Page Ten 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



June, 1932 



Higher Farm Prices And 



Stabilized Dollar, Aim 



A. F. B. F. President Defines 

 Object of Farm Bureau 



Edw. a. O'Neal 



ii'T^HE ultimate object of the 

 X Farm Bureau program is 

 the restoration of farm purchas- 

 ing power. The price the farmer 

 receives for his commodity de- 

 termines that purchasing power. 

 Farm Bureau effort is directed at 

 this phase of the program, and it 

 is a matter 

 directly con- 

 cerned with 

 what you re- 

 ceive for your 

 farm produce 

 that takes me 

 t o Washing- 

 to n next 

 week," Ed- 

 ward A. O'- 

 Neal, p r e s i- 

 dent of the 



American Farm Bureau, said in a 

 recent radio address to farm 

 people. 



"Today the price level not only 

 of farm commodities but of all 

 goods of industry and commerce 

 is below the 1921-'29 level. This 

 deflation in price level is crushing 

 farmers, merchants, and trans- 

 portation agencies, and has 

 caused such a decline in property 

 values as to seriously impair the 

 stability of our banking and in- 

 surance institutions and endanger 

 the welfare of the general public. 

 "The chief cause is the failure 

 of our monetary system to prop- 

 erly function as a free medium of 

 exchange. There is not sufficient 

 actual money in circulation to 

 meet every-day demands. In a 

 time of great plenty people are 

 starving and hungry because of 

 the breakdown of distribution and 

 the distribution instrument that 

 has failed has been our monetary 

 system." 



a 



>servamm 



work would be glad to take the 

 job for much less. The law of 

 supply and demand works — some- 

 times. 



More than a million dollars in 

 patronage refunds and savings. 

 That's what co-operative buying 

 and insurance companies set up 

 by the Farm Bureau in Illinois re- 

 turned to members last year. More 

 than the dues paid in to the or- 

 ganization, county, state, and na- 

 tional, by a wide margin. So have 

 organized farmers helped them- 

 selves, kept more of their money 

 in the country where it is sorely 

 needed. 



If the earnings, savings and re- 

 funds of co-operative marketing 

 associations organized by the 

 Farm Bureau were included, this 

 figure would easily be doubled. 

 But because marketing associa- 

 tions usually pay their "dividends" 

 by compelling private buyers to 

 offer better prices for farm prod- 

 ucts, the value of the co-opera- 

 tive selling agency is less appre- 

 ciated and frequently denied by 

 people who are either intellec- 

 tually dishonest, thoughtless, or 

 uninformed. 



The patronage refund is a use- 

 ful device to teach doubting 

 Thomases the value of organized 

 buying and selling. The refund 

 check is tangible evidence that it 

 pays to co-operate. Unfortunately 

 it isn't possible for all co-op- 

 eratives because of their nature 

 to offer such proof of their ability 

 to narrow the spread between 

 producer and consumer prices. 

 Thus they must rely on the in- 

 telligence of their members for 

 continued support and patronage. 



A committee of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation has been 

 at work for some time studying 

 federal government expenditures 

 and services with the idea of 

 recommending ways and means of 

 reducing costs and securing 

 greater efficiency. 



The board of directors of the 

 Farmers Mutual Reinsurance Co. 

 recently voted to offer a five per 

 cent discount for hail insurance 

 policy-holders paying their assess- 

 ments promptly on October 1. 



Unorganized, unprotected peo- 

 ple always pay dearly in this or- 

 ganized world for their failure to 

 defend themselves. They are 

 pushed around by organized 

 groups bent on taking care of 

 their own interests first. — E. G. T. 



July 4th Picnics To 

 Honor George Washington 



Farm Bureau Asked To Organize 

 Agriculture For Ceremony 



ILLINOIS county Farm Bureaus 

 planning Fourth of July pic- 

 nics as their part in the national 

 celebration of George Washing- 

 ton's 200th anniversary, are asked 

 to keep a record of attendance 

 and publicity material for the 

 George Washington Bicentennial 

 Commission, states the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation. 



Numerous requests have been 

 made by Illinois Farm Bureau 

 folks for program material and 

 picnic suggestions available at the 

 A. F. B. F. offices in Chicago, it is 

 learned, so that Illinois will prob- 

 ably be well represented in the bi- 

 centennial celebration. 



National officers are requesting 

 that all Farm Bureaus keep them 

 in touch with the development of 

 local plans. This is an official 

 celebration, sanctioned by Con- 

 gress. The American Farm Bureau 

 Federation has been officially as- 

 signed the task of organizing ag- 

 riculture's contribution to the 

 ceremonies. 



Indiana Farm Bureau 



Fluid milk producers in the Chi- 

 cago milk shed have learned 

 something about the need for and 

 value of organization in maintain- 

 ing a fair price for milk. They 

 know there is a constant economic 

 struggle underway between the 

 producer, the distributor, and the 

 organized worker for the con- 

 sumer's dollar, with the battle in- 

 variably going against the one 

 offering the least resistance. Chi- 

 cago's organized milk wagon 

 drivers know it pays to be or- 

 ganized. Asked to take a 20% cut 

 in pay, they said "NO! we'll take 

 only a 10% cut, or Fight." So milk 

 wagon drivers continue to get a 

 minimum of $45 per week plus 

 commissions, more than $190 a 

 month when many a man out of 



Court action will be instituted 

 in a test case or cases where farm 

 land appraisals seem to be un- 

 reasonably high, announces the 

 Indiana Farm Bureau. The direc- 

 tors voted in favor of such action 

 at a recent meeting in Indianap- 

 olis. 



The farm organization has 

 taken the stand this year that 

 farm land appraisals for assess- 

 ment purposes shall not exceed 

 true cash values. Taxing author- 

 ities in many instances have as- 

 sessed farms at higher values, 

 probably with the view of meet- 

 ing anticipated budgets of nor- 

 mal government expenses without 

 materially raising the tax rates. 



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Fights High Taxes i 



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