Tag^ 



e Fourteen 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Mussolini After 



! Absentee Landlords 



Turns Estates Over To Administra- 

 j I tors To Increase Farm 

 I I Production 



HOW Mtissolini, Italy's dictator, is in- 

 creasing the productive efficiency of 

 Italian farm lands is revealed in the current 

 issue of "The Countryman" in an article 

 entitled "Mussojini's Short Way with Erring 

 Landlords." 



The decree issued by the Prefect of Rome 

 which resulted in turning over the Menotti 

 property, an extensive farm tract valued 

 at more than a million dollars, to an ad- 

 minbtrator, is presented herewith: 



"Whereas Dr. Mario Menotti is owner of 

 an estate situated in the territory of the 

 Commune of Fiano Romano, covering an 

 area of approximately 2,467 hectares 

 (roughly 6,000 acres), consisting of 52 lots 

 of 14r>d, eight woods, and three large farms, 

 with three farm houses, of which one is in 

 ruins; 



"Whereas, for the past six years the 

 owner. Dr. Menotti, has gone abroad, con- 

 stantly travelling in different distant coun- 

 tries, so that for long periods it his not 

 been possible to get in touch with him; 



"Whereas, it has been definitely ascer- 

 tained by enquiries on the spot that it is 

 solely due to the neglect and indifference 

 of the owner, consequent on his continued 

 absence and lack of interest, that the estate 

 has fallen into a most shocking state of 

 neglect, left to the tender mercies of a 

 muddlesome administration, and yielding no 

 appreciable returns from the agricultural 

 standpoint, while the agricultural workers 

 of the district are driven, by lack of ade- 

 quate lands available for cultivation, to a 

 permanent state of agitation, constantly en- 

 dangering the social peace of that small 

 locality; 



"Whereas, this normal state of affairs, 

 evidently injurious to the private interests 

 of the owner, and still more so to the pub- 

 lic interest, is anti-economic, anti-social, 

 anachronistic, in entire contradiction with 

 the vast, renewing and vivifying activities 

 which the Fascist Government firmly de- 

 sires and pursues in the interests of the in- 

 dividual and still more in those of the pub- 

 lic and of the nation, with a view to ensur- 

 ing more profitable return and larger yields 

 from agriculture, and is moreover, in strik- 

 ing contrast with the duties implied by the 

 wise legislation on agricultural land re- 

 clamation, which make it a civic duty to 

 reclaim inch by inch the national soil so 

 as to secure more scientific and profitable 

 farming; 



"Whereas, faced by such a deplorable 

 state of affairs, the political authorities can- 

 not look on passively at the impoverish- 

 ment of a large and important estate, which 

 could, under wise management, earn a very 

 big income for its owner, and which cannot 

 therefore be a matter of indifference to the 



economic life of the community with 

 which it is connected; 



"Whereas, the right of property cannot 

 consist in the jus abutendi which would 

 make it lawful for an owner to exercise his 

 rights to the length of destroying the 

 property owned, for on the contrary the 

 essence of property rights is essentially so- 

 cial in its nature, as its purpose is to harmo- 

 nize and conciliate the rights of the in- 

 dividual with those of the collectivity; 



"Whereas, it is also in the interests of 

 public order that the anomolous situation 

 resulting from the state of affairs as above 

 set forth should not and must not be 

 further tolerated; 



"Whereas it therefore becomes urgently 

 necessary to take steps to save the estate 

 belonging to Dr. Menotti from the state 

 of complete neglect in which it is now left 

 and to restore it to a condition of adequate 

 productivity; 



"Therefore in accordance with article 7 

 of the Act of 186 J, on administrative liti- 

 gation, and of article 3 of the Communal 

 and Provincial Act sanctioned by Royal 

 Decree of 19H, we hereby decree that the 

 Hon. Orsolini Cencelli shall act as adminis- 

 trator of the estate in lieu and place of the 

 delinquent owner." ''•'.■■ ..'•■..''.■.■. 



An Old Law 



The law authorizing this action was more 

 than 20 years old, but no government be- 

 fore Mussolini's was strong enough nor suf- 

 ficiently independent to enforce it. Es- 

 tates in Sicily and Rovigo have been simi- 

 larly treated. 



The present government has proclaimed 

 in the Labour Charter that property im- 

 plies duties, and that if owners do not make 

 good use of their landed possessions, so that 

 these possessions shall play their part in 

 promoting national prosperity, the State 

 will intervene. 



Mussolini is anxious to increase domestic 

 production of farm products, whereas in 

 the United States our problem for the mo- 

 ment is to decrease production. 



lo . 



$250 Song Prizes 



A WORLD-WIDE contest to obtain the 

 three best songs, including words and 

 music, suitable for use in Farm Bureau 

 meetings is announced by the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation. -; '■■,' 



The first prize-winning song will be 

 awarded $150 in cash, the second $75, and 

 the third $25. 



Songs must be appropriate, words and 

 music must be entirely original, and it is 

 suggested that songs be tuneful, simple, 

 catchy, easily followed in community sing- 

 ing, and readily adaptable for orchestration. 



Two or more persons may collaborate in 

 writing a song. 



The contest closes on July 15, 1930. 

 Songs must be typewritten or in ink, writ- 

 ten on one side of the paper. Send them 



to Mrs. Charles W. Sewell, American Farm 

 Bureau Federation, 58 E. Washington St., 

 Chicago. Only manuscripts accompanied 

 by sufficient postage will be returned. 



Talk At University 



Sec'y. Geo. E. Metzger, A. D. Lynch, 

 and Frank Gougler, dairy and produce mar- 

 keting directors recently addressed classes in 

 agricultural economics and marketing at 

 the University of Illinois, Urbana. .'• ' 



President Earl C. Smith was scheduled to 

 talk to faculty members of the College of 

 Agriculture on Apr. 11. -"I;..-' • 



More Oil Companies 



Twenty-nine county and district co- 

 operative oil companies now hold member- 

 ship or have applied for membership in the 

 Illinois Farm Supply Company. All of the 

 new applicants expect to be operating 

 within the next 60 days. 



In view of present developments a total 

 of at least 37 county and district com- 

 panies affiliated with the state company is 

 likely by the end of the year. 



Grain Marketing ■ . ■• 



(Continued from page 13JI ' .'.•r. 

 THE "AGREEMENT" plan operating 

 from the local elevator to the Illinois Grain 

 Corporation will give all producers an op- 

 portunity as one man to meet the purchaser 

 of his grain. Concentrate! Concentrate! 



AFTER ALL, in this grain marketing, 

 no elevator can be made to sign an agree- 

 ment against its will. When it does enter 

 an agreement, however, it wants to be sure 

 that the elevator "down the track" or over 

 in the next county is going to live up to 

 the rules. That is good business. 



A MAN MAY NOT be required to join 

 the army against his will. After he has 

 become a part of the army, however, lie 

 cannot voluntarily withdraw. He must 

 give his best for the. good of all. He has 

 confidence in his pals but he has greater 

 confidence in Uncle Sam, for whom he 

 signed the agreement. 



WHEN THE FARMERS National Grain 

 Corporation sets up with equipment and 

 personnel to handle a large volume of grain, 

 it wants to know that that volume is com- 

 ing in, otherwise you have a high overhead 

 and limited volume. ' 



HO! HUM! This voluntary system has 

 been in operation a long time, and under it 

 there are thousands of corn-belt farmers 

 who, during the last few months, have been 

 marketing corn "at sixty cents per bushel" 

 against their will. 



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