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tion of Cook either under county-wide 

 programs or through individual proj- 

 ects within a county designed to con- 

 nect some farm area with hard sur- 

 faced highways. 



Typical of the county -wide programs 

 is the plan now under way in Jo- 

 Daviess County and in Gallatin County. 



In JoDaviess, local road officials 

 have pooled their equipment and road 

 funds, including a county owned rock 

 crusher, with WPA labor in order to 

 transform 214 miles of unimproved 

 secondary roads into all-weather farm- 

 to-market highways. When completed, 

 practically every farmer in the coun- 

 ty will be able to reach an all-weather 

 road simply by driving through his 

 front gate. To make this program 

 a success, the county has donated a 

 total of $287,419 in money, materials, 

 and equipment, and WPA has ad- 

 vanced $235,176 for labor and supplies. 

 The project is keeping 450 men busy — 

 men formerly dependent on public re- 

 lief rolls for their livelihood. 



A similar program is under way in 

 Gallatin County, at the opposite comer 

 of the state. Here, 66 mUes of roads 

 are being improved with a WPA grant 

 of $252,592. This program is providing 

 gainful emplojrment to 432 former re- 

 lief family heads. 



In the central part of the state, 

 Logan County has ten separate WPA 

 farm-to-market road projects in op- 

 eration, providing for construction of 

 128 miles of all-weather roads. Total 

 cost of the Logan County projects is 

 estimated at $131,382. and 331 workers 

 are assigned by WPA. 



Other of the 101 counties with road 

 improvement programs prominent in 

 the list of WPA projects in operation 

 are Marion, Jefferson, Wabash, Rich- 

 land, and White. 



In taking a larger part of Illinois' 

 rural population off dirt roads, the 

 WPA is giving gainful work at security 

 wages to approximately 36,000 family 

 heads formerly on the state's public 

 relief rolls. In percentages, this means 

 that approximately 20 percent of the 

 persons now employed on WPA proj- 

 ects in the state and nearly 25 percent 

 of the total funds now available are 

 working directly to benefit the farmer 

 and local industries dependent upon 

 him. 



Substantiating the claim of E^rl C. 

 Smith, lAA president, that taxpayers 

 are entitled to tangible benefits for the 

 money they are spending either direct- 

 ly or indirectly for unemployment re- 

 lief, Ralph H. Burke, deputy WPA 

 administrator for Illinois, pointed 

 out that the present road program will 

 result in great improvement in stand- 

 ards of hving, school facilities, the 

 postal and medical service, and trade 



"BEFORE" AND "AFTER." FARM-TO-MARKET ROAD NEAR STOCKTON, JoDAVIESS 

 County. WPA has provided farmers on this side of U. S. Route 20 a "year around" outiet 

 to market. Horseback is the best bad weather transportation medium beyond the concrete 

 until the project is completed. 



in general at a comparatively small 

 cost. 



"The economic and social values 

 inherent in the present road improve- 

 ment program cannot be estimated," 

 Mr. Burke declared. "The profit or 

 loss on the operation of a farm is often 

 determined by the cost of deUvering 

 products or livestock to shipping 

 points. Farm produce is often higher 

 during the season of impassable roads 

 and the farmer on a poor road is 

 penalized due to road conditions. 

 Transportation of everything he uses 

 costs him more and thus raises his 

 cost of living." 



Dr. Martin H. Bickham, in his present 

 capacity as director of Labor Relations 

 for the WPA, and in his former 

 capacity as director of work relief for 

 the Illinois Emergency Relief Com- 

 mission, has made extensive research 

 trips through the state studying first- 

 hand present social conditions. Com- 

 plimenting the Farm Bureau and the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association for 

 their untiring efforts in promoting the 

 present program, he declared: 



"The whole social structure is in- 

 fluenced by transportation and trans- 

 portation depends upon right-of-way. 

 A road map of Illinois, without further 

 data, indicates where the rate of infant 

 mortality is high; where the largest 

 percentage of illiterates are found; and, 

 where typhoid, diphtheria, malaria and 

 tub^ulosis are present all out of 

 proportion to the population. All- 

 weather roads will make it possible for 

 children to continue longer in school; 

 good roads will raise standards of liv- 

 ing, increase year-around employment 

 and promote general welfare as noth- 

 ing else can do." 



Former I. A. A. Man 



Arranges Radio Hookup 



The Columbia chain broadcast from 

 the lAA annual meeting Thursday night 

 Jan. 30 at Decatur was arranged by 

 Harry C. Butcher, vice-president and 

 manager of the Washington office of the 

 Columbia Broadcasting System, in co- 

 operation with President Earl C. Smith. 

 "Butch" is well 

 known to many 

 Farm Bureau lead- 

 ers and farm ad- 

 visers of 10 to 12 

 years ago when he 

 served for two years, 

 1924—1926, as Di- 

 rector of Informa- 

 tion of lAA. "Butch" 

 still takes a keen 

 interest in the lAA 

 and the ups and 

 downs of organized 

 farmers in their fight for parity prices. 



The half -hour broadcast from 8:30 

 to 9:00 P. M. was carried by a coast to 

 coast network of stations of which WBBM 

 Chicago, and KMOX St. Louis were prin- 

 cipal outlets used in Illinois. The pro- 

 gram was timed carefully so as to give 

 Administrator Chester Davis approxi- 

 mately 12 minutes during the first part 

 of the half hour. Then President Smith 

 introduced Congressman Marvin Jones of 

 Texas who talked for the rest of the 

 period and continued for nearly an hour 

 after the broadcast. The audience en- 

 tered into the spirit of the occasion ap- 

 plauding both speakers to help make an 

 interesting 30-minute program. 



RARRT r. BrrrHER 



FEBRUARY, 19S« 



