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THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Three 



Revenue Amendment Committee 

 Provided 



The final ict of the regular session of the 

 General Assembly on this subject was the 

 passage of an Act providing for the appoint- 

 ment of a special committee to consider and 

 to recommend a revenue amendment for con- 

 sideration at a future session of the General 

 Assembly, which is expected by many to be a 

 special session called for this purpose. 



This special committee is to consist of one 

 member of the Senate appointed by the Lieu- 

 tenant Governor, two members of the House 

 appointed by the Speaker, and three citizens of 

 the State appointed by the Governor. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association in its 

 annual convention has repeatedly declared in 

 favor of revision of the revenue article of the 

 State Constitution. It reiterated its position 

 relative thereto at the annual meeting in Dan- 

 ville on January 31, 1929, but cannot support 

 an amendment which by its very terms would 

 impose new and insurmountable restrictions on 

 the power of the General Assembly to set up a 

 fair taxing system. Rather than support an 

 amendment of this character, the Association 

 favors using some of the untried and unre- 

 stricted powers granted the General Assembly 

 by the present constitution. 



THE GASOLINE TAX 



Both in his inaugural address and in his 

 message to the General Assembly, Governor 

 Emmerson asked for the enactment of a tax 

 of three cents per gallon on gasoline. For this 

 reason the Association felt that it should not 

 introduce any bill of its own, but should wait 

 to see if it could not support the administra- 

 tion bill. On February 5, identical bills em- 

 bodying the provisions desired by the adminis- 

 tration were introduced into both Houses of 

 the General Assembly. 



The bills provided for certain deductions for 

 expenses and for refunds of taxes to purchasers 

 of gasoline not used on the public highways, 

 and for distribution of the remaining proceeds 

 in the following proportions: two-thirds to the 

 State for completion of the State bond issue 

 system of hard roads, for grade separation and 

 for the widening of roads in congested areas; 

 one-third among the counties on the basis of 

 their proportion of the total motor license fees 

 in the State, to be used for the benefit of the 

 secondary or State Aid Roads or for payment 

 of bonds issued for this purpose. 



Except in its distribution of the proceeds of 

 a gasoline tax in the proportion of two-thirds 

 to the State instead of an equal division be- 

 tween the State and the counties, as favored 

 by the Association, and except in some pro- 

 visions relating to the type of improvement of 

 State Aid Roads, the administration bill was 

 in accord with the resolution adopted at Dan- 

 ville less than one week before. Representatives 

 of the Association appeared before Committees 

 of both Houses and clearly stated the position 

 of the Association. They did not press for 

 amendments because they realized that they 

 could not do so without endangering the pas- 

 sage of any gasoline tax bill. The administra- 

 tion bill passed both Houses and was approved 

 March 2 J. 



TUBEBCULOSIS EBADICATION 



culosis Act of 1925 and other acts, under 

 which the so-called county area plan of bovine 

 tuberculosis eradication has been administered. 

 In lieu of the county area plan, the new act 

 establishes the state area plan under which the 

 state as a whole is to be the unit. It is pro- 

 vided, however, that any counties desiring to 

 adopt the county area plan, as defined in the 

 act, may, by and with the consent of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture, employ a county 

 veterinarian and such assistants as are desirable 

 for the control and eradication of bovine 

 tuberculosis. The veteriiurian so employed 

 shall be approved by the Department of Agri- 

 culture and shall work under the direction of 

 and in conjunction with the Department. 



The provisions of the new Act relating to the 

 destruction of cattle found to be affected with 

 tuberculosis, to branding and tagging of such 

 cattle, to quarantine upon order of the De- 

 partment, to appraisal of the value of diseased 

 cattle and compensation for their destruction, 

 to the establishment of rules by the Depart- 

 ment for determining and certifying tuber- 

 culosis free herds, to the shipment of cattle 

 into or out of the state, and to the 60-day 

 retest are similar to the provisions of the act 

 under which the county area plan was admin- 

 istered. 



The new act for the first time provides for 

 compulsory state-wide testing of cattle upon 

 request of the Department of Agriculture and 

 that any common carrier that delivers cattle 

 from any other state to any resident of this 

 state shall give the Department notice thereof 

 within 24 hours. 



