The 

 Best Ever 



So Said Delegates Speaking of the 22nd Annual Conven- 

 tion in Chicago. Heavy Attendance Exceeds Expectations. 



y^^ . Il.D, dry wtatlicr. low rail 



^ ~\,Y ''"■'^'•- ''"' l-ir.Ct-st farm iii- 

 ^_ ^ 2 ^yl come since 1929, and gen- 

 eral enthusiasm combined to briny out 

 the heaviest attendance at the 22nd an- 

 nual lAA convention in .Chicago. |an- 

 uar)' 27-2.S-29, of ' any similar meetmi; 

 possibly in the past decade. The crowd 

 was estimated at "lOOO or more durini; 

 the three days. 



Hotel and eating accommodations were 

 adeqiiate. "It's the first time in years I 

 did not have to sleep on a tot.' com- 

 mented C. T. Kibler, Jersey county. 



Despite the delay in netting room as- 

 signments, everyone apparently was com- 

 fortably housed and the novelty ot meet- 

 ing m a great metropolitan center proved 

 an added attraction. 



overflow staying at the Sherman and 

 Brevoort. Arrivals on Tuesday, the day 

 preceding tlit opening of the convention, 

 were larger than ever. Many came early 

 to visit relatives and go to the theater. 

 Others foimd it more convenient to travel 

 in davlight. Special cars loaded with 

 delegates came from Springfield, Bloom- 

 ington. Peoria. St. Louis and other cen- 

 tral points. Special trains arri\ed early 

 Thursday morning bringing hundreds tor 

 the meeting that day. leaving after the 

 night session. 



The beautiful "golden horseshoe " Au- 

 ditorium in the (avic Opera Building is 

 the most sumptuous meeting place ever 

 to house an lAA gathering. The Audi- 

 torium and stage together seated about 

 ^,000 persons. At, the big session on 



HARVEY J. SCONCE 

 "Nominations are in order 

 for president." 



SAM. H. THOMPSON 

 "I rise to nonninate a 

 man who." 



EARL C. SMITH 

 "I can only say what I have 



aid." 



"It was the best convention I have at- 

 tended in ten years," said Ray Doneghue 

 of McDonough county, "ancl 1 haven t 

 missed any in th.it time. 



"Our delegation was tickled to ileath 

 with the tine treatment we got, ' saii) 

 V;'. I". Coolidge of Morgan county. "We 

 had .^1 from our county. We would 

 just as soon come back to ('hicago next 

 year." 



I Most of the delegates were quartered 

 at the LaSall(;and Morrison Hotels, the 



Thursday night every seat was filled on 

 the stage and in the Auditorium except 

 a tew hundred in the top balcony. 



Resumption of the afternoon confer- 

 ences OH Thursday apparently proved 

 popular. Standing room only was avail- 

 able in the Public Relations conference 

 where a thousand or more assembled. 

 Marketing, orgajiization - publicity and 

 rural electrification conferences had audi- 

 ences ranging from 300 to 600. In fact, 

 attendance throughout the convention ex- 



MAYOR KELLY 

 "We want to co-operate with you." 



ceeded expectations. There were more 

 women than usual, and they seemed to 

 enjoy attending the sessions with their 

 husbands. 



They wont c.ill hogs in Chicago. 

 Tm looking for a small crowd this year," 

 said an lAA tieldman the week before 

 the convention. He was wrong on each 

 count. The high spirits of lAA-Tarm 

 Bureau members, unmatched anywhere in 

 America, expressed itself in the familiar 

 hog call. Promptly .it 6:00 A. M. or 

 earlier many a sleeper was aroused by a 

 chorus of exuberant "WH-O-O-E-E- 

 YS." Ihis call at an lAA convention 

 is more than a hog call. It means: "XX'e're 

 here. VC'e're happy. ^X'c'^e proud of our 

 organization. We're going places. We're 

 doing great things. We have the greatest 

 farm organization in the country. We'll 

 stick to it. We're determined to fight 

 for parity income for agriculture. We're 

 back of our leaders. So W-H-O-O-E-Y. 

 here we go. " 



Begins Twelfth Term 



It was Sam Thompson ot Quincy, 

 \eteran lAA and AFBI' president, well 

 on toward his middle seventies, who had 

 the honor of pl.icing the name of F.arl 

 C. Smith in nomination for president for 

 his 12th consecutive term. "A man of 

 vision but not visionary, keen intellect, 

 courage and executive ability," are the 

 terms he used in describing the lAA 

 president. "A great agricultural leader," 

 .said li. v.. Stevenson of LaSallc county 

 in seconding the nomination. There were 

 no other nominations for president. Mr. 

 Smith was elected by acclamation. 



"I can only say what I have said to you 

 for each of the past eleven years," he 

 commented in acknowledgement of the 

 unanimous vote of confidence, "that to 

 the best of my ability anil strength I will 

 serve what I believe to be the true inter- 

 est of this state and of this nation, and in 

 doing so try to direct your influences as 



I. A. A. RECORD 



