* ! 



nirht. 



President Earl C. Smith 

 Keynotes Convention 



SENDS GREETINGS 



THE depression is cracked but not 

 broken. 



Although not entirely out of the 

 ctouds, we commence to see the sun. 



Gigantic tasks lie ahead. Further in- 

 crease in farm prices urttil they reach 

 parity, and some reduction in industrial 

 prices, which larger production will make 

 possible, are most powerful and im- 

 portant measures of further recovery and 

 employment. 



Every thinking farmer, yes every citi- 

 zen, should assist in restoring farm prices 

 and buying power, thus hastening Na- 

 tional Recovery. 



This is the challenging statement with 

 which President Karl C. Smith keynoted 

 the convention in the opening session be- 

 fore a great audience of 3.000 people in 

 the beautiful High School Auditorium at 

 Quincy, Wednesday morning, Jan. .30. 



Tracing the progress of recovery since 

 the low of 19.'?2, Mr. Smith said, "While 

 not desiring to be understood as criticiz- 

 ing through comparison, yet I have no 

 hesitancy in saying that the most po- 

 tent force of all efforts directed toward 

 national recovery has been the national 

 farm program. 



"Two billion dollars increased farm in- 

 come together with a reduction of $96,- 

 000.000 in taxes on farm real estate and 

 personal property and a reduction of 

 $77,000,000 in interest on farm indebted- 

 ness has practically all found its way in- 

 to the buying market and has been re- 

 flected in the improvement of other lines 

 of business activity. No other effort or 

 policy of Government has been so effec- 

 tive in the improvement of general con- 

 ditions. 



"The principle of farm commodity sur- 

 plus removal upon whch the Agricultural 

 Adjustment program is based was in- 

 itiated by, and for many years has con- 

 tinuously been supported by, the Farm 

 Bureau movement. As year after year 

 of delay has been encountered in putting 

 this principle into effect, changing con- 

 ditions have naturally forced changes in 

 the manner of its application. While the 

 most destructive drought of many years, 

 coupled with a serious infestation of in- 

 sect pests greatly interfered with a uni- 

 form or orderly application of crop ad- 

 justment programs, yet. facts only are 

 necessary to fully vindicate the sound- 

 ness of the repeated pronouncements of 

 the Farm Bureau movement when in- 

 sisting upon legislation authorizing the 

 application of farm commodity surplus 

 control. . . . 



"It should be noted that tho'total value 



FEBRUARY, 1935 



of wheat produ«>d in Illinois in 19.'! 1 was 

 .30 per cent greater than 19.3.3: that al- 

 though the corn crop was "."» per cent 

 less than in the previous year ai»l was 

 the smallest crop in 61 years, it ha.' a 

 total farm value of 46 per cent greatiT 

 than that of 19;!3. Even yet niovv con- 

 vincing evidence as to the merit oT a<l- 

 justed production is the fact that 'aIiIi 

 12 per cent less pork (live weight » r»-;i<-h- 

 ing all the terminal markets of the loh'i- 

 try in 1934 than in 193.3, it had an in- 

 creased total farm income value of 4" 

 per cent. . . . 



"We must now direct our efforrs, aiid 

 I hope increasingly so. toward simplify- 

 ing, coordinating an<l making liioro 

 C(iuitable and permanent our farm ad- 

 justment programs to the extent that 

 may be necessary to assure prcfitab'.f 

 price levels in the domestic, and I hope, 

 export markets. ..." 



Emphasizing the tremoiidous task of 

 the -Agricultural .Adjustment .Administra- 

 tion in setting up and operating crop ad- 

 justment machinery. Mr. .'^mith said: 



National Activities 



"The .Association's activities in na- 

 tional affairs during 1934 were largely 

 in the form of advice, counsel and in- 

 fluence in the administration of farm 

 laws. To a .large extent, these efforts 

 were directed toward securing a greater 

 degree of equity in allotments, simplifica- 

 tion of requirements and procedure and 

 speeding up payment of the Govern- 

 ment's obligations to contracting farm- 

 ers. Problems connected with these ef- 

 forts are well known to the respective 

 leaders of County Farm Bureaus and 

 commodity committees. Every reasonable 

 effort has been made to serve the inter- 

 ests of contracting farmers and meet 

 their requests. 



"While I have no brief for any of tjie 

 mistakes that have been made or the de- 

 lays that have been encountered, yet I 

 feel it only fair to state that the prob- 

 lems with which administration officials 

 were confronted have at times seemed 

 almost insurmountable. The problem of 

 providing adequate provisions in con- 

 tracts for six million farmers of the 

 United States, the peculiar requirements 

 of commodities and commodity interests, 

 sectional views and demands, and the 

 fact that the .Administration machinery 

 for the whole .Agricultural .Adjustment 

 program had to be provided constituted 

 a colossal undertaking. 



"I feel fully justified in saying that, 

 without exception, the national admin- 



FSANKLtN D. ROOSEVELT 



The f'dlowing #ies^age ti'imj I'le-ident 

 Roosevelt was received by I'ri'^deii* P'arl 

 C. Smith and read by him tii the con- 

 vention: — j 



"The Secretary of .Agricultiiie i.a^ ad- 

 vised nie of the progress maiiie in the 

 last year by your .Association and has 

 given me encouraging reports of the 

 gains made in 1934 by the farmers of 

 Illinois. I hope that we as a nation can 

 go forward during the coming year in 

 the same spirit of collective effort that 

 has marked our past endeavour^ and that 

 the fruits of our labors will continue to 

 rise to more profitable levels." 



(Signed) F"ranklin D. l^oosevelt. 



The convention unanimously approved 

 by rising vote the following metisage dis- 

 patched to President Roosevelt: 



January 3<J. 1935 

 Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, i 

 Washington, D. C. 



Delegates and members of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association, assembled in 

 annual convention at Quincy. Illinois, ex- 

 tend to you their greetings on this, your 

 53rd birthday. Your courageous leader- 

 ship has put new hope into our hearts, 

 and we will continue to join our efforts 

 with yours to increase farm prices to 

 parity, so that agriculture may continue 

 to lead the way to national recovery. 

 ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSN. 

 Earl C. Smith. President. 



istrators and directorls of the Agricul- 

 .tural Adjustment programs and Farm 

 Credits have Ireen thoroughly sympi- 

 thetic to the wishes and the deman<ls of 

 farmers. It was impofsible foi; them to 

 give the desired attention to individual 

 cases. The immensity of the program was 

 such that policies of ailministrati'jn were 

 of necessity general in character ard at 

 times carried complications that to niost 

 of us seemed unrea.«onable and unnfcea- 

 sary. 

 "Now that the administrative machin- 



