driv- 

 reater 



type 

 s the 



auto 

 aver- 

 than 



arm 

 r de- 

 car, 

 this 

 own 

 -see 



Legislature Wrestles 



With Unemployment 



(Continued from page 16) 

 officers and employees under him. Mil- 

 lions of dollars of the people's money are 

 being expended each month by this or- 

 ganization which is beyond the review of 



any court or any tribunal 



"Many of the employees of the Illi- 

 nois Emergency Relief Commission are 

 imbued with the notion that the state 

 relief org:anization is a permanent insti- 

 tution, and that they will always have a 

 job as social workers at the expense of 

 the state. It is evident that these offi- 

 cers and employees are working to build 

 up a profession whose business will be 

 to dispense the money taken by the state 

 for charitable j)urposes from the taxpay- 

 ers. Their idea of the matter seems to 

 be that the people paying the taxes are 

 incapable of selecting the persons to dis- 

 tribute the relief. Under the present sys- 

 tem the idea of local self-government in 

 relief matters by the people who pay the 

 taxes is not even seriously considered by 

 the persons actively in charge of relief.- 

 . distribution. 



Tax Money Exhaustible 



"Some memjbers of the Illinois Emer- 

 gency Relief Commission seem to have 

 no conception of the obvious fact that it 

 is impossible for either the state or the 

 nation to continue indefinitely to get the 

 vast sums of money now being collected 

 from the taxpayers for relief purposes. 

 When the opinion was expressed by a 

 member of your Investigation Commis- 

 sion that ultimately the point would be 

 reached where sufficient funds would be 

 no longer available because of the fact 

 th%t the taxpayers of the state could no 

 longer bear the tax burden necessary to 

 produce the money, a prominent member 

 of the Relief Commission stated with 

 great emphasis, the money will be pre- 

 doced from some source.* He seemed to 

 be totally oblivious to the fact that the 

 time is coming, if we continue to spend 

 at the present rate, when the money can- 

 not be produced from any source." 



The commission reports that the cost 

 of administration was 9.77 per cent of 

 the total amount paid out to December 

 1, 1934. This administration cost 

 amounted to 120,934,905.80. The com- 

 missioners expressed the belief that the 

 cost of administration is unnecessarily 

 high, but blamed this excessive expense 

 on requirements of the Federal Relief 

 Administration which "demands a certain 

 set-up that requires a large personnel of 

 officers and workers, which your com- 

 missioners feel is unnecessary." 



The 'commission concludes its report 

 by recommending that county directors 

 of relief be appointed by the governor 

 of the state with power of removal in 



DISTSIBUmrO CORN-HOO BEITEFIT CHZCKB in office of U>0AH COXnrTT FAUX BiniEAU 

 at Lincoln. Oeorye '• StoU, former 1. A. A, director. U oh&inBan of the oeaaty prodaetioa ooatrok 



association . 



him, and that such administrators should 

 be strictly prohibited from political ac- 

 tivities in connection with relief matters. 



For Local Control ■ ' 



Rep. Burns concurs in the findings and 

 recommendations except that given above 

 regarding appointment of county direc- 

 tors. "It is my conviction that adminis- 

 tration of relief should be returned to 

 the county and township authorities," 

 said Mr. Burns. 



In a supplementary report Senator 

 Hickman of Edgar county says: "The 

 statute creating the Illinois Emergency 

 Relief Commission should be repealed or 

 amended and provision made for the han- 

 dling of relief problems by local author- 

 ities. High priced executives, district 

 supervisors, county administrators and 

 case workers should be dismissed. Pro- 

 fessional welfare workers have fastened 

 their grip upon state and nation. It is 

 their business to make the relief business 

 grow bigger and bigger regardless of 

 costs and who pays the cost. The relief 

 problem should be controlled by the resi- 

 dents of the community where adminis- 

 tered." 



The commission highly commended 

 "the unselfish devotion to duty of Mr. 

 Dunham, the chairman, and the members 

 of the Illinois Emergency Relief Com- 

 mission who have given of their time and 

 energy to the cause without pay." 



While a large number of bills have 

 been introduced in both houses, which 

 I. A. A. representatives are studying to 

 determine how they will affect the in- 

 terests of farmers, very little considera- 

 tion has been given by the committees 

 to the proposed legislation. 



Devine Is Speaker 



The new Speaker, John P. Devine of 

 Dixon, is one of the most able downstate 



F. C. A. Studies Methods of 

 Illinois Farm Supply Co. 



The Cooperative Division of the Farm 

 Credit Administration is making an eco- 

 nomic analysis of the organization and 

 operating methods of the Illinois Farm 

 Supply Company. This cooperative pur- 

 chasing association, which is affiliated 

 with the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion, has developed very rapidly during 

 its eight years of operation. The volume 

 of retail business handled through its 

 58 associated member units amounted to 

 approximately |7,000,000 in 1934, and 

 patronage dividends amounted to ap- 

 proximately $630,000. The company han- 

 dles such farm supplies as oil, gas, kero- 

 sene, grease, paint, and fly spray. 



The Cooperative Division is convinced 

 that the study will be of benefit not only 

 to the Illinois Farm Supply Company but 

 also to similar farm purchasing associa- 

 tions in other states. The project should 

 yield information that will be generally 

 helpful in determining operating effi- 

 ciency standards for farm supply pur- 

 chasing associations. The study is being 

 made with the full cooperation of the 

 Illinois Farm Supply Company and its 

 affiliated member companies under the 

 direction of Joseph G. Knapp and John 

 H. Lister, staff members of the Coopera- 

 tive Division. 



legislators and has been a leader for 

 many years in the General Assembly. 

 Senator W. H. Hickman is the new chair- 

 man of the Agricultural Committee in 

 the Senate, and Rep. Frank B. Wilson of 

 Ogle county is chairman of the Agricul- 

 tural Committee in the House. 



An effort will be made again to in- 

 crease the state school fund. Bills have 

 (Continued on page 21, Col. 1) 



lois 



MARCH. 1935 



IT 



