IP5I 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTBB 

 (Br CongnMionsI Dlatrlct*) 



•Cto Ittta WOUun Webb, Route OiM, JoUct 



1th G. F. Tullock, Rixlcfard 



}th C.B. Banibarau(h,PoIo 



: 4th W. H. Moody. Port Byroti 



Sth B.H.T«rloc, RfPatee 



6th A. R. WrUht, Verne 



7th F. D. Berton, Cornell 



R. F. Kerr, Iroquole 



DIRECTORS OF DEPARTMENTS 



8th. 



Sth. 



Co-oficntlTe AcoountJna Ceo. R. Wicker 



Dairy Merketing A. D. Lynch 



Finance R. A. Cowlee 



Fruit end Vesetebla Merketlnc A. B. Leeper 



General Office ; J. H. Kelker 



Informetlon y Herry C Butcher 



Legal Couneel Donald Kirkpa trick 



Lire Stock Marketinc Wm. E. Hedgcock 



Organiiation G. B. Metzger 



Phosphate-Limeatone , J. R. Bent 



Poultry and Egg Marketliw F. A. Gougler 



Taxation and Statiatlca J. C Wataon 



Tnuuportatioa L. J Quaiey 



r_aBa_> <i__ a month at 404 Nortk Wealay Atc.. Mount Mcrria. niiaoia. by tbe Ulisoia Agricultural AMXutioo. Edited by Dapartmant o( InlormatioD, Harry C. Butdiar, Directcr, 60S Soutli Dearbcm 

 Street, ^^'^'^rnr. Ulinota. Enter«d aa aeoood-ciaM matter Oetobcr aO, 1036 at the peat offiea at Mount Morria, lUinoia. undOT the Aet^of Mareb 3, 187V. Aooeptaoc« for mailiDic at apeetai rate of poetage crovided 

 for in SaetkiD 411, Aet of February 28, 182S, autboriied Oetobcr 27. 1*2S. The individual memberahip fee of the Illlnoia Agrieuhural AaoeiatiaD ia fire dollara a year. The fee iodudea payment of fifty cenia 

 for eubeeription to the IlJiooia A^rulturaJ Ajeociation Racann. Poatmaatcr: In retuming an uncalled for or miaaent copy, pleaae Indicate key number on addreaa aa. is required by law. 



' ■ ■ - """ 8. Dearl 



.J. L. Whlanand, diarleatoa 



Charlea Borgelt, Hayana 



. . .Sumiel Sorrella, Raymond 



Frank Oezner, Waterloo 



. W. L. Cope, Salem 



4th Charlea Marahali. Belknap 



.1 R. K. Locmia, Makanda 



OFFICERS 



Preaklent, Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-Preaident, Charlea R. Finley Hoopeaton 



Treaaurer, R. A. Cowlaa Bkxanington 



Secretary, Geo. A. Foi Sycamore 



I LiIjINOIS 



CCLTUBAL ASSOCIA 



RECORO' 



Temdwmmemtlupurposm for which *Hm Form Bur» 



ttod. namely, to promote, protect and represent the butinott. 

 economic, aoeial and educational intereMtt of the farmer$ of 

 ilUrutis and the nationp'and to develop ogriculture. 



Adilresa .\1! 



nmunicjttions to Illni-ia AKricuItiiral A-^.trifttion. 608 8. Dearborn St . < hir 



. ni. 



'A"V»A'A»'I>8«V»>^lk»^R».j;Vk».<,«A»3'A'W^^^ 



mynynyiiyiij 



IS^SE^l 



low the McNary-Haugen Bill 

 Was Defeated 



'T'HE pongressional Becord of April 15 contains an inter- 

 J. esting revelation in line with the story printed in the 

 April llissue of THE Record, In that issue we told how the 

 Graia pealers' National Association (old line companies) 

 were utging through their official organ that members hold 

 themselves in readiness to send letters and telegrams to Con- 

 gressmi n and Senators to defeat the Dickinson bill, which 

 has sim e been slightly changed and re-named as the Federal 

 Farm ] loard measure and was printed in full in the pre- 

 ceding lECORO. 



"It n ay be necessary for the Association to call upon its 

 membeis, direct and affiliated, for assistance in the fight be- 

 fore Congress," was a statement printed in bold face type in 

 a long editorial against the farmers' efforts to secure 

 equalit] , which appeared in the Grain Dealers' official paper. 

