

Farm Bureau Disclaims 



Support of "Bogus" Bill 



Washington Representative Says Eastern 

 Papers Credited Farm But^eau with 

 Ownership 



ON Sunday, August 7, there was 

 published in the New York Times 

 a definite text of a proposed farm re- 

 lief bill according to Chester H. Gray, 

 Washington representative of the 

 American Farm Bureau Federation. 

 The authority, at the time of printing 

 this bill, seems to have come from 

 Rapid City, S. D., but whether it was 

 released for publication by an admin- 

 istration leader or by other persons, 

 no one has been able to ascertain. The 

 New York Journal of commerce and 

 other papers desigrnate the bill as a 

 .:'} Farm Bureau measure. Other press 

 :■ comments express doubt about its be- 



• ., ing an administration bill and describe 

 r it as being a "bogus" bill. 



This measure could not reasonably 

 be called a Farm Bureau project for 

 several reasons, some of the most im- 

 ^ portant being : 



1 — It contains provisions for amor- 



: tized loans to cooperative organiza- 



. tions which are so sketchy and inade- 



. quate as to be hardly comparable to 



the so-called Neely amendment on the 



• same subject which was incorporated 

 in the McNary bill as it passed the 



: Senate last session. 



: • 2 — It provides for the payment of 

 losses in disposition of surpluses di- 



'' rectly from the revolving fund which 

 violates the well known and long es- 



; tablished Farm Bureau principle 

 against subsidizing any group in our 



: . government, even agfriculture itself. 

 3 — It places the whole burden of 



~'. solving the surplus question upon co- 



: operative enterprises so that the load 



j; on the membership in such co-oper- 

 ative enterprises would be destructive 



; rather than helpf ui according to our 

 past proof in testifying upon farm re- 



.'. lief subjects. 



4 — It fails to recognize the funda- 

 mental principle established in the 

 FarmBuraau heretofore, that the com- 

 modity being served should pay its 



..'; price for the benefits of such service, 



• and should not fall back upon the 

 Treasury of the United States in case 

 of losses. 



5 — It comes more dangerously near 

 ^•^ the point of putting Uncle Sam into 

 • . the business of merchandising farm 

 'crops than has ever been advocated by 

 .,■ the American Farm Bureau Federa- 

 V tion, because of the fact that if the 

 Treasury must pay the loss, manifest- 

 ly the activity of the federal govern- 

 ment in the business of disposing of 

 : surpluses will be much more intimate 



• than otherwise would be the case. 



"The Washington offices of the 

 American Farm Bureau Federation 

 will continue on farm relief as on all 

 " other legislative projects, exactly in 

 keeping with the policies of our mem- 

 bership, expressed in annual resolu- 

 tions and in recommendations of the 

 •; Board of Directors," declared Gray in 

 ■ commenting on the proposed measure. 



FARM BUREAU 



DAY VISITOR 



rarm Values Drop 

 I During 1926-1927 



Herman W. Danforth, first president of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association and 

 one of its founders, was a visitor at FARM 

 BUREAU HEADQUARTERS during the 

 State Fair. Mr. Danforth served as pres- 

 ident of the Tazewell County Farm Bu- 

 reau for seven years. He has extensive 

 landholdings in Iroquois county, and 

 for five years was president of the Federal 

 Land Bank of St. Louis. Mr. Danforth 

 is in business in St. Louis but he still 

 calls Washington, 111., in Tazewell 

 county, his home. 



Knox Pioneers in f 



Trucking Service 



WHEN the Gilson Livestock Ship- 

 ping Association of Knox county 

 faced possible extinction because of 

 the growth of direct-by-truck-to-mar- 

 ket business in that vicinity, the As- 

 sociation purchased its own truck and 

 started a similar service for its mem- 

 bers. The Association truck picks up 

 livestock at the, farm for carload ship- 

 ment, or trucks direct to the Peoria 

 Producers if the owner of the live- 

 stock so wishes. 



The Association charges five cents 

 per hundred weight for the first three 

 miles, and one cent per hundred for 

 each additional mile. Two trucks are 

 maintained by the Association. One 

 is driven by the manager, Leo Rich- 

 ardson, and the other by his assistant, 

 Curtis McCoy. 



Livestock men find it very conven- 

 ient to have their stock picked up at 

 the farm and because of this new serv- 

 ice the Gilson Association not only 

 has maintained its business but has 

 actually increased it. 



Plenty of Farms for Sale with Buyers 

 I Few and Cautious j . I, 



Ir^ARM real estate values declined 

 iT sharply during the crop year just 

 fended, being placed at 119 per cent of 

 ihe pre-war level, against 124 in 1926, 

 in the Department of Agriculture's 

 inew index of farm real estate values. 

 The decline is part of a continued de- 

 preciation during the past seven years 

 from the peak of 169 per cent of pre- 

 Iwar in 1920. Present values are at 



Ebout the 1917 level. 

 The decline during the past year 

 iras inot to be wholly unexpected, says 

 he department, on account of the 

 Ipiarked decrease during the year in 

 the price of certain of our major farm 

 products, the sharp drop in farmers' 

 Incomes, and a generally inactive farm 

 real estate market. There are plenty 

 of farms for sale, with buyers few 

 and I cautious. In a, number of areas 

 there are still many foreclosed and 

 other distress farms hanging over the 

 market to keep values down; 



I Largest Drop in South 1: 



The largest decline last year was in 

 the South Atlantic States for which 

 the departhient's index is 137 com- 

 pared with 148 in 1926. The index 

 'for the East North Central States is 

 placed at 103 against 110 in 1926; 

 West North Central States 115 against 

 121; East South Central States 133 

 against 139; West South Central 139 

 against 144; Middle Atlantic States 

 111 against 113; Mountain States 101 

 against 103; New England 127 agfainst 

 128, and Pacific States 143 against 

 144. 



The greatest depreciation in values 

 since the 1920 peak has occurred in 

 the jWest North Central States where 

 the index is now 115 per cent of pre- 

 war against 184 per cent in 1920. The 

 East South Central group runs a close 

 second with a decline from 199 in 

 1920 to 133 at present; followed by 

 the South Atlantic States, the index 

 for which was 198 in 1920 against 137 

 now; East North Central 159 in 1920 

 against 103 for 1927; Mountain States 

 151; against 101; West South Central 

 177| against 139; Middle Atlar^tic 136 

 agatnst 111; New England 140 against 

 127, and Pacific 156 against 143. 

 Values for the United States as a 

 whole have gone down 50 points, from 

 169 in 1920 to 119 for 1927. 



i. 



.f. 



kus Gillard, a well-known clown, 

 was the principal attraction at the 



Stark County Farm Bureau picnic. 

 "We can recommend a good clown 

 like Gus for any picnic," said Farm 

 Advisor E. E. Brown. "He was the 

 best attraction we've ever had." j ; 



The Gilson Association is Producer 

 perfect. Everything it handles goes 

 to the Chicago or Peoria Producer 

 Commission Associations. 



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