Page Fourteen 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



March, 1933 



inois Grain Corp. Meeting 



550 Attend Largest And Most Enthusiastic Annual Session at Peoria, Feb. 22 



GC. JOHNSTONE of Blooming- 

 • ton, president of Illinois 

 Grain Corporation was reelected at 

 the annual meeting of the corpora- 

 tion, held at Peoria, on Wednesday, 

 February ^2. A. R. Wright, Varna, 

 vice-president o f 

 Illinois Agric u 1- 

 tural Association, 

 was re-el e c t e d 

 vice- president, 

 and R. A. Cowles, 

 Bloomington, was 

 re-elected treas- 

 urer. Fred R o - 

 mine, Tuscola, 

 was elected secre- 

 tary. The follow- 

 ing were chosen 

 as directors: E. E. 

 o. c. JOHNSTONE s t e V cnson, La- 

 Salle County; E. 

 H. Williams, Lee County; B. L. 

 Baird, Knox; Ralph Allen, Taze- 

 well; J. C. Sailor, Iroquois; O. G. 

 Anderson, Ford; G. C. Johnstone, 

 McLean; Charles Schmitt, Logan; 

 Fred Romine, Douglas; Ralph Mills, 

 Vermilion; A. C. Kolmer, Monroe; 

 /Fred Zimmerman, Mason; A. R. 

 "Wright, Marshall; G. L. Potter, Liv- 

 ingston and H. P. Joy, Morgan, 



The meeting was the largest and 

 most enthusiastic in the history of 

 the Corporation. Approximately 550 

 Tepresentatives of the 122 member 

 •elevators were present when the 

 meeting was called to order by 

 President Johnstone. 



- Flourishing Condition 



The annual reports of the presi- 

 ■dent and C. P. Cummings, manager, 

 revealed that the Corporation is in 

 a most flourishing condition. Mem- 

 bership increased more than 50 per 

 •cent since January 1, 1932, and the 

 volume of grain handled by mem- 

 l)er elevators increased in about the 

 same proportion. More than 15,- 

 500,000 bushels of grain were mar- 

 keted during the year, about 25 per 

 cent of that amount being from 

 non-members. This was cited as a 

 favorable omen by President John- 

 stone, who pointed out that this 

 grain was handled on a competi- 

 tive basis. The scope of the service 

 Taeing rendered by the Corporation 

 was revealed by the fact that 9,142 

 <;ars of grain were originated by 

 the Corporation in 1932 from 302 

 points in 66 counties in the state. 



The report of the treasurer 

 showed that Illinois Grain Corpora- 

 tion had a net income of more than 

 $39,000 and that dividends were de- 

 clared by the board of directors, 

 two on the preferred stock of the 



corporation and in addition a pat- 

 ronage dividend of Vs cent a bushel 

 on oats and V^ cent a bushel on 

 wheat, corn and other grains han- 

 dled during the year. Harrison 

 Fahrnkopf, director of acquisition 

 and organization, spoke enthusias- 

 tically of the work accomplished 

 during the year and voiced his con- 

 viction of even greater advances 

 during 1933. 



Manager Cummings told the dele- 

 gates of some of the problems of 

 co-operative grain marketing, cited 

 the progress that has been made, 

 announced that a new office had 

 been opened recently at Mendota 

 to take care of a rapidly growing 

 membership in northern Illinois 

 and predicted a successful future 

 for the cooperative marketing of 

 grain in this state. 



Mr. Huff Speaks 



At the afternoon session C. E. 

 Huff, president of the Farmers' Na- 



of $16,295,000, he said, covers all 

 co-operative grain marketing pur- 

 poses in the United States includ- 

 ing money loaned to the most iso- 

 lated country elevator. This amount 

 will be reduced to 15V4 millions 

 when the payment due the farm 

 board. May 31, and now ready to 

 turn over, is completed. 



Mr. Huff pointed out that the 

 Farmers' National is now the larg- 

 est grain handling organization in 

 the country, with branches in every ■; 

 grain producing section. Criticism ' 

 of the organization and its policies, 

 he said, are prompted because the ^ 

 Farmers' National is a true co-op- 

 erative which gives the grain pro- 

 ducer the benefit of all profits and ,- 

 savings on a patronage basis. 



"Let me call to your attention," 

 he added, "that we are paying off ' 

 our debt to the farm board, are even ' 

 prepared to pay ahead of schedule; : 

 that while our activities are coun- 

 try-wide and that grain marketing -/^ 



OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS ILLINOIS GRAIN CORPORATION 



Left to right, front rowi Harrison Fahrnkopf, director of Held aerrlcet Fred 

 Romine, Tnacola, Mecretary; A. R. l^rlght, Varna, vice-president ; G. C. John- 

 atone, BloomlnKton, president; Ralph Allen, Delavan; Charles Schmitt, Beasoni 

 C. P. Cummings, Tice-presldent and manaK^r. 



Second row: E. K. Stevenson, Streator; Albert Kolmer, MTaterleoi H. P. Jvy, 

 Chapln; George L. Potter, Pontine; O. G. Anderson, Gibson City; Frank Zimmer- 

 man, San Jose; O. D. Brlssenden, field representative. Pontine; K. H. 'Williams* 

 Sterling. 



Third roivi Ralph Mills, Vermilion Grove; Frank Barton, Cornell, field repre- 

 aentatlve, and B. L. Balrd, Wllllamsfleld. 



tional Grain Corp., outlined policies 

 and activities of the national body 

 and discussed the extremely bitter 

 attacks made against cooperative 

 grain marketing in general during 

 the last several years. He stated 

 that without exception these at- 

 tacks were selfishly inspired and 

 were without foundation. The 

 Farmers' National, Mr. Huff said, 

 has never defaulted in the payment 

 of interest or principal due the fed- 

 eral farm board. The funded debt 



is extremely essential to the wel- 

 fare of all the country, the entire 

 amount we borrowed — and are now 

 paying off — is only about 20% as 

 much as was reported to have been 

 borrowed by a single Chicago bank 

 from the Reconstruction Finance 

 Corporation." 



Resolutions were adopted at the 

 meeting in favor of reducing rail- 

 road rates on grain to meet truck 

 competition and at the first meet- 

 (Continued on page 18) 



