REFERRING to the recent cotton 

 gnrowers vote of 9 to 1 for con- 

 tinued production control, the Chi- 

 cago Tribune says: "As the cotton plant- 

 ers have deliberately chosen to create 

 unemployment in their communities and 

 have profited by so doing, they cannot 

 avoid the moral duty to support those 

 whose livelihoods have been destroyed." 



In four years of depression and wide- 

 spread unemployment this is the first 

 time the Tribune has suggested that the 

 employer be responsible for his employees 

 during hard times. Strange that this 

 newspaper did not raise its voice years 

 ago when within the shadow of the 

 Tribune Tower, stores and factories were 

 closed down and workers by the thou- 

 sands plowed out on the streets for fed- 

 eral and state relief authorities to care 

 ^for. 



The record shows that agriculture has 

 been more than altruistic not only in 

 keeping its employees on the job but also 

 in providing consumers with food at 

 ruinously low prices. While industrial 

 production fell off an average of 50 per 

 cent from the years 1929 to 1932, agri- 

 cultural production was maintained at 

 100 per cent. Most manufacturers turned 

 their excess help off and conserved their 

 cash. Farmers largely kept their helpers 

 at work aad took a terrific beating in 

 low prices and loss of capital. The Trib- 

 une would like to have us keep up the 

 good work, presumably, until we,are all 

 plowed under. ,- 



Incidentally, Illinois farmers are doing ' 

 a better job of taking care of their own 

 unemployed people than are the. citizens 

 of Chicago. In the 84 township governed 

 counties, the law provides for a poor, 

 relief tax on property. Most downstate 

 counties have been levying this tax but 

 not Chicago. It has been too easy for 

 the Chicago authorities to rush to Wash- 

 ington and Springfield for repeated 

 hauls on the public treasury. The LA. A. 

 proposed legislation in the interest of 

 equality and fair play requiring Chicago 

 to levy an equitable tax on property for 

 local poor reliet The Tribune never spoke 

 a kind wcH-d for the measure. 



So if the cotton growers turn off as 

 many as 200,000 workers as the Tribune 

 estimates — which is doubtful in their 

 campaign to get reasonable prices next 

 year, they will be doing no different than 

 industrialists and metropolitan news- 

 paper advertisers always have done in 

 their efforts to stop losses. — £. G. T. 



22 



1910. WIS 1920 I92S 1930 ■: j 



INDEX OF PRICES RECEIVED AND PAID BY FARMERS. 1910-1932 



This chart shows why organized farmers fought to secure surplus control, price- 

 raising legislation. In the deflation of 1920 farm prices fell much faster and lower 

 than other prices. It was the surplus of farm products during this period from 

 1920-'32 that kept farm prices much lower than they should have been. Farmers 

 continued planting and harvesting crops from the additional 40,000,000 acres they 

 plowed up during the war. When the European market gradually declined as these 

 countries went bnck to farming, surpluses piled up in this country. They 

 depressed prices. , 



Europe is now taking much less of our farm products than she did in the 20's. 

 Therefore the only way farmers can raise and maintain reasonable prices for their 

 products, until export outlets are back to normal, is to limit production. 



I. A. A. Farm Bureau 



Calendars For '35 



More than 55,000 — I. A. A. Farm Bu- 

 reau calendars for 1935 are being dis- 

 tributed to members by some 65 County 

 Farm Bureaus. Many compliments have 

 been received on the new calendars. An 

 essay contest for farm boys and girls up 

 to and including 18 years of age, sub- 

 ject and material to be based on the in? 

 formation gi^en in the calendar, is being 

 announced by many County Farm Bu- 

 reaus. The I. A. A. will offer state prizes 

 for the best three essays among the 

 county ;»rinners. Write your County Farm 

 Bureau for details. 



Illinois Grain Meeting 



Set for Peoria Feb. 1 2 



The Illinois Grain Corporation will 

 hold its next annual meeting in the Pere 

 Marquette Hotel, Peoria, on Lincoln's 

 Birthday, Feb. 12, 1935 instead of on 

 Feb. 22 as heretofore. 



At the quarterly meeting of the board 

 in Chicago Dec. 18, reports showed a 

 total of 173 member elevators and grain 

 associations. The Corporation will han- 

 dle approximately 13,000,000 bushels of 

 grain for the year. 



Soybean Hay Moving 



Illinois soybean hay contracted by the 

 Soybean Marketing Association with 

 member growers began moving out of 

 the state in substantial quantities on 

 Dec. 10 under the direction of Fieldman 

 John T. Smith. The hay is being shipped 

 to Nebraska Emergency Relief author- 

 ities at Omaha where it will be milled 

 and mixed with molasses before sent on 

 to drought stricken livestock growers in 

 that state. 



After months of negotiation between 

 federal officials and Soybean Market- 

 ing and I. A. A. representatives, clolonel 

 Murphy of the feed procurement section, 

 AAA directed that shipments of hay 

 proceed. Up to Dec. 18 approximately 

 1000 tons of baled soybean hay had been 

 shipped and at this writing additional 

 quantities were going out at the rate of 

 about 15 carloads per day. 



All hay must be one of the U. S. 

 standard grades. No sample hay is be- 

 ing taken although the Association is 

 investigating the possibilities for dispos- 

 ing of hay which does not meet U. S. 

 standard grade requirements, yet has 

 considerable feed value. It is expected 

 that around 30,000 tons of Illinois hay 

 will be shipped out under the agreement 

 with the government. 



;'.l 



L A. A. RECORD 



