waste. Guard against duplication of ef- 

 fort in your own organization and 

 eliminate it promptly when discovered. 



Profits to Producers 



"Co-operative marketing can't make 

 the dollar do gymnastics. It can make 

 as much profit as any private organiza- 

 tion handling an equal volume, and the 

 profit so made will be returned to the 

 producers who made it possible." 



Mr. McKelvie read a telegram from 

 headquarters of the Farm Board at 

 Washington which expressed faith in 

 the future of the Farmers National 

 Grain Corporation, the Board's desire 



They stated that a report would be dis- 

 tributed in pamphlet form shortly. Im- 

 portant details connected with the han- 

 dling of grain and the financial opera- 

 tions of the company were not given 

 out. Hostile interests are anxious to get 

 this information for use in their cam- 

 paign of misrepresentation against co- 

 operation marketing, and the officers 

 and directors deemed it advisable not 

 to release it. Private commission agen- 

 cies are careful not to reveal their 

 financial operations, and the Grain Cor- 

 poration to protect itself has been com- 

 pelled to withhold its sales position and 

 details of financial operation from the 

 public. ; . r :^ : ' 



Mr. Huff thanked the directors and 

 other officers for their fine support, and 

 spoke approvingly of the good work of 

 employees and staff members. ".:---f ''':,. Z'^.,, 



A number of amendments to the by- 

 laws were made. Hereafter a single 

 stockholder may hold as much as 2 5 per 

 cent of the stock of the corporation. 

 Heretofore the stockholder has been 

 limited to one-twentieth of the capital 

 stock. 



Directors Elected 



Directors elected were as follows: C. E. 

 Huff, Farmers Edu. & Co-op. Union, Salina, 

 Kansas; John Manley, Oklahoma Wheat Grow- 

 ers Ass'n., Enid, Okla.; J. J. Knight, Equity 

 Union Grain Co., Kansas City, Mo.; Wm. H- 

 Settle, Central States Grain Ass'n., Inc., In- 

 dianapolis, Ind.; L. E. Webb, Farmers Co-op. 

 Commission Co., Dodge City, Kansas; Geo. E. 

 Duis, North Dakota-Montana Wheat Growers, 

 Grank Forks, N. D.; M. W. Thatcher, Farmers 

 Union Terminal Ass'n., St. Paul, Minn.; W. J. 

 Kuhrt, Northwest Grain Ass'n., Minneapolis, 

 Minn.; Ernest R. Downie, Kansas Co-op. Wheat 

 Marketing Ass'n., Wichita, Kansas; F. J. Wilmer, 

 North Pacific Coast Growers, Inc., Rosalia, 

 Wash.; Oscar Slosser, Ohio Farmers Grain & 

 Supply Co., Fostoria, Ohio; C. B. Steward, 

 Farmers Wfestcentral Grain Co-op., Inc., Lincoln, 

 Nebraska; C. W. Crocs, American Wheat Grow- 

 ers Ass'n., Aberdeen, S. D.; R. A. Cowles, Illi- 

 nois Grain Corporation, Chicago; and Jess 

 Wade, International Grain Growers, Ogden, 

 Utah. 



To comply with the change in the 

 by-laws only 1 5 directors were elected. 



committee was adopted unanimously. 



Resolutions Adopted 



Resolutions adopted commended Pres- 

 ident Hoover for the appointment of 

 Sam H. Thompson as a member of the 

 Federal Farm Board, expressed regret 

 at the resignations of Messrs. Legge and 

 McKelvie, commended the selection of 

 James C. Stone as chairman; upheld the 

 desirability and effectiveness of the 

 Agricultural Marketing Act in its pres- 

 ent form. 



Between 75 and 100 stockholders and 

 visitors from all sections of the grain 

 belt attended the meeting. The farm 

 press was invited, but daily newspaper 

 reporters were barred. Secretary of 

 Agriculture Arthur M. Hyde and Sam- 

 uel R. McKelvie, Sam H. Thompson 

 and C. B. Denman of the Federal Farm 

 Board were in Chicago for this and 

 other meetings. . > 



Superpower Company 



Hearing on May 5th 



Tuesday, May 5, at Springfield, be- 

 fore the Illinois Commerce Commission, 

 landowners from LaSalle, Livingston, 

 Woodford, Tazewell, Will and Grundy 

 will gather to ask consideration of a 

 new proposed route for the Super Power 

 Company's high line from Powerton to 

 Joliet. 



The hearing was arranged by the I. 

 A. A. to give a few landowners who 

 are dissatisfied with the cross country 

 route an opportunity to present evi- 

 dence showing why the route should 

 follow section lines and fences. The 

 commission previously had given the 

 utility a certificate of convenience and 

 necessity to build the upper half of the 

 line. Such a certificate carries with it 

 the right to condemn property. ---— 



At a conference in Springfield on 

 March 24 more than SO landowners, 

 farm advisers and Farm Bureau officials 

 from the counties mentioned met with 

 President Earl C. Smith, Donald Kirk- 

 patrick, and L. J. Quasey to discuss 

 legal phases of the case and to clarify 

 in the minds of all the rights of both 

 landowners and utilities in this question. 



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