Working For Good Roads 



(Continued from page 3) 



the state so as to provide annually a 

 mileage of highway improvement in 

 . each county in such proportion as the 

 total mileage of the primary highway 

 system within each county bore to the 

 total miles in the primary state system. 



After the approval of the committee's 

 report by the board of directors, the 

 committee called upon Governor Small 

 and presented its recommendations. We 

 were assured of his support with the 

 understanding that three main high- 

 ways, one north and south known as 

 the "Dixie," one running from Chicago 

 to St. Louis, and a third crossing the 

 State east and west in northern Illinois, 

 would be considered separate and apart 

 from his agreement to follow the recom- 

 mendations of the I. A. A. The com- 

 mittee assured the Governor of its will- 

 ingness to recognize the merit of such 

 a program. 



A review of the early history of pri- 

 mary road construction in Illinois justifies 

 the statement that in the main this early 

 understanding relative to road building 

 was carried out in all counties except 

 those where the securing of rights of 

 way was seriously delayed. 



The universal interest of all people in 

 the early road building program resulted 

 in the submission to the people of the 

 $100,000,000 bond issue in the November 

 election, 1924. This proposal was sup- 

 ported by the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation. Assurance was given at that 

 time that all bonds in both the $60,- 

 000.000 and the $100,000,000 proposals 

 would be retired and interest thereon 

 paid from automobile license fees. These 

 promises have been kept and to date 

 all bonds which fell due, plus interest, 

 have been paid out of such revenues. 



It behooves the thinking citizens of 

 Illinois to resist any political attempts 

 to reduce motor license fees or other 

 highway revenues in any substantial 

 amount until such time as all bonds, 

 with interest, represented by the two 

 mentioned road bond issues are retired. 

 Property must be safeguarded against 

 taxation for their retirement. 



Following authorization of the board 

 of delegates both in 1925 and 1926, the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association spon- 

 sored enactment of a two cent State 

 gasoline tax, the revenue derived there- 

 from to be used in speeding to com- 

 pletion the primary system of highways 

 previously authorized, and thereafter to 

 provide revenue for an extensive sec- 

 ondary road building program through- 

 out Illinois. This legislation was passed 

 by the General Assembly and signed by 

 Governor Small. It later was declared 

 unconstitutional by the State Supreme 

 Court. 



With Our County Farm Bureau Presidents 



Back in 1925, Vermilion county Farm 

 Bureau members got their heads to- 

 gether and picked George W. Lenhart 

 as president of the county organization. 

 Today, they are just as positive in their 

 choice and "George" is still president. 

 Now that's some- 

 what of a record. 

 "George wears well." 

 said one member, 

 "No question about 

 George's sincerity 

 and judgment," said 

 another. Says Mr, 



Lenhart himself. 

 "I've enjoyed every 

 minute of it, but 

 somebody else ought 

 to have a chance 

 I too," 



President Lenhart 

 GEO. LENHAKT has been a Farm 

 Bureau member for 

 fourteen years. He joined, he says, 

 "because after talking it over with 

 neighbors and close friends I became 

 convinced it was a good idea, I've al- 

 ways felt that there would be more 

 strength in farmers going it together 

 rather than individually. Rugged indi- 

 vidualism doesn't pay out." 



The L«nhart farm, just a few miles 

 out of Georgetown comprises 280 acres 

 devoted to grain and livestock. There is 

 a herd of 17 dairy cows, a purebred 

 Guernsey bull and two heifers. The 

 herd is a mixed breed of Jersey and 

 Guernsey and the whole milk is sold to 

 the Danville cooperative dairy. There 

 are 50 Duroc hogs, seven brood sows and 

 one boar. They are marketed thru the 

 Vermilion County Livestock Marketing 

 Association. While tractors are used for 

 the major part of the work, there are 

 four work horses for general farm use. 

