ers 



raining 



By A. B. Culp, Organization Director, McLean County 



:.'■ 



A. B. CTTLP 



IN McLean county we are develop- 

 ing two distinct groups of leader- 

 ship to carry on the Farm Bureau 

 program now and in the future. 



In our Booster Clubs, six of which have 

 been organized, we are calling on men 

 ranging in age from 35 up who are today 

 carrying the responsibility not only of 



operating their 

 farms but also of or- 

 ganization to protect 

 and work for the 

 betterment of agri- 

 culture. 



In this group it is 

 our primary object 

 to study current 

 subjects such as tax 

 reform, bond issues, 

 national legislation, 

 administration o f 

 laws, marketing 

 problems and the like. We hope to have 

 at least 150 taking part in these group 

 meetings held twice a month. We hope 

 to have at least 10 men in every town- 

 ship who are thoroughly familiar with all 

 current problems affecting agriculture. 

 The other group we are developing is 

 the McLean County Young Men's Forum 

 or training school. This is for young 

 men who have graduated from 4-H club 

 work on up to 35 years of age. We hope 

 to have enrolled in this school at least 

 100 young men. The purpose of the 

 training school is to develop leadership 

 in the Farm Bureau which will grad- 

 ually take over the responsibility of 

 carrying on the fight for agriculture. 



Each member enrolling in the training 

 school will be asked to sign a pledge to 

 attend the meetings throughout the year 

 ending September 20, 1935, and to aid 

 in carrying out the program. 



We believe the enrollment pledge is 

 quite necessary. It places the responsi- 

 bility of the school upon the shoulders 

 of the students. Meetings will be held 

 every month. Lessons will be provided 

 on mimeographed sheets with references 

 for study. Students will be quizzed at 

 each session. We are starting with the 

 study of previous farm organizations 

 that we may find their weak spots as 

 well as their strong ones. We will study 

 the constitution and by-laws of the 

 organizations, the I. A. A. and A. F. B. 

 F. We will also study federal laws af- 

 fecting agriculture, also the history and 

 development of the Farm Bureau and 





i --y . 



the I. A. A. 



From here we will go on to a study 

 of each department of the I. A. A. Later 

 we expect to have debates and entertain^ 



DECEMBER, 1934 



ment to keep the students interested. 

 Each will be called on for extenH)ora- 

 neous remarks from time to time. Every 

 member of the Forum some time during 

 the year must appear before the group 

 in an oration or a debate. 



Later in ow program we expect to 

 study parlianientary law and organize 

 the group into a legislative body to il- 

 lustrate how legislation is initiated and 

 enacted. 



We feel in McLean county that able, 

 intelligent leadership is the greatest need 

 of agriculture today, and that by de- 

 veloping leadership we will render a 

 great service to agriculture. 



Commenting upon this program Farm 

 Adviser R. J. Laible said: "I personally 

 feel, and I know that it is the sentiment 

 of our board of directors, that this is 

 the most forward looking piece of work 

 that has been attempted in McLean 

 county for many years. We look for- 

 ward with anticipation to the results 

 which we sincerely believe will come 

 from it.*' 



Young Men's Club Is 



Organized In Randolph 



A Young Men's Club composed of sons 

 and daughters of Farm Bureau members 

 more than 18 years old has been organ- 

 ized in Randolph county. An initial mem- 

 bership of approximately 75 is reported 

 by Farm Adviser Secor. 



The club was organized with the aid 

 of D. E. Lindstrom, rural sociology spe- 

 cialist of the University of Illinois. " 



Dramatics, debates, and discussion of 

 current events will be featured. Three 

 discussion teams with three speakers on 

 each will compete in a county contest, 

 the three best speakers to be selected for 

 a district meeting. ; r r 7 >: ; - 



Y' 



For the Waterway 



^ .. 



>■• 



Editor L A. A. RECORD: ' ' 



v, I was pleased to read in the October 

 RECORD the "Waterways and the 

 Farmer" article. I have been deeply in- 

 terested in the Illinois river waterway 

 since a boy. Father was a farmer in 

 this valley and I am now at 77 years old. 

 : I saw the value of the waterways in 

 central Europe in 1910. My interests 

 are principally in Spring Valley, Illinois. 

 I am working hard for a waterway con- 

 nection there and would like a few copies 

 of this issue for our bank and coal com- 

 pany. They are trying to arrange to 

 ship coal by waterway. 

 Fred Gunther, LaSalle county, Illinois. 



■ » t , -.-'.•' 



Progress In Auto 



Insurance In 1934 



; '; By A. E. Richardson, Manager 



While the year is not yet ended, and 

 iio official reports of progress have gone 

 into the record books indications are that 

 the Farm Bureau auto insurance com- 

 pany, Illinois Agricultural Mutual, is go- 

 ing to chalk up the year of years for it- 

 self. Several factors enter the picture to 

 account for our remarkable gains. First, 

 farmers have more money to spend. A 

 new plan of acquiring business has aided 

 substantially. The renewed feeling of 

 confidence of farmers over the successes 

 made by the Farm Bureau in raising 

 prices of farm products has influenced 

 many "holdouts" to take out insurance 

 in their own company. 



A consistent publicity program in the 

 form of weekly releases going out over 

 the state stressing the need for careful 

 driving has been followed all year. Regu- 

 lar advertising in the RECORD, in Coun- 

 ty Farm Bureau publications and book- 

 lets has kept Farm Bureau members in- 

 formed about the '^bargain" auto insur- 

 ance the company offers. Tie this all to- 

 gether with low cost operation and effi- 

 cient work of a loyal force in the office 

 and field, and you have the picture of a 

 healthy organization growing in service 

 to Farm Bureau members. 



S^: 'v, Gain In Policies :,g( 



Too much credit cannot be given to the 

 local adjusters and agents for the splen- 

 did spirit of co-operation they have shown 

 this year. Without their help and hard 

 work we would never have made the prog- 

 ress revealed in the following records. 



From January 1st, 1934 up to the first 

 of November the number of net policies 

 in force after deductions for cancellations 

 has increased from 31,790 to 37,200. This 

 is a gain of 17 per cent. Claims reported 

 so far this year are 36 per cent more 

 than last year for same period totalling 

 6634. Assets of the company have in- 

 creased 12 V^ per cent to 11,115,460.28, 

 which for the most part is invested in 

 government, state and municipal bonds. 

 Surplus also shows a gain of 14% per cent 

 to $561,218.29. 



Of the 37,200 policies now held by 

 members, 31,476 are on pleasure cars, 

 5724 on trucks both farm and commer- 

 cial, 1365 employers liability policies, 

 and 1601 calves owned by 4-H Calf Club 

 boys and girls. ^ - - : - : 



While the year so far has been very 

 satisfactory we feel that we have only 

 scratched the surface so far as insurance 

 service to farm people is concerned. With 

 the membership of the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association and Farm Bureaus 

 rapidly increasing, this company has a 

 real job ahead for 1935^ 



vr 



■ f ■ ■ 



•' ••:' :-^-:'- .■'•.;■ ."••?'■ ^'"'- 



■ f • '. • 



\ J. 



■■ I I *■ I , !' . ■ 



i.- ■ "'• 



17 





' ' \ '■' ■ 



V. • . 



