November f 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seven 



the state mutual as compared with the 

 cost of old line insurance. This takes 

 _into consideration the assessments which 

 members have paid during the last two 

 years. Including these assessments the 

 cost to farmers is still one-third less 

 than the old line companies charge. ;;.; 

 Fire Prevention Work 



Under the direction of V. Vaniman, 

 director of insurance service for the I. 

 A. A., fire prevention campaigns have 

 been conducted each year to reduce the 

 amount of fire losses to Illinois farmers. 

 This campaign is based on the princi- 

 ple that many fires are preventable and 

 can be avoided with due care. 



"A fire is nobody's gain and every- 

 body's loss," said Kelker. "When a fire 

 occurs, it means that the neighbors will 

 have to stand the loss, because it is 

 they who eventually pay the damage. 

 The insurance company merely acts as 

 an agency for collecting and distribut- 

 ing this money." 



Windstorm, cyclone and tornado in- 

 surance is written on all property ex- 

 cept that in commercial use. The re- 

 insurance company now carries on its 

 books a total of $14,600,000 worth of 

 insurance of this type. It protects it- 

 self against excessive loss by reinsur- 

 ing with other companies. This year 

 the company has written $7,180,000 

 worth of windstorm insurance, saving 

 Illinois farmers an estimated $3 6, J 00 on 

 the basis of old line rates. 



Reinsure Hail Risks 



The company issues two kinds of 

 hail insurance, protection to growing 

 crops and protection to buildings. In 

 1931 the total crop insurance in force 

 was $2,440,000 and the building insur- 

 ance was $1,580,000. Hail insurance 

 on crops expires Oct. 1 and must be 

 renewed each spring. Exactly $426,- 

 000 of hail insurance on buildings was 

 written this year. All hail insurance is 

 reinsured in other companies 100 per 

 cent. The Farmers' Mutual does not 

 bear this risk without protection. 



Hail claims are settled by adjusters 

 of the companies in which this company 

 reinsures. They visit the scene of the 

 hail storm, appraise the loss and recom- 

 mend the amount of damages due. 

 These men re experts at judging crop 

 losses. This year the Farmers' Mutual 

 paid hail claims in 2 5 counties out of 

 the 76 having insurance with the com- 

 pany. Hail insurance in the state mu- 

 tual costs farmers one-third less than 

 the lowest old line rates, saving an esti- 

 mated $22,000 for Illinois farmers this 

 year. ■■'■-':-y'\-'i' .'■ ^ ■'''-'/ y.'.^ ^ :-'•■■ ■■■ ':•:„■■•■ 



The Farmers' Mutual Reinsurance 

 Company is owned by its policyholders. 

 It is not a stock company. Its control 

 is in the hands of a board of directors, 

 consisting of nine men, all of whom are 



Vie^v of g:enernl office of Farmers Ulutunl ReinMuriinee Coniiinny. Left io rlKht— 

 Cornelia E^ttlmn, Klennor JeKHe, Marie HeHx, Mnry Jokiweh, Doritthy Keiior, and 



Bernice AeMchlinian. 



officers and directors of local mutuals. 

 It has ledger assets of $13 5,000 which 

 is equivalent to that much capital stock. 

 Its surplus to j>olicyholders is $42,500. 

 It is a legal reserve company. The total 

 annual saving of farmers who insurt 

 with the state company is estimated at 

 more than $100,000. v ^. . ,^ ; . , 



Cut Tax Valuations 39 



Per Cent in Whiteside 



linois Gets Millions 



-■—. For Federal Aid Roads 



Illinois received approximately 

 $4,500,000 out of the $105,875,000 

 Federal aid road funds which were 

 apportioned to the various states by 

 Secretary of Agriculture Arthur M. 

 Hyde on October 15. 



New York and Texas are the only 

 states to receive larger sums than Illi- 

 nois. The apportionment was made on 

 the basis of area, population and mileage 

 of rural post roads. The funds were dis- 

 tributed two months earlier this year, 

 so states could get an early start on 

 plans for next season's construction. 



The Whiteside County (111.) Board 

 of Review lowered tax valuations $5,- . 

 437,015 this year compared with 1930. 



Following is a comparison of the ^ 

 values of lands, lots and personal prop- 

 erty for 1930 and 1931: 



1930 1931 



Lands $22,638,839 $18,937,650- 



Lots 13,684,362 12,449,317 



Personal . . 7,680,722 7,179,914 ; 



Total $44,003,923 $38,566,908 



These figures include all property ex- 

 cept railroads and capital stock. It is 

 estimated that this means a cut of ap- 

 proximately 39 per cent in county 

 taxes, and 12 per cent in state taxes 

 this year. 



The county tax rate was lowered by 

 the county supervisors from 25 cents 

 on the $100 to 16 cents at their meet- 

 ing in September. 



Cull Out Poor Cows 



Heavy shipments of dairy cattle into 

 New York State are reported by Cor- 

 nell University "because dairy cow 

 prices there have been approximately 

 29 per cent above pre-war, while the 

 average price for the United States on 

 the whole is about pre-war level." 



Professor Bond advises dairymen to 

 cull out the poorest producers and save 

 only the heifers from the outstanding 

 cows because there is likely to be a sur- 

 plus of dairy products during the next 

 four to five years. ::;v-:^;'-^- • \ 



inois Mothers Beat 

 Others in Raising Babies 



The infant mortality rate in Illinois 

 is now more than 14 per cent lower 

 than that of the nation as a whole, it 

 has been announced by the State De- 

 partment of Public Health. 



For the year 1930 the death rate 

 among infants was lower in only seven 

 other states, none of which has half 

 the population of Illinois. For each 

 1,000 births in the United States in 

 1930 there was 64 deaths among in- 

 fants. In Illinois the infant deaths per 

 1,000 in 1930 was 56. , . 