Representatives of the Association favored 

 this bill as the only method whereby the bene- 

 fits of the county area plan could be extended 

 to the less financially able counties of the 

 state, and whereby tuberculosis eradication in 

 the State as a whole could speedily be com- 

 pleted. Under any other plan centers of in- 

 fection would remain in many counties, espe- 

 cially in Southern Illinois, with continued 

 danger of infection in people, heavy loss to the 

 owners of infected cattle, and heavy expense 

 to the state. Under the state area plan, the 

 expense of maintenance of a tuberculosis free 

 state should soon be greatly reduced and the 

 cost of indemnities should almost disappear. 



The representatives of the Association se- 

 cured the modification of the provision in the 

 bill which required any person desiring to pur- 

 chase cattle for shipment into the state to have 

 the consent of the department of agriculture 

 before such shipment was made. Since this 

 requirement was only for the purpose of giving 

 the department notice of the shipment, it was 

 modified by requiring any railroad or other 

 common carrier to give the department notice 

 of its delivery of cattle to any person within 

 the state. Persons desiring to purchase feeder 

 cattle from outside the state can now make 

 such purchases without the annoyance of con- 

 sent from or even notice to the department. 



such consideration as they may determine, and 

 may establish and accumulate a reserve out of 

 earnings, including a permanent surplus. The 

 amendments also provide that any corporation 

 organized under the laws of this state and 

 doing business as a cooperative association may 

 derive the benefits of this act by securing the 

 written consent of two-thirds of the stock- 

 holders of such corporation. 



This bill was prepared and sponsored by the 

 Association for the specific purposes, first, of 

 providing a more suitable Act for incorpora- 

 tion of the Association, the Farm Bureaus, and 

 any other agricultural cooperative associations; 

 second, of making it possible for the directors 

 of any corporation organized under this act to 

 set up, out of earnings, a reserve and a per- 

 manent surplus; and third, of making it pos- 

 sible for any corporation organized under the 

 laws of this state and doing business as a co- 

 operative association to reincoijwrate under this 

 Act upon written consent thereto by two-thirds 

 of its stockholders. 



AMEND COOPEBATIVE ACT 



House Bill 517, sponsored by the State De- 

 partment of Agriculture, and introduced by 

 Representative Tice, repeals the Bovine Tuber- 



Senate Bill 223, introduced by Senator Cuth- 

 bertson, amends the title .of the cooperative 

 marketing act of 1923 and certain sections 

 therein by providing that any association en- 

 gaged in any activity connected with the pro- 

 duction of agricultural products may incorpo- 

 rate under this act. The amendments provide 

 that the directors of any corporation under this 

 act have power to sell no par value stock for 



AMEND MEMBEBSHIP ACT 



J 



House Bill 363, introduced by Represenutive 

 Robinson, provides that any corporation or- 

 ganized to promote agriculture under the Act 

 of 1872 may, when so authorized by its mem- 

 bership, acquire securities of corporations whose 

 activities directly or indirectly promote »gn- 

 cultural interests. 



This bill also was prepared and sponsored 

 by the Illinois Agricultural Association for the 

 specific purpose of enabling agricultural asso- 

 ciations organized under this act to acquire 

 and own the stock of other corporations which 

 are organized primarily to promote and serve 

 agricultural interests. 



DOG LICENSE ACT 



In the last few years some administrative 

 difficulties have been found in the act provid- 

 ing for the licensing of dogs by counties and 

 for the payment, from the dog license fund, of 

 indemnities for domestic animab killed or in- 

 jured by dogs. With increase in the kinds of 

 domestic animals for losses of which indemni- 

 ties are paid, the dog license fund was found 

 inadequate in some counties. For this reason 

 the General Assembly in 1927 increased from 

 $2000 to $3000 the minimum amount which 

 must be in the dog license fund before any 

 excess over the minimum could be distributed 

 on September 30 to townships or road districts. 

 Even with this increase In the minimum, the 

 dog license fund was still inadequate in some 

 counties. 



It was found also that the dog license act 

 made it Impossible for a person living in one 

 county and having losses in another county to 

 recover indemnities therefor. 



In recent years there have been many losses 

 of domestic animals from rabies, which has 

 been prevalent in the sute. There can be no 

 doubt that either directly or indirectly the 

 Infection came from rabid dogs. There was 

 no specific provision in the dog license act for 

 the payment of indemnities for such losses. 



Most of the difficulties mentioned above were 

 corrected by the passage of House Bill 453, 

 introduced by Mr. Luckey of Vermilion 

 County, and sponsored in the senate by Senator 

 Paddock. This bill amended the dog license 

 act in three different sections: First, to prevent 

 depletion of the dog license fund, by changing 



