EDITORIAL 



1945 Membership Goals 



THE h; n mcmhcrsliip goal-,, tot-illing 11". 000. set 

 tountv hv county List ytur in the Mcnihcrsliip M.iin- 

 tcnani-c Lontcrenees. arc now within ""ooo ot ttn.il 

 .uhievcnunt. Stc.uiv progress since the lOO.dOO-iiiemlx r 

 mark was reacht'J in November of 19 1 1 has hrouglit Farm 

 Bureau membership in tlie state to the total ot approxi- 

 m.itch- 110.000 as of February H. l'^n. 



Tl)al the goals tan and should be readied by Septem- 

 ber SO. 19 n. the end of the current fiscal year, is agreed to 

 by organii;ation workers in all parts of Illinois. Surely 

 there was never a more opportLine time to buiUl larm bu- 

 reau membership to new record highs. 



Farmers realize as never before that this is. and will 

 continue to be. an organized world, in which the iiniividual. 

 as such, can exercise only partial control over his tiwn lies- 

 tinv. Farmers recognize, too. the serMces which the larm 

 Bureau, on countv. state, and national levels, has rendered 

 to agriculture, and is in a position to render in the tuture. 

 These convictions, taken together. ha\e led to unusual re 

 suits in every Illinois county where a membership cam 

 paign has been staged this winter 



The results of I muary i.ampaigns are especially strik- 

 mg. Iroc|uois countv's remarkable record ol 2 l2 new 

 members signed in a January campaign tops the list nu- 

 merically, but equally striking are DeKalb's 1"t. Bureaus 

 Ho. Marion's 13i, Fulton's 129. Franklin's 100, Craw- 

 fords 96. and Jasper's S''. These are but a few of the splen- 

 did totals registered by enthusiastic volunteer workers, call- 

 int; on their neighbors and extending the imitation to join 

 l-"arm Bureau to them. 



Let us all work during the balance ot the year to 

 achieve the long-r.uige goals, and to Make Farm Bureau 

 forever strong. ' 



T 



The Red Cross is at His Side 



HF American Red ( ross War Fund campaign of 19 n 

 is now in progress. National goal tor the drive to be 

 held throughout the month of March is 200 million 

 dollars. 



The Red Cross is ser\ing in e\ery theater ot war and 

 with every command. Red ( ross workers also are on duty 

 .It .stores of out-posts over the world and are giving aid to 

 wounded men in hospitals in the major battle areas and 

 in the Ignited States. In every invasion during the past 

 year, the Red Cross has either gone in with the troops, or 

 iias followed w ithin a very short time. 



American Red Cross workers iiave packed more than 

 10 million parcels for .shipment to American prisoners of 

 war in enemy territory. Many of those now being freed 

 from German prison camps by the advance of Allied armies 

 have told what these welcome packages have meant to 

 them. 



Funds of the American Red Cross have also paid for 

 nearly ISO.OOO medical kits with first aid requirements for 



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100 men tor thirty days; for dO. .>()(> capture parcels with 

 basic ti)ilet needs and comforts for newly captured prison 

 ers; for millions of cigarets and tor lOOO garden seed kits 



More than 10 million pints ot bloijd ha\e been col 

 lected by the Red C ross since the beginning ot the Blood 

 Donor Service in Februarw 19)1. Thousands ot wounded 

 .\merican fighters owe their lives to this service. 



1 hese arc only a tew cjt the contributions made b\ 

 the Red Cross in addition to its regular nursing and dis.istcr 

 relief on the home tront. 



' I'oday the American Red Cross is remaining at the 

 side ot the ser\ iceman on the home tront as well as the 

 battle! ront. It is giving ad\ ice and assistance to returning 

 \etcrans in tiling claims tor government benetits, supply- 

 ing intormation regarding legislation appl) ing to veterans 

 and their families, and, in some instances, giving tinaiuial 

 aid during the period claims are pending. 



Pointing OLit that the acti\ities of the Red Cross dur- 

 ing recent years have combined dosel) to identify it with 

 rural life in America, the American Farm Bureau Feder.i- 

 tion has issued this .statement: 



' 'File American Farm Bureau Federation again is 

 happy to call to the attention ot its members the forthcom 

 ing Red (^ross War Fund campaign and to urge every mem- 

 ber to give it wholehearted supp<irt through the orgamz.i- 

 tion s local chapters " 



This is \our Ret! (ross and through it sou can do 

 \our share in human kindness and blunt somewhat the 

 horror that is war. 



To Restore Bargaining Power 



THF purpose ot the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 livestock marketing committee has been stated as fol- 

 lows: "To develop ways and means whereby the bar- 

 gaining power of the livestock producer in the sale of his 

 livestock can be restored and maintained. " 



A subcommittee to study the coordination and avail- 

 ability ot cooperative marketing agencies in the state began 

 its work Febru.iry S. 'Fhis is a logical first step in the de- 

 velopment of an improved program. Fully available and 

 tully coordinated cooperative marketing .igencies would 

 mean that no producer would be without the pri:itection 

 on price and service that a cooperative can provide. 



Only through such means, plus adequate field serv- 

 ice, adecjuate and reasonable transportation, and good buy- 

 ing service of stockcrs and feeders, can the farmer enjov 

 that full bargaining power which he needs to market his 

 livestock advantageously. Only with such bargaining 

 power on his part can there be a truly free market, one 

 which will reflect accurately the interplay of the forces ot 

 supply and demand, and give him a dependably fair price. 



The project upon which the Livestock marketing com- 

 mittee is embarked is indeed of vital importance to the fu- 

 ture of Illinois agriculture. 



I. A. A. RECORD 





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