 "If the Dickinson bill is reported out, and indications point 

 to its s »rious consideration by the House, then it will be up 

 to YOl to do your duty! You will be kept posted and when 

 Preside It Homer issues the call for your aid you will be ex- 

 pected o respond as you did when the McNary-Haugen bill 

 was sn< wed under. You are duty-bound to fight such legis- 

 lation, from the standpoint uf patriotism as well as SELF- 

 INTEREST!" 



Some of the 75 Chicago members of the Grain Dealers' 

 Nations! Association are: Armour Grain Co.{ Bartlett, 

 Frazier Co.; Rosenbaum Bros, and the Rosenbaum Grain 

 Corpors tion, which, it will be remembered, were anxious to 

 assist the farmers by selling them a $26,000,000 "coopera- 

 tive" giain company. 



Then on April 15, in the Congressional Record, we find the 

 followir g : 



"Mr. Summers of Washington: (Speaking before the 

 H.'d .-j Air. C • lan and gentlemen, two years ago I led 

 TIM mti e cam|>a of education in behalf of farm legisla- 

 ; — i"l' ,a- nown as the McNary-Haugen bill. We 

 sent ou ; more tnan 30,000 letters from my office to farm 

 leaders throughout the United States. At one time I pre- 

 dicted the passage of that bill. I was not mistaken at that 

 time. I ; was finally defeated but 'murder will out.' We now 

 know 'v ho killed Cock Robin.' The Colorado Wheat Grower 

 of February 20, 1926, tells a story that will interest every 

 farmer in America. I quote from the Wheat Grower: 



"'GRilN OFFICIALS TELL HOW FARMERS' BILLS 

 ARE lEATEX— SECRETARY OF GRAIN DEALERS' 

 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION EXPLAINS HOW McNARY- 

 HAVGj N BILL WAS DEFEATED AFTER LOBBYISTS 

 INTER VIEWED CONGRESSMEN; 'WE WORK WHILE 



YOU s. .eep: 



" 'Ho^ r a well-organized minority can impose its wishes on 

 a poor! ^-organized majority was entertainingly explained 

 by Char les Quinn, secretary-treasurer of the Grain Dealers' 

 Nationa Association, speaking before the Cok>rado Grain 

 Dealers' Association in Denver last week. 



" 'Moie specifically, Mr. Quinn's story described how 16,000 

 grain dealers have been able to maintain their marketing 

 whip ha id over 7,000,000 farmers. 



" 'Wit 1 pardonable pride Secretary Quinn told 'what an 

 associati on can do.' (He referred to an association of grain 

 men.) 



" 'He • old how the Grain Dealers' National Association had 

 helped t > defeat the McNary-Haugen bill. He told how the 

 grain dealers' lobbyist in Washington carries on his work. 

 He told how the Grain Dealers' National is always on the 

 job and works while you sleep.' 



" 'Spei iking on the work of the Grain Dealers' National, 

 he said: 



"Whn, the McNary-Haugen bill was introduced, a canvaxa 

 of the H ruse showed enough votes to pass it with 95 to spare. 

 The Gri in Dealers' National Association got busy. Grain 

 men gavj freely of their time and we had from 5 to IS men 

 in Wash Ington all through the danger period, 



"Killint tha McNary-Haafen Bill. 



"We n €t 171 the morning arul each man was assigned to see 

 certain < 'o7i{rre«smcii. In the evening each man reported the 

 results (f his interviews. Before a vote was called every 

 Congresiman had been interviewed and we estimated we had 

 beaten ti e bill by 75 votes. The following day the returns 

 showed t was beaten by 73. That is what an association 

 can do. ^ 



"Many bills to help the farmer are before Congress now, 

 but ther is only one that is really dangerous and that it is 

 nee^ssar r to fight — the Dickinson bill." 



" 'Mr. Quinn did not explain why it is necessary for the 

 grain dealers to fight a bill which is, by his own statement, 

 designed I "to help the farmer." Neither did he say, in so 

 many wdrds, that the grain dealers' interests are directly 

 opposed to the interests of the farmer. His listeners were 

 left to daaw their own conclusions. 