 This year Mr, Lenhart is raising com. 



oats, wheat, soy beans, alfalfa and about 

 ten acres of hemp. 



The two Lenhart boys Harry and Her- 

 bert are married and farm adjoining 

 land. They use the farm machinery and 

 divide the work with their father. As 

 George put it. "The best way to see 

 the benefits of cooperation is right in 

 your own family." Together with their 

 father, they are one hundred per cent 

 cooperators. Serum, petroleum prod- 

 ucts, paint farm supplies, fire, wind and 

 hail insurance, auto insurance and life 

 insurance are all purchased thru Farm 

 Bureau companies. 



The two Lenhart girls live in Danville. 

 Margaret is employed there and Rosalie 

 is married, Mr. and Mrs, Lenhart were 

 married February 1902. "Mrs, Lenhart." 

 said George, "raises chickens and has a 

 mighty nice garden every year. She 

 likes to landscape the yard too. She is 

 also active in church. Sunday school and 

 missionary work besides keeping an 

 eight room house. We've both worked 

 hard to make a nice home but Mrs. Len- 

 hart works too hard yet. I wish she 

 wouldn't." 



George Lenhart was born March 23, 

 1870. four miles north of Indianola. Illi- 

 nois. Besides being president of the 

 Vermilion county Farm Bureau, he is 

 also a director of Farmers Mutual Re- 

 insurance Company, the County Service 

 Company, Producers Dairy of Danville, 

 and is on the county warehouse board. 

 He is a school director in his commu- 

 nity, a director of Georgetown High 

 School and drainage commissioner of the 

 Ma-^le Grove district. 



All in all. George Lenhart is a real 

 citizen as well as an outstanding Farm 

 Bureau member and president. Vermil- 

 ion county makes no bones about saying, 

 "We're mighty proud of George, He has 

 what it takes to make a leader." 



Immediately following the inaugura- 

 tion of Governor Emmerson in 1929, the 

 General Assembly again pressed similar 

 legislation for a three cent tax on gaso- 

 line. This bill was signed by the Gov- 

 ernor and later was declared constitu- 

 tional by the same court. Debates on the 

 floor in both Houses of the General As- 

 sembly during the consideration of the 

 three cent tax proposal definitely as- 

 sured rural people of an extensive sec- 

 ondary road building program to run 

 concurrently with the primary system 

 of highways. Upon completion of the 

 latter system, farmers were promised 

 that the revenue would be used in the 

 further building and completion of the 

 secondary road program. 



More recently, revenue's from the gaso- 

 line tax have been diverted for other 

 purposes than that of building roads, 

 chiefly for unemployment relief and 

 schools. The I. A. A. has resisted at all 

 times the diversion of revenue from its 

 original purpose and has been quite suc- 

 cessful in holding to a minimum eflforts 

 of this kind. With the tremendous in- 

 crease in unemployment and their as- 



sistance through what may be termed 

 a dole or direct relief in 1933 and 1934, 

 the I. A. A. has consistently and ag- 

 gressively insisted upon the inaugura- 

 tion of a secondary road building pro- 

 gram in every county of Illinois so as 

 to provide work for deserving unem- 

 ployed. - . I ■'.• 



The Association sponsored legislation 

 in the Fifty-ninth General Assembly of 

 1935, which definitely would have facili- 

 tated the use of Federal work relief 

 appropriations on rural highways for 

 this purpose in all counties. This legis- 

 lation passed the General Assembly by 

 a vote of 38 to in the Senate and 125 

 to in the House. The main bills were 

 vetoed recently by Governor Horner. In 

 his veto message, the Governor expressed 

 the belief that legislation of this char- 

 acter was not necessary, as he person- 

 ally and officially assured the rural in- 

 terest of the State of his purpose to use 

 the Federal revenue for building second- 

 ary roads. He failed, however, to point 

 out how the citizens of each county might 



• (Continued on page 6) 



L A^ A. RECORD 



