204 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



The objection is raised that if a man is not enough inter- 

 ested to pay fl.OO per year, he is not enough interested to be 

 of any value as a member. I believe the objection to be weak. 

 To every dairyman that attends a meeting it is not a question 

 of one dollar, but of many dollars. As to the dairyman that 

 does not attend, it is not a fair measure of his interest, for he 

 cannot see any return to himself for his money, even though it 

 be but one dollar. Therefore, he keeps it. When a new man 

 is approached and asked to join the State Dairymen's Asso- 

 ciation his interest has no commercial value. It is absolutely 

 nil. His interest in the Association is but a seed capable of 

 development into a healthy plant. Therefore, it is useless to 

 expect to get a great many members that will pay |1.00 per 

 year membership, if they do not attend the convention. 



Another objection raised is that the Association cannot 

 afford to lose the amount it receives for membership dues. 

 The natural answer to this is, ^^Establish what is known as a 

 sustaining membership." Such memberships already exist in 

 a great many religious organizations. If a member be willing 

 to pay |1.00 per year now, he will be equally willing to pay it 

 as a sustaining member. Sustaining members are those that 

 agree to pay, say |1.00 per year, for the benefit of the Associa- 

 tion, whether they attend the meetings or not. There is little 

 reason to believe that any man that would attend the annual 

 meeting would refuse to become a sustaining member. 

 Seventy-five such members would give as much money as is 

 now received from this source, with a probability that the 

 number of sustaining members would increase from year to 

 year. 



There are 102 counties and about 2,600 towns in Illinois. 

 The Dairymen's Association should have its representatives 

 in all of them. The advantages of a large permanent mem- 

 bership are many. The Association would then be really rep- 

 resentative of the dairy interests of the State, and any appro- 

 priation needed for its work could be obtained. Any associa- 

 tion that receives an appropriation from the State for the 

 carrying on of its work is s public institution, and it is doubt- 

 ful if such an association really has the moral right to make 

 money the test for membership. 