" 'Speajking on tbe work of the Grain Dealers' National, 

 he said; 



"It (tie Grain Dealers' National) is' always on the job 

 Uoking out for the interests of the grain trade; looking out 



Why Farmers Should Support the Tax 

 Amendment to Illinois Constitution 



(To be voted on in November, 1920) 



1. Real eelate, althou(k leae than one-kalf — many 

 aay leaa than 40 per cent — of the property in the atate, 

 ia now paying about 80 per cent of all of the taxea for 

 moat purpoaes. 



2. Tangible property, althoafh probably not more 

 than one-half of the property in the atate, ia now pay- 

 ing more than 92 per cent of all of the taxea for most 

 purposes. 



3. A minority of the people of the state are now 

 paying all of the taxea for most purposes. 



4. Ownera of eome kinda * of property eaaily can 

 and do add their taxes to the pricea of their services or 

 products. Owners of other kinds of property, notably 

 land, cannot shift their taxes to others to pay. 



5. Owners of mortgaged property are now paying 

 double or multiple taxes. They pay taxea not only on 

 their equities, but also on the value of the mortgages, 

 and pay a higher rate of interest on taxable mortgages 

 whether the mortgages pay taxea or not. 



6. Lack of personal interest on the part of most 

 people in the economical and efficient use of tax 

 moneys, and their belief that they are paying no taxes 

 of any kind, promote extravagance and a rapid 

 increase of deferred taxes in the form of bonded in- 

 debtedness. 



7. Taxea are rapidly increasing in Illinois partly 

 because the population ia increasing, but chiefly be- 

 cause of the demand for new forms of service. 



8. Under the present constitutional limitations 

 none of the inequalities of the present taxing system 

 described above can be fairly or properly corrected. 

 The proposed amendment is a grant of power to the 

 General Assembly, enabling it from time to time to 

 correct inequalities in taxation and to establish a 

 modern and equitable aystem of taxation. 



President. Illinoitt Aicricultural Association. 



[Brief articles in support of the points stated above will be 

 printed in later iasuee of THE Record. Questions relative to the 

 proposed tax amendment are invited and will be answered through 

 Tub Kecobd.] 



for the interests of the Colorado Grain Dealers' Association 

 as well as those of the 18 other affiliated organizations. 

 (There is *an Illinois organization,) Every industry has 

 lobbyists in Washington. And it is necessary that the Grain 

 Dealers' National Association keep a man there also, which 

 we rfo. He goes every morning to the clerks and finds out 

 what bills have been introduced. Then he checks on what 

 happens tt> them in all the various details and keeps me ac- 

 quainted by letter and telegraph. I in turn acquaint the 

 state organization secretaries with any developments of tm- 

 porfonce, that they may varry it to their membership. 



"I took the secretaryship of the National Association on 

 January J, 19H. During the last 10 years hell has broken 

 loose 1 



" 'Mr. Chairman, while I do not bdieve Mr. Quinn spoke 

 for all millers throughout the United States, I do suggest 

 that all members of Congress re-read and ponder his state- 

 ment when general farm legislation is under consideration. 

 Perhaps we can corral some of this fire and brimstone in 

 behalf of the farmer.' " 



This ought to make every red-blooded farmer hot under 

 the collar. You can see now who is causing most of the 

 opposition down at Washington, and we know they're on the 

 job down there right this minute trying to influence votes 

 against the farmers' bill for equality with industry and labor. 

 They will be successful in proportion to our weakness. 



The only way to meet this kind of opposition is by letters 

 from the farmers themselves. A prominent (Congressman 

 recently said that "two or three pencil letters have more 

 weight with Congressmen than a stack of telegrams." There- 

 fore your voice has considerable weight and you can make 

 good use of it by writing your Congressman. If you have 

 written before, as many Illinois farmers have, then it won't 

 hurt to write again, in fact the cumulative effect will be 

 greater if you write several times. Be sure and make your 

 letter plain in support of the farm organization's bill— the 

 Federal Farm Board measure. 



If farmers get as active now in advancing their own in- 

 terests a% the grain dealers have in opposing the farmers, 

 then Manager Quinn will have more reason to believe that 

 "hell has broken loose." 



liKsme Recstved in 1921. Pertestafle sf 

 Pirtentats Veluatlsss Is th« 

 •f Total 1934 Assanasst 



Amaunt 



..) 489,640,00* 



10/> 



23.0 



7J 



70J 



22.2 



7.S 

 S9.2 None possible 



The Greatest Inequality of the 

 Illinois Taxing System 



By John C. Wataon, Director, Department of Taxation and 

 Statiatlca, Illinois Agricultural Aaaociation. 



