pane Ten 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Bloomington C. pf C. 



Condemns U. S. Chamber 



Recommends Marketing Act 

 Strengthened at Next Ses- 

 I sion of Congress 



Be 



A RESOLUTION condemning the 

 action of the U. S. Chamber of 

 Commerce at Washington against the 

 Federal Farm Board and the Marketing 

 Act was adopted at a meeting of the 

 Bloomington (III.) Chamber of Com- 

 merce directors on May 22. Carl Vroo- 

 man, former assistant secretary of agri- 

 culture, was active in drawing it up. 

 , The resolution follows: 

 ' WHEREAS, We realize that a pros- 

 perous agriculture is the only sound 

 foundation for a permanently prosper- 

 ous super-structure of finance, business 

 and industry, and 



WHEREAS, During the past year 

 the Hoover Administration has been 

 making a sincere, if not yet wholly 

 successful, effort to "help the farmer to 

 help himself," and 



WHEREAS, The leadership and 

 backing of the Federal Government is 

 a necessary factor in the long talked 

 of rehabilitation of agriculture, there- 

 fore be it 



RESOLVED, By the Association of 

 Commerce of Bloomington, Illinois, 

 that we completely dissociate ourselves 

 from the action of the United States 

 Chamber of Commerce at its recent an- 

 nual meeting in condemning the Presi- 

 dent's agriculc-urai policy without pro- 

 jjosing anything better to take its place, 

 and be it further 



RESOLVED, That the disagreement 

 between the Chamber of Commerce of 

 the United States and the Federal Farm 

 Board is not not only undesirable but 

 wholly unnecessary, inasmuch as a 

 policy of farm relief unquestionably can 

 be put into operation that will give the 

 farmer quicker and more real relief 

 than the present policy has been able 

 to do, while at the same time arousing 

 little or no opposition among intelli- 

 gent, fair-minded business men, and be 

 it further 



RESOLVED, That relying on Presi- 

 dent Hoover's well-known sincerity, 

 open-mindedness, courage and ability, 

 we desire to express our confidence in 

 the Federal Farm Board, but should the 

 Federal Farm Board and President Hoo- 

 ver later realize the inadequacy of the 

 present agricultural policy, we feel sure 

 thai he will be more than willing to co- 

 operate with agricultural economists 

 and Congressional leaders on the cru- 

 cially important task of so amending 

 the present law as to insure a square 

 deal for the farmers of America, and be 

 it further 



RESOLVED, That as the eflSciency 

 of the present law seems to have been 

 seriously impaired by the provision that 

 the Federal Farm Board can only func- 

 tion through co-operative associations 

 of farmers (of which very few have yet 

 been organized) that are competent to 

 economically and effectively carry out 

 the provisions of the law, it begins to 

 look as though the law instead of ac- 

 complishing its primary purpose, that 

 of securing "equality for agriculture," 

 has thus unwittingly deferred attain- 

 ment of actual results until such time 

 as the Federal Farm Board shall have 

 succeeded in the gigantic and neces- 

 sarily long drawn out task of changing 

 our national marketing system from a 

 competitive to a co-operative basis, 

 therefore be it further 



RESOLVED, That at the next ses- 

 sion of Congress the law should be so 

 amended as to empower the Federal 

 Farm Board to proceed promptly 

 through such efficient farmers' co-oper- 

 ative associations as are available, also 

 through regular business channels, and, 

 when efficiency cannot be achieved 

 through either of these agencies, by di- 

 rect action on its part. 



First, to put into operation a Crop 

 Storage policy that will tend to stabilize 

 fairly and equitably the price of farm 

 products in time of excess supply and 

 to lower prices for consumers in times 

 of scarcity. 



Second, to finance the merchandising 

 of our surplus crops in the markets of 

 the world on properly secured credit, 

 or on any other sound and business- 

 like basis, and 



Third, to make more effective the 

 Farm Board's present Crop Acreage 

 Limitation plan by organizing a Na- 

 tional Crop Acreage Limitation Drive 

 to carry out the long established recom- 

 mendation of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, as taught by 

 its extension workers, the county ad- 

 visors, that a certain percentage of each 

 farm be planted each year in Legumes 

 in order to curtail production and 

 maintain soil fertility. Such a drive 

 with the highest official leadership in 

 Washington supported by the highest 

 official backing in each state, and with 

 local public opinion harnessed and made 

 to function by means of Township 

 Acreage Limitation Committees in 

 every township in the United States 

 similar to the local Draft Boards and 

 Liberty Loan Committee that func- 

 tioned during the world war, unques- 

 tionably could be made very effective. 



Approved by the Agricultural Com- 

 mittee Association of Commerce, 

 Bloomington, Illinois. 

 Sam Elkins, farmer and ex-president McLean 



County Farm Bureau, Chairman. 



E. J. Carmody, farmer and vice-president State 

 Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co. 



G. C. Johnstone, farmer and president Illinois 

 Grain Corporation. 



P. N. Jones, farmer, retired. 



Carl Vrooman, farm owner and former assistant 

 Secretary of Agriculture, U. S. A. 



E. D. Funk, Sr., president Funk Brothers Seed 

 Co. 



W. G. Cole, farmer, retired. 



W. L. Rust, president McLean County B^nk. 



P. F. Thielen, secretary Farmers' Elevator Co- 

 operative Supply Co. 



Endorsed by the Bloomington Asso- 

 ciation of Commerce. 



H. K. Hoblit, President. 



F. D.. E. Babcock, Secretary. 



Farm Board Plans 



To Aid Apple Men 



THE Federal Farm Board will assist 

 apple growers in the development of 

 local and regional co-operative market- 

 ing associations looking toward the 

 handling of the commodity on a na- 

 tional basis according to a recent state- 

 ment. 



Immediate activities in connection 

 with the project to assist apple growers 

 are as follows: 



1. The Federal Farm Board will en- 

 courage and assist in the organization 

 and development of local and regional 

 associations in the apple-growing dis- 

 tricts of the Cumberland-Potomac- 

 Shenandoah area. Western New York 

 area, the New England states, the Mid- 

 Western states, and the Mountain states. 

 The Board will aid in strengthening 

 existing co-operatives and will help in 

 the organization of new ones. 



2. Local co-operatives will be encour- 

 aged to unify their marketing activities 

 and establish regional sales agencies 

 with the hope that eventually there 

 will be sufficient co-operative organiza- 

 tion of apple growers to warrant the 

 development of a national sales pro- 

 gram. 



A. B. Leeper, of the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association, is co-operating in the 

 development of the Farm Board plan. 

 The Western Illinois Apple Growers' 

 Association and the Illinois Fruit Grow- 

 ers' Exchange will probably be the re- 

 gional through which Illinois apple 

 growers will participate in the national 

 program. 



Farm Bureau committees are at 

 work gathering facts and information 

 with reference to the proposed high 

 tension power line between Pekin and 

 Blackstone, Illinois. Approximately 40 

 attended the meeting in Eureka on May 

 20, where L. J. Quasey of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association discussed gen- 

 eral transportation and utility prob- 

 lems and answered many questions re- 

 garding the rights of land owners in 

 power line and other right-of-way cases. 



