REPORT OF IOWA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION 389 



REVIEWING THE LAST YEAR 

 BY SECRETARY CUNNINGHAM 



The year 1922 opened with the farmers of the State facing a most dis- 

 tressing outlook. Farm products were selling below cost of production, 

 and the condition of the average farmer was discouraging. During the 

 early part of the year there developed a strong agitation against the 

 high rate of taxation. This agitation being so unreasonable in its rep- 

 resentation the membership soon began to doubt the sincerity of Its 

 sponsors, and investigation developed that it was a well directed effort 

 toward demoralizing and destroying the Farm Bureau organization. 

 Resolutions identical in purport, prepared in advance, were invariably 

 presented, one of its objects being to reduce taxation by doing away with 

 the County Agent. 



This unreasonable and unjust attack soon spent its force, and as the 

 prejudice it had engendered subsided the Federation undertook through 

 a series of charts and compilations to lay the whole tax question and all 

 State expenditures for public account before our membership. This in- 

 formation, apparently appreciated by the membership, soon had its effect 

 upon the taxpayer who could see no hope for relief from burdensome 

 taxation if it required such expensive methods of publicity where the 

 amount involved but thirty-three cents on every $100 in taxes paid. 



There is no reason for discouragement on the part of any one con- 

 nected with the organization. The year has brought many encouraging 

 changes, and none of them more welcome than the fact that farm prod- 

 ucts in Iowa, with few exceptions, are selling at a price equal to the 

 cost of production, and in some instances leaving a margin of profit. 

 Credit is somewhat easier, and, on the whole, conditions with the farmer 

 at the beginning of 1923 are most hopeful. 



There must be no letting down on the part of our membership in the 

 future. We must carry on and in no half-hearted way. There is much to 

 be done. While we have every reason to believe and feel that the crisis 

 has passed, it should not be taken as an indication that an era of un- 

 bounded prosperity has been ushered in and that any one would be 

 justified in indulging in extravagant practice. Let us all try and remem- 

 ber for all time to come the experiences of the past three years. 



Board of Directors 

 The Board of Directors in the past have not had the opportunity to es- 

 tablish an efficient working relationship with their members. Only those 

 who happen to be officers of the County Farm Bureaus have been able to 

 acquire the contact so necessary to make for efficient service. We would 

 recommend that the director be invited to attend county and township 

 board meetings, and that his services as speaker at the county and town- 

 ship meeting be sought. Through such service the rank and file of our 

 membership could be well informed at all times, and in return the di- 

 rector could be better informed on all subjects concerning the welfare 

 of the county. 



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