EDITORIAL 



Helping the Tenant 



\' ITS rLi.cnt report on l.irni tLii.iiuy. tlie FrLsulents 

 a>mmi>sii)ii touiiil plcntx oi tliint;> to criticise. 



\^^ most of wliicli apply with greatest li>rtc to uMuli- 

 tioiis in the soutli. At tlic bottom ot tlic trouble tlie report 

 inilKatcii, is poor soil, inadequate income both tor laiul- 

 lorii and tenant, wide ups and ilouns in iri)p ami land 

 \alues wlmh in e\erv liepression knock thosu.uids ol ten- 

 ants ott tlie ladder to ownership, .xn^} general human laiii- 

 ness and iiKompeteiue. 



Granting all ot these thinys, the committee recom- 

 mends that a l-'arm Security Administration be set up under 

 the jurisdiction ot the Secretary ot Agriculture; tii.it a larm 

 Security Corporation be created with authoritv to buv land 

 and lease or sell it to selected tenants On the basis ot 

 thrift, integrity, industrw experience, health and other 

 ^jualities," 



\'o down payment wouKI be reejuired. Pretereiice 

 would be given to families living on the farms acc]uircd b\ 

 the ci)r|X)ration. A low interest rate of 2' 2 r<-r '■<-'it ''^ 

 recommended with \ariable principal payments ammortiiied 

 o\er a period of 10 vcars. In vears of good crops and 

 higher income a larger principal payment wc)ulcl be re- 

 quired. In years of poor crops and low income, sm.dler 

 payments, or none at all. would be taken. 



To curb speculation, the committee recommended that 

 a tax be levied to take substantially all oi the profit from 

 resale of land within three years of purchase, so as "to 

 keep land values on .1 level where farmers could better 

 attcird ownership." 



While the above are only recommendations, much 

 can be said in behalf of a sound public policy to encourage 

 farm ownership b\ those actively interestec! in farming. 

 Even in Illinois where the standard ot living on tenant- 

 operated farms is relatively high, ownership by families 

 living on the farm makes for better care ot the land, better 

 communities, and happier farm life. But ownership with- 

 out a fair income will not greatU impro\e the lot of the 

 tenant-farmer or sharecropper. Ownership c)f poor, un- 

 profitable soils will not produce a higher standard of ii\- 

 ing. And making ownership more accessible will not 

 solve the problem of the shiftless, the lazy, the inexperi- 

 enced, and the incompetent, whether due to poor health or 

 hereditary causes. This is a problem for the geneticist, not 

 the legislator. Maintaining a satisf.ictory price level for 

 farm crops free from the wild g\rations of former years 

 will do more to aid worthy tenants to become owners than 

 all other influences ccjmbined. 



The Four-Point Program 



\/^V^ HI: Illinois Agricultural Association is scjuarely 

 — ^^ behind the program tDr maintaining parity prices 

 ^^_y for farm products as outlined by Secretary Wal- 

 lace and adoptecl at the recent cDnference of farm repre- 

 seiitatixes in Washington. 



This four-point program pro\ ides for | 1 ) continua- 

 tion of the present soil conservation program; (2) com- 

 modity loans on basic farm crops at near parity levels to 

 hold the surplus oft the market in \ears of plenty; (3) ad- 

 ditional payments beyond the regular soil conservation 



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gr.uits to secure greater conversion ot cultivated land into 

 grass ancl legumes when "the granary overflows; ' and (1) 

 positive control ot production in an emergency brought on 

 b\- extreme surpluses when the first three methods pro\e 

 inailecjuate. The fourth proposal is to be developed under 

 tiie power of Congress to regulate interst.ite commerce, or 

 the power to levy taxes for tiie general welfare, or through 

 eltective co-operation between the states and the tederal 

 government. 



Thus tile plan as outlined is .1 long-time program. It 

 looks into the future. There is no immediate need lor 

 crop control. But a succession of two or mcire big crop 

 years may change the picture unless by some miraculous 

 turn of events our lost foreign markets are restored. The 

 time may come when there will be a desperate need for 

 positive control of production. 



Good Neighbors 



.'spon- 

 ard 



( Cr^\ /j I- HA\'I: always found farmers more respo 



Vs^y 17 sive than any other group of people tow a; 



() ^ helping their neighbors in time of trouble 



This statement by the director of Red Cross flood 

 relief work at Marion is borne out by the action of County 

 I'arm Bureaus in raising donations of grain, feed and cash 

 to aid the 1,0(10 drowned-out farmers in Illinois, 



In a one-day drive on Feb. *, the Livingston County 

 I'arm Bureau secured approximately 4, 500 bushels of corn, 

 several hundred bushels of oats. S2,S00 in cash. The sup- 

 plies were transported by truck to Ciarmi and Ridgway in 

 the flood zone. Other counties, likewise, respondecl to 

 the call for aid, and as this is written, the lAA is directing 

 a co-ordinated effort to provide feed for livestock in the 

 eight .ittected counties, 



"The flood will work a hardship on those farmers who 

 are not destitute and therefore will not receive aid from 

 the Red Clro.ss," writes a Farm Bureau president. "These 

 farmers have lost most of their feed and seed. This is 

 the class which we feel vcciuld most appreciate any con- 

 tribution that might be made through the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association." 



The flood siitferers are our neighbors. Let s be good 

 neighbors and help them in this time of need. 



George Washington On Fanning 



C^^^ HI: \oung man on the farm who is looking ahead 

 ^ — ^^ to his future life work may well pause to con- 

 y^ sider the words ot a famous farmer, George 

 Washington. 



In a letter to Arthur ^'oung. British agricultural ex- 

 pert, Washington wrote: "I think with you th.it the life 

 of the husbandman of all others is most delectable. It is 

 honorable, it is amusing, and. with judicious management, 

 it is profitable. To see plants rise from the earth and 

 flourish by the superior skill and bounty of the laborer 

 tills a contemplative mind with ideas which are more easy 

 to be conceived than expressed. 



"I know of no pursuit in which more real and im- 

 portant services can be rendered any countr\'. than by im- 

 proving its .agriculture - its breeds of useful animals — 

 and other branches of husbandman's cares." 



I. A. A. RECORD 



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