18 



I. A. A. RECORD— July, 1933 



Lower Farm Light And 

 Power Rate Now Effective 



Minimum Charge Cut to $6, 

 Applies in 61 lUinois Counties 



A 33% per cent reduction in the 

 minimum charge for farm electric 

 light and power service affecting rural 

 users in 61 central and southern Illi- 

 nois counties was secured recently fol- 

 lowing an appeal for lower rates to 

 the Central Illinois Public Service Co. 

 and the Illinois Commerce Commission 

 by the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 /..■ tion. 



The new rate reduction effective 

 % ; June 15 will save farmers in the terri- 

 tory served, an estimated |18,000 an- 

 . :, nually. The order of the Commission 

 ;:. which makes the reduction mandatory, 

 " ' also provides that at the end of two 

 '■' years the minimum charge to farm 



■ ■ users shall be reduced an additional 



one-third which will bring the mini- 



■ mum charge down to $3 per month 

 from the present $9. 



L. J. Quasey, director of transporta- 

 tion for the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation, represented the interests of 

 , .; rural subscribers before the Commis- 

 . sion in the various hearings. . / 

 ; To illustrate the effect of the new 

 rate schedules, Mr. Quasey cites the 

 following examples: 



1. A home with a rating of five 

 . rooms with no electric motors, one 



— " horse power or more, the charges 

 would be 9c for the 15 k. w. h., or 



• '■■'. $1.35; 8c for the next 20, or $1.60; 

 5c for the next 25, or $1.25, making a 

 total of $4.20 for the 60 k. w. h. All 

 energy over 60 k. w. h. would be 

 , charged for at 3c. Since this is $1.80 

 less than the $6.00 minimum, a cus- 

 tomer would be entitled to use 60 more 

 k. w. h.s at 3c per k. w. h., or a total 

 of 120 k. w. h.s for $6.00. .: 



2. A customer with a 5 room rating 

 and a one horse power motor would 

 pay 9c for 21 k. w. h., or $1.89; 8c for 

 26 k. w. h., or $2.08; 5c for 31 k. w. h., 

 or $1.55, or a total of $5.52 for 78 

 k. w. h. Since this is 48c less than 

 the $6.00 minimum, the customer 

 would be entitled to 16 additional k. 

 w. h. at 3c, or a total of 94 k. w. h. 

 for $6.00. 



3. A customer with the same room 

 rating but with a three horse power 



. -- motor, or an aggregate of three one- 

 horse power motors, would get ap- 

 proximately 71 k. w. h. for $6.00 per 

 month. 



4. A customer with a five horse 

 power motor, or an aggregate of sev- 

 eral motors, one horse power or over, 

 would get approximately 79 k. w. h. 



, for $6.00. -; ■ : 



Commenting on the rate reduction 



Harry L. Diehl, Ford county Farm 

 Bureau member, wrote recently as fol- 

 lows: 



"Accept my commendation on the 

 fine work so far done by your depart- 

 ment in securing reduced rates for 

 electricity for farmers. 



"How much of a showing would be 

 necessary to secure a reduction of 

 telephone rates? We pay $1.75 per 

 month for a farm 'phone. 



"Is there any chance for a lower 

 rate on the price of construction of 

 farm lines for electric light and 

 power? The local company, C. I. P. 

 S., quotes $1,300 per mile with an 

 allowance of $400 for each user who 

 guarantees to pay $9 per month for 

 electricity." 



Getting That Extra Cent 

 For Grain Short-sighted 



Disappointment awaits the stock- 

 holders of a farmers* cooperative ele- 

 vator who expects to sell where he 

 can get an extra cent. How would he, 

 as an individual, get the extra cent 

 were it not for the competition of his 

 own cooperative ? The stockholder who 

 uses his cooperative as a pry-pole, in 

 order to get an extra cent from a 

 competitor, or who uses it as just an- 

 other place to shop, cannot expect pat- 

 ronage dividends. He cannot expect 

 his elevator to continue as a fair-price 

 insurance factor if his neighbors fol- 

 low his example. He cannot expect his 

 elevator to meet every trick bid put 

 up against it and, at the same time, 

 return big refunds at the close of the 

 season. He cannot expect his elevator 

 to pay out its capital stock as an 

 added price on grain and still pay the 

 usual dividend. There are many things 

 a grower cannot do to his own co- 

 operative and still be satisfied with 

 results. His cooperative elevator as- 

 sociation is, in fact, much like a bank. 

 A man seldom expects to get some- 

 thing out of a bank unless he has put 

 something in. 



As Others See Us 



The important matter with 

 the farmers is this, writes 

 Arthur Brisbane in the Chi- 

 cago Herald & Examiner: 

 "They work in isolation, never 

 build up any real nation-wide 

 organization and are always 

 at the mercy of middlemen 

 and conditions. 



"They could make their own 

 terms, since the nation can- 

 not live without them, but, 

 apparently, they do not know 

 it." ■.. x.^; •.:•' ■.■■■,.■;■• ■:: 



The Livestock Market 



Outlook By Conway 



The situation now calls for a 

 prompt marketing of low grade fed 

 steers and butcher cattle and also the 

 better grades that are finished says 

 H. M. Conway, market analyst for 

 the National Livestock Marketing 

 Ass'n. He says the situation is fa- 

 vorable for further feeding of half- 

 fat high quality steers. "The cattle 

 feeder often makes his money on 

 what seems to be high priced corn." 



A better market for grass cattle al- 

 so is expected in the fall. Conway 

 states that while quality and finish 

 are what count during the summer and 

 fall, many well-bred heavy grass 

 steers could be given a turn in the 

 feed lot after the grazing season. 



He continues to advise heading the 

 lighter weight hogs for the August 

 and September markets. "Many hogs 

 can safely mark time on cheap pas- 

 ture followed by a short turn in the 

 feed lot. In some areas he predicts 

 that many hogs will be sold prema- 

 turely which means rather short sup- 

 plies for next year. If the normal do- 

 mestic demand outlet prevailed, this 

 country, he says, would be short on 

 hogs. 



Feeder lamb prices are headed for a 

 rather strong early market and the 

 situation calls for some caution in re- 

 gard to early feeding. Receipts are 

 exceptionally short at many markets, 

 and this year the westerns are in 

 stronger hands. ; ;v v- - ■ . v; ' 



L A. A. Opposes Mpve 



to Raise Cattle Rates 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 in co-operation with the National 

 Livestock Marketing Association re- 

 cently filed a brief in opposition to 

 efforts of the railroads to place stocker 

 and feeder cattle on the same rate 

 basis as finished cattle. Under present 

 regulations the stocker and feeder rate 

 is approximately 85 per cent of the 

 fat stock rate. 



The Illinois Livestock Marketing 

 Association had its largest month dur- 

 ing May when the nine units handled 

 273 decks of livestock. A total of 189 

 decks, all hogs, were shipped direct 

 to packers in the East, and the bal- 

 ance went to the terminal markets 

 with the exception of the small per- 

 centage sold to local buyers. 



The Illinois Farm Bureau Serum 

 Association reports that volume of 

 sales this year by member counties is 

 running nearly ten per cent ahead of 

 last year for the same period. 





