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Issued Every Month for 63,000 Thinking Farmers 



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Volume 5 



JULY, 1927 



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Number 7 



Charges of Trading Branded False 



Legislative Committee Presents Truth About Gas Tax l 



THE Fifty-fifth General As- 

 sembly, which just passed 

 into history, was one of un- 

 usual interest to Illinois farm- 

 ers. The Illinois Agricultural 

 Association was involved in 

 much legislation of major im- 

 portance. These matters were 

 highly controversial, the de- 

 cision hinging, in most in- 

 stances, on two or three votes. 



The outstanding example of 

 this was the so-called Chicago 

 bonding bills, which provided 

 for the assessment of property 

 at full value. As originally introduced, 

 Senate Bill No. 446 would have doubled 

 the bonding limit of every taxing body 

 in the state. 



At various stages of the assembly 

 the association was charged, both in 

 the press and from the floor, of trading 

 support on various measures. These 

 charges were utterly false. The Illinois 

 Agricultural Association was party to 

 no traffic in bills. It supported or op- 

 posed legislation strictly on the individ- 

 ual merits or demerits of pending bills. 

 Terrific Pressure 



Members from down-state were often 

 subjected to terrific political pressure 

 to influence their action on various 

 measures. Senators and representa- 

 tives who stood up under that pressure 

 and voted in the interest of Agricul- 

 tural and down state communities de- 

 serve the profound gratitude and ar- 

 dent support of down-state voters who 

 are interested in the future • - 



welfare of agriculture and 

 rural development. 



Many bills 'were passed, 

 some were defeated and oth- 

 ers were amended, due to ac- 

 tivities of agricultural repre- 

 sentatives. The Illinois 

 Agricultural Association was 

 never more potent as a legis- 

 lative influence than now. 

 The complete story of agri- 

 cultural participation in the 

 Fifty-fifth General Assembly, 



i 



Earl C. Smith A. C. Everincham Frank D. Barton 



I. A. A.'S LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. 



together with roll calls on important 

 controversial measures, will be pre- 

 sented in a special legislative edition of 

 the Record to be published Aug. 15. 



Truth About Gas Tax 



The position of the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association in favor of the proper 

 sort of a gas tax has long been known. 

 That a strenuous effort would be made 

 to establish a gasoline tax at the ses- 

 sion just closed early became apparent. 

 To that end a bill was introduced pro- 

 viding for a gas tax of two cents per 

 gallon, devoted entirely to the comple- 

 tion of the bond issue system. 



This bill never received any support 

 from the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion. It failed to recog^nize a secondary 

 system of roads. It left more than 

 seventy-five per cent of the farmers 

 and down state communities wallowing 

 in the mud, though they had supported 





The complete summary of the Illinois Ag^ricultural 

 Association's legislative policy and the story of each 

 measure of interest to agriculture will be related in 

 detail in the August issue of the RECORD. Per- 

 sonalities involved in the struggle to secure agrri- 

 cultural legislation and the part they played in the 

 passage and defeat of good and obnoxious measures 

 will be presented without bias. Members will be 

 fully informed of the voting records and efforts in 

 behalf of farm legfislation so ^hey may vote intel- 

 ligently in coming elections. i , 



he development of the trunk 

 line system and had continu- 

 ously contributed to its con- 

 struction. 



In face of certain defeat, 

 l[his bill was stricken from 

 the calendar in the Senate and 

 the Senate bill was dead. At 

 the time of the introduction of 

 the Senate bill an identical bill 

 was introduced in the House 

 which was still pending. .^ ■; 



I. A. A. Amendments Adopted 



The Illinois Agricultural 

 Association presented certain amend- 

 ments to that bill to the House Com- 

 mittee on Roads and Bridges, which 

 were adopted and the bill as amended 

 by the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 was voted out of the committee with 

 recommendation "that it do pass." 



All partisan and political lines were 

 ignored in the fight that ensued on this 

 bill, the issue being between the down- 

 state more rural representatives who 

 supported the bill while almost to a 

 man those representing the largfe cities 

 of the state put forth every effort for 

 its defeat. 



It was the opinion of John C. Wat- 

 son, Tax Director of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association, based on the 

 figures of the highway engineer, which 

 he believed to be substantially correct, 

 that, without a gas tax or some ad-^; 

 ditional revenue, the bond issue system 

 could pot have been completed with- 

 in a reasonable time. Most 

 of the roads, the completion 

 of which would have been 

 long delayed, serve down 

 state rural and uzimn com- 

 munities. 



How Bill Operates 



What does this amended 

 bill do? I !_• 



1. It levies a tax of two 

 cents per gallon on all gaso- 

 line used in motor vehicles on 

 the highways in Illinois. 



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