I. A. A. RECORD— November, 1933 



17 



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Second Glances 



At The News 



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FOR months the National Syndi- 

 cate Service, of Chicago, a news 

 bureau, has centered its fire on 

 farm organizations, county agricul- 

 tural agents and co-operatives. Its 

 daily "service" has consisted almost 

 entirely of the collection and dissemi- 

 nation of printed and spoken state- 

 ments and articles attacking general 

 farm organizati ns and co-operatives, 

 regardless of the accuracy or inaccu- 

 racy of such statements. 



Who pays for the propaganda 

 against farm organizations has long 

 been a moot question. The question is 

 answered, in part at least, in the fol- 

 lowing article appearing in the Chicago 

 Herald and Examiner recently. 



"Dull days which have gripped the 

 Chicago Board of Trade intermittent- 

 ly the last few years and reduced 

 members to such a state that payment 

 of dues hardly left $2 to place on a 

 horse in the third at Lincoln Fields, 

 after the arduous duties of filling or- 

 ders had been completed, will reign 

 no more. 



"An economy wave swept into the 

 institution yesterday. 



"And is everybody happy? 



"When you, or you, or you, look for 

 a safe investment and finally put your 

 bankroll into 5,000 bushels of wheat, 

 the broker in the pit who hunts for 

 someone to reluctantly fill your de- 

 sires gets paid for it. That's the way 

 he gets $2 to place on a horse in the 

 third at Lincoln Fields. He gets just 

 75 cents for that job. 



"All of which is very fine when a 

 lot of you's are buying wheat. He may 

 even get enough to play a pony in the 

 fifth at Belmont. 



"But when markets start to sink 

 back a move develops to cut expenses, 

 so that dues can be cut, and horses 

 won't run without some sort of en- 

 couragement. 



"Many thousands of dollars have 

 been spent by the Board of Trade each 

 year to tell the story of the grain 

 market, to spread the seed of brother- 

 ly love between the broker and the 

 farmer. Of course, annoyances which 

 might arise from organizations like 

 the Farmers National and The Grain 

 Stabilization Corporation were over- 

 looked by the press agents. 



"Press agents always overlook 

 things like that. So — ^reasoned 120 

 members yesterday — ^why have a press 

 agent? (City editors have asked this 

 question for years.) 



"And this group, which hasn't been 

 In a handbook for days, asked direc- 

 tors that Edward J. Dies and his Na- 



tional Syndicate Service be removed 

 and the money saved, for why should 

 press agents need money when some 

 of them are former newspaper men 

 and newspaper men never play the 

 ponies. 



"Deep and solemn deliberation was 

 given the subject by the directors. But 

 here arose an obstacle. How would 

 newspapers get news of the grain 

 markets without a press agent? It 

 didn't seem possible. A compromise! 



"Mr. Dies' contract was renewed for 

 another year. And he will get only 

 $33,000 instead of $36,000. Which will 

 reduce expenses of each of the 1,700- 

 odd members by $1.75, only 24 cents 

 short of enough for a ride on a pony 

 in the third at Lincoln Fields. 



"So what?" 



The Herald and Examiner reporter 

 might have added that when a farmer 

 or farmers' elevator places an order 

 for a 5000 bushel trade the commis- 

 sion is $12.50, which leaves a substan- 

 tial margin, after the broker is paid, 

 with which to play a favorite across 

 the board at either Lincoln Fields or 

 Belmont. 



II 



Farm Prices 



Musf Be Raised" 



The Democrat is in receipt of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association Rec- 

 ord with a headline "Farm Prices 

 Must Be Raised" across the front 

 page? And with this sentiment all 

 must agree, for there is no denjring 

 the fact that farmers never have re- 

 ceived prices great enough to allow 

 interest on investment, cost of mainte- 

 nance and operation, plus a fair profit. 

 No business can be run very long un- 

 less there is a profit. Yes, the price 

 of farm products should be increased, 

 but the way to do it is the problem 

 which has worried wise men of past 

 generations and they are still trying 

 to solve the problem. If conditions 

 were normal the old theory of "sup- 

 ^y and demand" should rule, but 

 with demand all shot to pieces with 

 the system which destroyed our for- 

 eign markets, we must look to some 

 other theory and practice. The Roos- 

 evelt administration, with the aid of 

 farmers' organizations, is trying to 

 solve this problem, and it begins to 

 look as if success may be attained. 

 Let's hope. — Shelbyville Democrat. 



Snnallest Corn Crop 



The Oct. 1, government crop survey 

 reports an indicated Illinois corn crop 

 40% short of last year and 28% be- 

 low average. This is the smallest 

 crop since 1887. Probable yield per 

 acre is 26.6 bu. 



Tax Relief Petitions 



Get 100% Action 



Tax Relief Petitions are being signed 

 by 100% of the voters in many school 

 districts according to John C. Watson, 

 director of taxation. No difficulty is 

 experienced in getting signatures and 

 in most cases entire school districts 

 are being completed in a few hours. 



To give sufficient time for circulat- 

 ing the petitions in all communities, 

 an extension of time was recently an- 

 nounced by Mr. Watson to Nov. 7 

 when all signed petitions are to be 

 sent to headquarters of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association in Chicago. 



787 Cars Grain To 



I. G. C. In Septennber 



Illinois Grain Corporation and 

 Farmers National together handled 

 787 cars of grain during September, 

 and 7332 cars since Jan. 1. Mason, 

 McLean, LaSalle, Knox and Lee coun- 

 ties are leading in shipments to the 

 state and national co-operatives. 



Tune In WENR Nov. 3 



Livestock Progrann 



One thousand radio parties are be- 

 ing organized in Illinois for Friday 

 night, November 3 to arouse interest 

 in co-operative marketing and the gov- 

 ernment's plan for adjusting com and 

 hog production and raising price 

 levels. 



Between 8 and 9 P. M. the market- 

 ing code for corn-hog farmers will be 

 discussed by local leaders as producers 

 gather around the radio, and at 9 

 P. M. they will tune in on station 

 WENR, Chicago for the broadcast. 

 Speakers will include Earl C. Smith, 

 C. V. Gregory, and Chas. A. Ewing. 



Bank For Co-operatives ; 



The Central Bank for Co-operatives 

 was established at Washington Sep- 

 tember 13 with initial capital of $50,- 

 000,000 subscribed by the government. 

 The bank will have jurisdiction over 

 loans to co-operatives borrowing more 

 than $500,000 and also all loans to co- 

 ops operating on a national scale. 



Machinery Men Organize 



Machinery and equipment dealers 

 of the nation met in Chicago Oct. 21 

 to complete the organization of a trade 

 association and begin framing a code 

 for the industry. Concerns interested 

 are those which buy and sell indus- 

 trial and construction machinery. 



