■>., •• 



A Good Day's Work at 

 ■ The^ Cook County Building 



John Macauley Says the Check For 

 $227.15 Wasn't Hard To Take 



Back in 1930 the Cook County High- 

 way Department decided to widen 131st 

 street, a country road in the southern 

 part of the county. The project took 

 approximately 17 feet additional right- 

 of-way from the farm of John R. Ma- 

 cauley, hale and hearty Scotchman who 

 holds a membership in the Cook County 

 Farm Bureau. 



Mr. Macauley sold his farm during the 

 boom but the real estate men who bought 

 it decided when land values went blooey, 

 to deed the farm back to him. While in 

 possession, the buyers generously gave 

 the strip of land to the county, signing 

 an ^easement therefor. When Macauley 

 got the farm back he tried to secure 

 compensation for his land but nearly 

 three years of effort proved fruitless. , 



^^^^^^^^/^^^^ C^ the Records ^^ 



Finally ii neighbor suggested that he 

 appeal to the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation, which he did. G. W. Baxter of 

 the I. A. A. went with Mr. Macauley to 

 the Cook County Recorder's office where 

 after checking the plat and deed found 

 that the parties who bought the farm 

 had signed the easement after the land 

 had been deeded back to Macauley. The 

 original deed was taken and presented 

 to the Cook County Highway Depart- 

 ment as proof that compensation should 

 be made to the present owner. A new 

 appraisal was secured and on July 19 

 Macauley received a check for |227.15. 



In a letter to the Cook County Farm 

 Bureau, member Macauley expressed his 

 appreciation for the service as follows: 



"I am writing to thank you and the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association for your 

 help in getting settlement for right-of- 

 way taken by the Cook County High- 

 way Department bordering my farm on 

 131st street. I had previously written 

 several letters to different county of- 

 ficials, but without getting any place to- 

 ward a settlement. While talking to a 

 Farm Bureau member one day he said: 

 'Why don't you ask the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association to help you. The serv- 

 ices of their claims division is free since 

 you are a member of the I. A. A. and 

 Cook County Farm Bureau.' 



Pays to Belong 



"I, wrote to the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association and in a few days I received 

 a letter from them signed by G. W. Bax- 

 ter saying that he was ready to help me 

 in any way he could. . • . Mr. Baxter 

 went with me to the County Building 

 and from that time, which was early in 

 January, up until today he has worked 



10 



JOHN R. MACAULEY 



Cook County Farm Bureau Member. 



*'I am convinced it pays to belong*" be laya. 



hard and accomplished a settlement. 



"I am convinced that it pays to belong 

 to the Farm Bureau. Anyone can get 

 service enough to many times offset the 

 amount of his dues, if he applies for it 

 in the right way. John R. Macauley. 'V 

 ; V > Lemont, Cook County, 111. 



Tell Distress Debtors :'v 

 How To Secure Relief 



More than $100,000,000 of farmers' 

 debts in the United States have been ad- 

 justed so that the loss of farms by debt- 

 ors has been avoided, according to a re- 

 port by the Farm Credit Administration, 

 The Administration states that farm debt 

 adjustment committees in 2,400 counties 

 of 42 states have indicated their belief 

 that success in adjusting debts between 

 creditors and debtors had made it un- 

 necessary in most cases for farmers to 

 resort to bankruptcy under the Frazier- 

 Lemke moratorium law. 



In Illinois, county debt conciliation 

 committees report that debts were ad- 

 justed for approximately 3,000 distressed 

 farmers whose indebtedness totaled 

 around $20,000,000. 



In many counties Farm Bureau leaders 

 are members of the conciliation com- 

 mittees establishec^ under the direction 

 of Walter McLaughlin, director of the 

 State Department of Agriculture. 



Recommended for Debtors 



At its last meeting in Springfield, the 

 State Debt Conciliation Committee 

 recommended the following procedure to 

 distressed debtors for relief: 



1; Go to the county Farm Debt Ad- 

 justment Committee and lay the 

 problem before them with the idea 



■I. 



Favors Limiting Service To 



Farm Bureau Members 



:;: Our big co-operative creameries, one 

 of which has paid back to member pa- 

 trons more than a half million dollars 

 in the last 10 years, have been an im- 

 portant influence in maintaining Farm 

 Bureau membership in their respective 

 communities, L. L. Needier, secretary of 

 the Indiana Farm Bureau, told delegates 

 at the Midwest Conference in Chicago, 

 August 15. 



In the districts where these co-oper- 

 ative creameries have been operating, 

 our County Farm Bureaus invariably 

 have a strong membership, he said. 



Needier expressed the belief that Farm 

 Bureau membership must not be neg- 

 lected for the commercial services. "We 

 have to tie these services closer to the 

 Farm Bureau," he said, **or we'll lose our 

 membership. The Farm Bureau member 

 is not going to continue supporting his 

 organization if the non-member gets 

 just as much service as the member. It's 

 not right nor fair to extend benefits 

 made possible by the Farm Bureau, to 

 all farmers regardless of whether or not 

 they are members." 



of securing a voluntary adjustment 

 with creditors. rv ji-- 



V? If the county committee cannot 

 : bring about an adjustment refer 

 • the problem to the county con- 

 :^ ;>^iliation commissioner authorized 

 under section 75 of the Federal 

 Bankruptcy Act. Under this sec- 

 tion, written and sponsored by the 

 '^■'i''--\: Farm Bureau, the commissioner hasl 

 v^ additional powers to make an 

 ^ f W: agreement reached by the major- 

 V ity of creditors in number and 

 amount, binding upon a minority. 

 : 3. Failing tp secure a voluntary set- 

 :; . tlement by either of these methods, 

 the debtor may petition to become 

 a bankrupt under the Frazier- 

 \. Lemke amendment to the Bank- 

 ruptcy Act. Under this Act the 

 debtor may elect to remain on his 

 farm for a period of five years 

 under the control of the Federal 

 court. To remain on the farm, 

 however, he must pay rent fixed 

 by the court, and the taxes. 

 In Illinois a number of county debt ad- 

 justment committees have been active in 

 settling a large percentage of the cases 

 brought before them. In some counties 

 very little has been done. It is generally 

 known that unnumbered creditors and 

 debtors have made their own adjust- 

 ments without resorting to outsiders. In 

 such instances loans have usually been 

 extended and interest rates modified. : 



Careful reading: of the Frazier-Lemke amendment 

 reveals that it is largely a moratorium bill. No 

 soalingr down or interest reduction is compulsory. 

 Creditors must first consent to such action before 

 anythingr can be done. A debtor must be bankrupt 

 before he can get any relief under the law.— Editor. 



I. A. A. RECORD 



