Agriculture in the 59th 

 General Assembly 



By the Legislative Committee 



MATHIAS 



, N THE Session of the General As- 

 ' sembly just closed, 1,838 bills were 

 introduced. All of these were 

 .en sufficient attention by repre- 

 itatives of the I. A. A. to determine 

 ■ether they affected agriculture. If 

 .8 bills were not of particular inter- 

 to agriculture, as for instance, bills 

 ting to practice and procedure in 

 courts, the I. A. A. 

 did not take any 

 position on the 

 measures. 



Particular atten- 

 tion was given to 

 bills relating to 

 taxation and tax 

 increases. Repre- 

 sentatives of the 

 Assoc i a t i o n ap- 

 peared, in com- 

 mittee, against nu- 

 merous bills which 

 would have increased property taxes. 

 Most of these measures were either 

 amended, failed to secure favorable 

 committee recommendation, or were 

 finally defeated. 



However, several such measures 

 were enacted. Counties of less than 

 100,000 population were authorized to 

 levy a special tax of 5c and counties 

 of between 100,000 and 500,000 popu- 

 lation a special tax of 3c on the hun- 

 dred dollar assessed valuation for 

 Blind relief purposes. Also the tax 

 for the Mothers' pension fund was ex- 

 empted from the County general levy 

 thereby permitting the levy of an ad- 

 ditional tax for Mothers' pension pur- 

 poses. The school law was amended 

 to permit non-high school districts 

 upon referendum to increase their tax 

 rate from 50c to 75c. The I. A. A. rep- 

 resentatives appeared in opposition to 

 all of these measures but were not 

 successful in preventing their passage. 

 At one time the House committee 

 voted to recommend a 50c increase by 

 referendum in the non-high school 

 district tax rate but the increase was 

 held to 25c largely through the efforts 

 "f the representatives of the I. A. A. 



The General Assembly authorized 

 various governmental bodies to issue 

 bonds and in many cases these bonds 

 iiay be issued without referendum un- 

 less the voters in the district affected 



petition for a referendum. Counties 

 of less than 200,000 population are 

 authorized to issue bonds at any time 

 prior to January 1, 1936 to pay claims 

 incurred prior to July 1, 1935. This 

 bond issue, in any amount not exceed- 

 ing the constitutional limitation, is 

 without referendum except upon peti- 

 tion of 20% of the voters of the coun- 

 ty filed within twenty days after pub- 

 lication of notice of intention by the 

 county board, a condition very diffi- 

 cult if not impossible to meet. Similar 

 power to issue bonds was given school 

 districts. 



In general it may be said that the 

 attitude of the members of the General 

 Assembly towards tax increases and 

 bond issues without referendum has 

 been changed considerably from the 

 attitude in the 1931 and 1933 sessions. 

 In these sessions a large majority of 

 the members in general seemed to be 

 opposed to all property tax increases 

 and to all down-state bond issues with- 

 out referendum. This is no longer true. 

 Repeal of Township Taxes for Poor 

 Relief 



The Federal Government has ap- 

 propriated four billion dollars to pro- 

 vide work relief for all employable 

 persons until January 1, 1937, and has 

 given notice that each State must pro- 

 vide the funds necessary and within a 

 few months must assume relief of all 

 unemployable persons therein. To 

 meet this requirement the Illinois 

 General Assembly amended the Re- 

 tailers Occupational Tax Act by in- 

 creasing the tax one cent from July 1, 

 1935, until January 1. 1937. The in- 

 crease in the tax will probably provide 

 about $33,000,000 in the period of 

 eighteen months during which it will 

 be in effect. It is believed that this 

 amount will be ample to provide for 

 all unemployables in the State until 

 January 1, 1937. 



The Federal and State legislation 

 described above renders all 1935 levies 

 by townships for poor relief largely 

 needless. To meet this situation, bills 

 were passed abating aU such levies for 

 1935 except for obligations incurred 

 prior to July 1, 1935, and rei>ealing the 

 authority of townships to levy such 

 taxes. These measures should save tax- 

 ( Continued on page 6) 



Who's Who Among 



The Farm Advisers 



B. W. TnXMAH 



A lot of water has gone over the 

 dam since Ben W. Tillman took over 

 the reins as farm adviser in St. Clair 

 county 16 years ago. During those 16 

 years there have been many changes 

 in agriculture, in extension work, in 

 the Farm Bu- 

 reau service 

 program, and in 

 the economic 

 status of farm- 

 ers. Ben has 

 succe e d e d in 

 adjusting him- 

 self to these 

 changes without 

 losing his en- 

 thusiasm for 

 and belief in 

 the ultimate 

 salvation and 

 success of farm- 

 ing as a busi- 

 ness through farmer co-operation. 



"Directing and controlling the dis- 

 tribution of farm products coupled 

 with improved quality and control of 

 production will to a large degree de- 

 termine whether or not farmers of 

 America will take their place and 

 maintain a standard of living com- 

 parable to that of workers in industry 

 and commerce." he says. 



"The job of co-operative marketing 

 is but one of many which can be con- 

 cluded successfully through a strong 

 central organization like the Farm 

 Bureau co-operating with the state 

 agricultural colleges and the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture. Such an ob- 

 ject is a long sought one on the part 

 of farmers and is at last tardily be- 

 ing achieved." 



Ben Tillman undoubtedly developed 

 the vigor and drive he puts into his 

 work and his tenacity in sticking to it. 

 as captain of the University of Mis- 

 souri football team nearly 2S years ago. 

 Reared on a 160 acre grain and live- 

 stock farm near Jefferson Citv. Mo., 

 where he was bom October 26. 1888. 

 Tillman attended the local public 

 schools and normal academy before 

 enrolling at the state agricultural 

 college in Columbia. 



He taught school, served as football 

 coach and later became a specialist Ir 

 agricultural extension work with the 

 U. S. D. A. before taking up his new 

 work in St. Clair county. 111. He also 

 served for a number of years as cap- 

 tain in the Missouri National Guard. 

 B. W. takes an active interest in 

 civic, church, and community affairs 

 in St. Clair county. He is a trustee 

 and elder in the Presbyterian church 

 of Belleville, a Mason, and a member 

 of his County Grange. He has been 

 honored by his coUeagnes as rresident 

 of the state farm advisers association. 

 The Tillmans have one child, a 

 daughter. Ben says he gets along 

 well without smoking or drinking but 

 has a weakness for football and 

 bridge. 



I w«nt to congratulate you on the steady 

 improvenKent you are making in the I. A. A. 

 RECORD. This is a splendid publication. — C. 

 L Johnson, Iroquois county. 



AUGUST, IMS 



^m 



