•J 



A^ 



•A', 



J 



•V 



r 





IV - 



^r^:^^j5 The c.^^ 



Illinois A^ctdtural Associ;|tioii 



RECORD 



PublUbed ****«*>''r by the IIUdoIj Agricultural Association at 404 North Wesley Are., Mcunt Morris. 111. Entered as second clasi matter at post-oCoe at Mount Morris. UL, 

 October M, lftS5, under the Act of Mar. 3, 1879. Acceptance for malllnf at special rate of posuge provided in Section 412, Act of February 28, 1925, authorlied October 27. 19K. 



Volume 6 



JUNE, 1928 



Number 6 



THE CORN BELT SPEAKS 



Mass Meetings Express Indignation at President's 

 Veto and Coolidge-Hoover Negative Farm Policy 



ILLINOIS, Iowa and other corn belt 

 states gave emphasis to the west- 

 ern revolt against the administration's 

 negative farm policy following Presi- 

 dent Coolidge's second veto message, 

 in a series of great mass meetings 

 held during the past three weeks. 



Simultaneous assemblies at Spring- 

 field and Galesburg on Saturday, May 

 26, voiced the pent-up wrath of a 

 long-suffering, patient Middle West 

 populace at the rank injustice of an 

 administration which will go down in 

 history as one controlled and motivated 

 by the narrow sectionalism of selfish 

 and industrial class interest. 



Thousands of farmers, bankers, mer- 

 chants, and business men met to de- 

 nounce the open opposition of those 

 in control of the government, to equal- 

 ity for agrriculture and a square deal to 

 the West. 



All Central Illinois turned out more 

 than 3,000 strong in the Springfield 

 arsenal where the aged Joseph W. 

 Fif er of Bloomingrton, former governor 

 of Illinois and civil war veteran who 

 saw the birth of the Republican Party 

 in the Middle West, made a ringing key- 

 note speech denouncing the action of 

 President Coolidge in twice refusing 

 western agriculture a seat at the table 

 of privilege. Col. Geo C. Seamon, ex- 

 tensive landowner in Christian county, 

 was the chairman of the meeting. 



The meeting was not a farmers' 

 meeting alone. Such bankers and 

 business men as E. E. Crabtree, mayor 

 of Jacksonville, and Andrew Russel 

 from the same city espoused the cause 

 of agriculture in vigorous language. 

 John P. Stout, farmer, of Chatham 

 forcefully expressed the resentment of 

 corn belt farmers at the President's 

 harsh and unsympathetic treatment of 

 legislation painstakingly prepared dur- 

 ing a five-year eflfort to make the 

 tariff effective on the major farm pro- 

 ducts. 



A touch of color was added to the 



■ 1 



scene when a banner carrying the slo- 

 gan "We Want A Statesman for Presi- 

 dent," was hoisted in the crowd while 

 Bill Gardner of Logan county sang 

 "Who'll Carry The Banner." Other 

 banners carried the words, "Goodbye 

 Cal and Herby, Hello Frank." 



Here Are The Resolutiona 



The resolutions adopted before the 

 close of the session set forth in un- 

 equivocal terms that "the President's 

 veto message of the McNary-Haugen 



KEYNOTER AT SPRINGFIELD 



PX-GOV. JOS. W. FIFER is known by hia 

 •'-' friends as "Private Joe." Born in Virginia 

 in 1840, he will celebrate his 88th birthday 

 in October. Mr. Fifer came to McLean county 

 in 1857, where his father started farming, 

 and plied his trade as bricklayer. 



Mr. Fifer is a Civil War veteran and saw 

 service with the 33rd Illinois Volunteer In- 

 fantry at the fall of Vicksburg. He was 

 wounded in action at Jackson, Miss., when 

 Sherman's forces assaulted the forces of 

 General Johnston. 



He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan Uni- 

 versity in 1868, was admitted to the bar, 

 elected to the State Senate in 1880, and later 

 was elected governor of Illinois. 



I. bill discloses a lack of understanding 

 and genuine sympathy of the funda- 

 mental problem facing American ag- 

 riculture, by the President and his ad- 

 visers : 



"That the principles of this IcKislation 

 are well within the limitations set forth in 

 the Republican party's platform of 1924 

 upon which the administration came into 

 power : 



"That we, the thousands of citizens rep- 

 resentinK the unalterable sentiment of Cen- 

 tral Illinois in mass meeting assembled and 

 resardless of party feel we no lonjter can 

 depend upon party pledges ; and we serve 

 notice here and now upon the respective 

 leaders of all parties that our support will 

 BO only to those candidates for President 

 of the United States who have a sympa- 

 thetic understanding of this great question 

 and who have the initiative and courage to 

 eee that the benefits of governmental poli- 

 cies are extended to all economic groups 

 of the United States on an equal basis: 



Nothing But- Mockery 



"That the action of President Coolidge in 

 vetoing the McNary-Haugen bill, after 

 the Congress had done its utmost to fairly 

 meet his expressed views without destroy- 

 ing the principle of the bill by removing 

 the equalization fee, constitutes the final 

 proof that a pledge for a square deal for 

 agriculture is but mockery, unless it be 

 administered by a President who under- 

 stands and at heart desires a fair solution 

 of the agricultural problem ; 



"That the developments since 1924 have 

 proven: (1) That members of Congress of 

 all political parties from all agricultural 

 districts are standing firmly and courage- 

 ously with the farmers in their fight for 

 equality for agriculture. (2) That party 

 lines have disappeared in this fight. (S) 

 That all the efforts that the executive 

 branch of the government has made to re- 

 • deem the party's pledge to agriculture have 

 been trivial, insincere, and not intended to 

 bring about agricultural equality. ( 4 ) That 

 Herbert Hoover, who is spokesman for the 

 exporter and professional trader in farm 

 crops, many of whom are his closest ad- 

 visers oni agricultural questions, has been 

 the guiding influence with President Cool- 

 idge in his attitude toward our problem. 

 (5) That hope for the adoption of a fair 

 national policy toward agriculture lies only 

 in the complete repudiation of the Coolidge- 

 Hoover leadership. 



Hoover Acainst Farmers 



"That in view of Mr. Hoover's well-known 

 record against the interests of the farmers 

 of the country and the intensely organized 

 campaign, which he and the special interests 

 back of him are making to secure for him 

 the Republican nomination, we call upon all 

 delegates to the Republican National Con- 

 vention t» work to the end for the nomina- 

 tion of a man who is known to have a prac- 

 tical and sympathetic understanding of the 

 farm problem and who has the initiative, 

 ability, and courage to tee that this prob- 



Mmm 



