V ■ ■* 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



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Paqe Seven 



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Struct. Unless the secondary roads 

 are improved so as to give easier 

 access to the hard road system, it will 

 continue to be impossible as at present 

 for large numbers of farmers to use 

 the hard roads at certain seasons of 

 the year. 



4. Gasoline Tax 

 For the reasons stated, we favor the 

 enactment of a tax on gasoline, pro- 

 vided that such part of the proceeds 

 as is necessary for the completion, 

 within a reasonable time, of the State 

 bond issue system of hard roads shall 

 be used for this purpose, and provided 

 that the remainder of the proceeds 

 shall be used for the improvement of 

 the secondary or State-Aid road sys- 

 tem of the counties under the super- 

 vision of the State Division of High- 

 ways. Provided, further, that in the 

 improvement of the State-Aid roads — 



a. The distribution of the funds to 

 be used in the counties shall be 

 made on the basis of the motor 

 license fees. 



b. The State-Aid roads to be im- 

 proved shall be selected by the 

 County Boards on the basis of 

 traffic needs. 



c. The type of improvement shall 

 be gravel, unless a county board 

 shall request and the State Di- 

 vision of Highways shall approve 

 a more permanent type of con- 

 struction. 



5. Limitation of the County Highway 

 Tax Rate 



When the so-called Chicago Bond- 

 ing Bills were before the General 

 Assembly in June 1927, their advo- 

 cates sought down state support on 

 the promise that, coincident with the 

 doubling of the basis of valuations, all 

 tax rates would be cut to one-half of 

 the statutory limitations at that time. 

 After the adjournment of the General 

 Assembly it was found that the clause 

 specifically including the county high- 

 way tax in the reduction of rates had 

 been stricken out, leaving the consti- 

 tutional restriction on county taxes as 

 the only limitation on the county high- 

 way tax rate. The failure to limit the 

 county highway tax rate made it pos- 

 sible for any county board, if it so 

 desired, to quadruple its levy of taxes 

 for county highway purposes. Because 

 of the, increased power thus given 

 them, many county boards have greatly 

 increased their levy for this purpose. 



For the reasons stated, we ask the 

 General Assembly, including the sup- 

 porters of the Chicago Bonding Bills, 

 to carry out their promise, so amend- 

 ing the Act providing for a county 

 highway tax that the maximum tax 

 rate which can be imposed for this 

 purpose, without a referendum vote, 

 will be limited to twelve and one-half 

 cents (12 %c) on each one hundred 

 dollars of assessed valuations instead 

 of fifty cents (50c), as now permitted. 



IV 



AMENDMENT OF COOPERATIVE 



MARKETING ACT OF 1923 



It appears from the experience of 

 many Cooperative Marketing Associa- 



tions, which have been organized un- 

 der the provisions of the Cooperative 

 Marketing Act of 1923, that certain 

 amendments can be made to this Act 

 that would further increase the use- 

 fulness of such organizations and 

 make their operations more consistent 

 with sound business practice and also 

 clarify the apparent intent of the 

 Legislature as to certain provisions. 



For this purpose we ask the Gen- 

 eral Assembly to amend the Coopera- 

 tive Marketing Act of 1923 so that 

 the phraseology of certain provisions 

 may be clarified, and sound business 

 practices may be obtained, thereby in- 

 creasing the efficiency and service of 

 cooperative associations organized 

 thereunder. 



V ■ 



COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES 



(a) — We recognize that if the 

 Farm Bureau movement of Illinois is 

 to increase and maintain its rightful 

 influence on the public and political 

 conscience, all efforts of the County 

 Farm Bureaus and the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association in the County and 

 State should be so mutually under- 

 stood and co-ordinated as to make our 

 programs most effective. 



We, therefore, recommend that the 

 State organization in no case interest 

 itself in any county affairs, ^except by 

 and with the consent and approval of 

 the County Farm Bureau of said 

 County; also, where matters of public 

 interest are statewide, that the County 

 Farm Bureaus function only through 

 and with their State organization. 



(b) We approve of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association's efforts to 

 enlarge and extend cooperative mar- 

 keting activities. Recognizing that the 

 success of these efforts largely de- 

 pends upon the volume of interest 

 taken therein by the producers of the 

 various commodities, we urge our 

 membership to cooperate in every par- 

 ticular in the development of these 

 efforts that the benefits to be derived 

 therefrom may be enjoyed to the 

 fullest extent. 



(c) We believe that the various 

 cooperative service organizations spon- 

 sored by the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation provide some of the best means 

 by which the Farm Bureau members 

 may acquire the benefits of their or- 

 ganization. 



We, therefore, recommend the con- 

 tinued and increasing use of these 

 facilities by our members. 



(d) We express our appreciation 

 of the cooperation given this Associ- 

 ation by many state-wide organiza- 

 tions, in striving for the solution of 

 certain civic problems and particularly 

 the problems of taxation, and urge a 

 continuation of that policy. 



VI 

 PURE MILK ASSOCIATION 



The marketing of whole milk in 

 the Chicago milk district has for some 

 years constituted a most important 

 and serious problem confronting 

 dairymen of Illinois and adjoining 

 states. 



The Pure Milk Association was or- 

 ganized in Illinois largely through the 

 efforts of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation and the County Farm Bu- 

 reaus, as an agency for the solution 

 of this problem. 



We reafl^rm the position repeatedly 

 expressed relative to the necessity of 

 applying the principle of collective 

 bargaining in the disposal of farm 

 commodities. In line with that policy, 

 we congratulate the Pure Milk Asso- 

 ciation upon their spirit of fairness 

 in submitting to arbitration the dis- 

 pute between dealers and producers in 

 the Chicago milk area and through 

 such action their progress toward the 

 attainment of a satisfactory price for 

 their j product. " j i i 



vn I 



RURAL ELECTRIFICATION I 



Schedules of electric rates charged 

 rural users over the state are of a 

 large variety. The terms and condi- 

 tions under which electric service is 

 extended in rural districts differ 

 widely. 



Obviously all these rates and prac- 

 tices cannot be just and equitable and 

 are not conducive to the encourage- 

 ment of the use of electricity on 

 farms. 



In view of this we request that the 

 Illinois Commerce Commission give 

 special consideration to the subject 

 of rural electrification, and in cooper»- 

 tion with all interested parties deter- 

 mine rates that shall be just and rea- 

 sonable and a basis for the extension 

 of rural gervice that is equitable and 

 fair. 



j VIII I 



I BOVINE INFECTIONS 



We urge the continuation of the 

 effort to eradicate the menace of 

 bovine tuberculosis with adequate 

 appropriation therefor to the end that 

 the curse be removed from our state 

 at the earliest possible date. 



We recommend a study of con- 

 tageous abortion and the adoption of 

 a program to prevent its further 

 spread. 



I GRAIN INSPECTION ! 



We insist upon such administration 

 of the grain inspection service, both 

 state and federal, as will secure to 

 the producers of grain in Illinois- a 

 fair grade on their product. | 



DESTRUCTION OF TAXABLE 

 VALUES BY MINING 



In behalf of farmers in taxing dis- 

 tricts in which taxable values in large 

 amounts are likely to be destroyed by 

 strip coal mining or other mining, we 

 ask the General Assembly to authorize 

 an investigation for the purpose of 

 recommending such legislation as will 

 prevent the destruction of taxable 

 values without adequate adjustment 

 of existing bonded or other indebted- 

 ness in any taxing districts so af- 

 fected. 



(Continued on page 10) 