TIE unfairness of the present taxing system in Illinois is 

 well shown by a comparison of amounts of income re- 

 ceived by the population of the state from different sources, 

 and the relative dire<;t tax burden carried by each principal 

 source of income. The figures on income given below are 

 taken from the book entitled "Income in the Various 

 States," recently published by the National Bureau of Eco- 

 nomic Research. They are for the year 1921, but there is 

 every reason for believing that the unfairness disclosed 

 would be worse if the figures for 1925 were available. The 

 percentages of total income derived from each source are 

 computed from the figures given. The percentages of total 

 valuations of property, which are also approximately the 

 percentages of total taxes paid by the several sources of 

 income, are computed from the 1924 report of the Illinois 

 Tax Commission. 



Tax Burdens of the Principal Sources of Current Income 

 Received by the Population of Illinois. 



Seurts «f 

 liKama 

 Intancible Property, 



Interest and Dividends.. 

 Tangible Property. 



Rented out or used for farm- 



inc or for business... 1,130,060,000 



Miscellaneous — Chiefly rental 



values of urban and farm 



residences occupied by their 



owners 3*7,298,000 



Personal s e r Vic e s — Salaries, 



and waies 2,SI0,0SO,00O 



According to these figures, interest and dividends make 

 up about 10 per cent of the total income of the population 

 of the State. The sources of interest and dividends are 

 7-3 10 per cent of all valuations for tax purposes in the 

 1924 assessment. Tangible property, not including res- 

 idences, either urban or rural, occupied by their owners, 

 returned 23 per cent of the total income, but had 70% 

 per cent of the total assessments. Relative to income, there- 

 fore, tangible property used for farming or business, 

 including the railroads, had 4-1/5 times as heavy a direct 

 tax burden as intangible property. Income from miscel- 

 laneous sources, chiefly urban and farm residences occu- 

 pied by their owners, must also be allowed for, since this 

 kind of property not only saved the payment of rentals, but 

 also paid taxes. Income of this character accounted for 

 7-4/5 per cent of the total and had about 22-1/5 per cent of 

 tax valuations. 



The greatest weakness in the present taxing system 

 is its failure to tap the greatest source of income and 

 of taxable wealth in the state. In 1921, salaries and 

 wages accounted for more than 59 per cent of the total 

 income of the population of the state. They paid no direct 

 taxes and could pay none. Undoubtedly this source of in- 

 come was used for actual payment of taxes on some prop- 

 erty, especially urban residences occupied by their owners. 

 From another and more correct point of view, taxes on this 

 class of property were paid out of the saving in rentals. 

 For it must be kept in mind that the general property tax 

 is never levied on individuals, but is levied on property, 

 and that non-payment of a property tax results in the sale 

 or forfeiture of the property, if real estate, to the state. 



On January 1, 19E0, less than 37 per cent of urban res- 

 idences and less than 58 per cent of the farms of the state 

 were occupied by their owners. It is certain, therefore, that 

 the amount of income derived from salaries and wages used 

 in payment of taxes on owned homes was a relatively small 

 amount of the total income. 



It is true that some of the income derived from personal 

 services is used in an indirect way for paying taxes which 

 are shifted in urban rentals, transportation or public utility 

 rates, in the prices of consumption goods, or in other similar 

 ways. The amounts of taxes thus indirectly paid are a 

 small percentage of the total income from this source. 

 Total state, county, and local taxes in Illinois are only about 

 10 per cent of the total income from personal services. It is 

 certain that indirect taxes paid out of income from this 

 source are only a fraction of ten per cent of the total 

 income. 



Under the present taxing system in Illinois, tangible prop- 

 erty, chiefly real estate, including the railroads, is compelled 

 to pay at least four times as much taxes relative to what it 

 produces, as money and credits. 



Owners of land, especially farm land, cannot usually shift 

 their taxes to others to pay. They are compelled, therefore, 

 to pay many times as much in direct taxes as those who 

 receive equal income for their personal services. Under the 

 present system of taxation such inequalities cannot be re- 

 moved. The situation is certain to become worse. It can be 

 corrected only under broad powers granted to the General 

 Assembly as in the pending revenue amendment. It must 

 be corrected if we are to avoid confiscatory taxation of real 

 estate. 



