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Dlinois A^cultural Associatm 



ICECORD 



Published monthly by the Illinois Agricultural Association at 404 North Wesley Ave., Mount Morris, III. Kntered as second class matter at poet-offlce at Mount Morris, 111., 

 Oct. 20, 1929, under thd Act of Mar. 8, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special l.ite of l.osuge provided In Section 412, Act of Feb. 2S. 1925, authorized Oct. 27. 1925. 



Volume 6 



OCTOBER, 1928 



Number 10 



An Editorial 



ive a un- 

 of con- 

 he Asse- 

 ts leader- 

 ing the 

 political 

 ng pur- 



x_ 



FOR several years 

 the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Associa- 

 tion has put forth 

 every effort to develop 

 and secure from our 

 national government 

 recognition ,of a sound 

 permanent policy for 

 American agriculture. 



During recent 

 months the I. A. A. 

 Record has carried im- 

 partial information as 

 to the attitude and 

 commitments of major 

 political parties and 

 their candidates on this 

 great question. Be- 

 cause of the nature of 

 their development, 

 some issues of the 

 Record have been con- 

 fined largely by com- 

 mitments by one or the 

 other of these parties. 



Recognizing that 

 possibly some of our 

 members or friends 

 might not have fol- 

 lowed carefully all is- 

 sues of the Record, the Executive 

 Committee directed that this issue 

 again carry full and impartial infor- 

 mation as it has developed up to the 

 time of going to press. 



Here you will find the agricultural 

 planks in the Republican and Demo- 

 cratic party platforms adopted at Kan- 

 sas City and Houston, the references 

 to agriculture in the acceptance 

 speeches of Herbert C. Hoover and Al- 

 fred E. Smith, the Republican candi- 

 date's amplification of his original 

 statement, made at West Branch, Iowa, 

 and Elizabethton, Tenn., and the Dem- 

 ocratic candidate's further expressions 

 delivered at Omaha, Neb., and Chi- 

 cago, 111. 



We also again publish the official 

 statement adopted by the Association's 

 Executive Committee on legislative pol- 

 icy. 



If agriculture is to receive its share 

 of protection commensurate with that 



OUR POLICY 



HE primary interest and purpose of the Illinois Agrical- 

 ^ tural Association is to serve the true and permanent in- 

 terests of the farmers of Illinois. The policy of the Associa- 

 tion in ail political matters has always been and will continue 

 to be strictly non-partisan. — 



|\ We recognize that agricultural issues are economic rather 



than political/^ This was conclusively shown by the majority 

 vote of both parties in each house of the 69th and 70th Con- 

 gresses, by which the McNary-Haugen Bill was passed. It has 

 also been repeatedly revealed by the non-partisan vote support- 

 ing and passing such constructive agricultural legislation in our 

 state. 



^ National, state and district issues should be carefully con- 

 sidered on their relative merits and in no utray should they be- 

 come confused. 



K We seek to furnish full, fair and impartial information on 

 agricultural issues to our members and friends, also the records 

 and commitments on these issues of political parties, men in_ 

 office 



With this information in hand, 



agriculture are in a position to support candidates for office ivho 

 will best serve the economic interests of agriculture. We urge 

 our members at all times to support those candidates, regard- 

 less of party, who by their records or definite commitments 

 have proven their worthiness of this support. 



commitments on tnese issues or poiiticai parxies, men in 

 and those seeking positions of trust and responsibility./T 

 this information in hand, farmers and all true friends of 



accorded other groups in our economic 

 life, farmers must hold their economic 

 interests in the forefront. They must 

 consider the welfare of their industry 

 first. The only means we have of do- 

 ing this insofar as government is con- 

 cerned is through our votes. As an 

 industry we are contributing little or 

 nothing to campaign expenses of the 

 political parties. It is only natural 

 for those in office to be friendly and 

 partial to those individuals and inter- 

 ests which pay the campaign bills. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 is non-partisan. We do not attempt to 

 tell our members how to vote. Agri- 

 culture has its friends in all political 

 parties. It is our purpose to assist 

 farmers in recognizing their friends 

 and to urge their support of same. 

 While in nowise a political organiza- 

 tion, yet we are forced to recognize the 

 close relationship between politics and 

 the distribution of our national in- 



come. A large percent- 

 age of bills enacted 

 into law, either di- 

 rectly or indirectly, af- 

 fect the economic inter- 

 ests of agriculture. 

 The deep interest of 

 other organized groups 

 in legislation is proof 

 that there is wide- 

 spread recognition of 

 this fact. One of the 

 major purposes for 

 which the I. A. A. was 

 organized is to seek 

 and secure for agricul- 

 ture a square deal in 

 legrislation. 



When President 

 Coolidge vetoed the 

 Farm Surplus Control 

 Bill, passed by a bi- 

 partisan vote in the 

 70th Congress, the 

 agricultural question, 

 purely an economic one, 

 immediately was picked 

 up by the parties and 

 made a political issue. 

 Farm organizations up 

 to this time had kept it 

 out of politics. 



Thus we were faced with a new 

 problem. Should we abandon our ef- 

 forts in behalf of an adequate farm 

 measure, or seek to get an endorsement 

 of the farm program by the political 

 parties at their conventions? Organ- 

 ized agriculture followed the usual and 

 reg^ular way, namely to present its 

 cause before the Resolutions Commit- 

 tees at both the Republican and Demo- 

 cratic Conventions. Our purpose was 

 and has been to get both parties and 

 candidates committed to a definite pro- 

 gram for an adequate solution to the 

 farm problem in line with our well- 

 known position in favor of protective 

 tariffs, price stabilization, the right of 

 farmers through their organizations to 

 participate in devising the plan to be 

 applied for the improvement and wel- 

 fare of their industry, and specific leg- 

 islation for making the tariff effective 



