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EDITORIAL 



Let's Be Practical 



' M UTOMOBILE prices are going higher, accord- 

 ,^i, ing to announcements from Detroit. Manufac- 

 /^_x ^/ turers have looked into their production costs. 

 They feel that an advance is justified. The automobile 

 makers could sell more cars at a lower price, but wisely they 

 realize that volume without profits leads to nothing but 

 bankruptcy. Detroit will turn out only as many cars as 

 consumers are willing to take at the higher price. 



Farmers are fully aware that prices have advanced all 

 along the line. Everybody is raising prices. And the agri- 

 cultural industry doesn't mind so long as farm prices keep 

 pace with the trend. 



There is a school of thought which holds that there 

 should be no control of farm surpluses, no check on farm 

 production. They would have farmers operate on the 

 laissez faire principle while other industries control produc- 

 tion and do something about getting profitable prices. 

 Some well-meaning idealists believe that the solution to 

 our economic ills lies mainly in cutting distribution costs; 

 that consumer co-operation is the answer. 



Laudable as are these efforts at organized buying and 

 co-operative distribution, by themselves they will not keep 

 the farmer in a parity position. Just because farm prices 

 today are in substantial adjustment with non-agricultural 

 prices is no reason why we should forget the lessons taught 

 by the late depression. Without a doubt farm prices are 

 headed for lower levels. Grain prices already reflect the 

 trend. Livestock prices will follow in due time. Why? 

 Because of increased production. 



Therefore it seems folly for American farmers to 

 depend entirely on co-operative marketing and co-operative 

 buying and distribution to maintain farm parity. If ex- 

 perience teaches anything, it teaches that co-operative 

 adjustment of farm production to market demands at 

 parity price levels is the most important of the three. 



Distribution, quite true, takes too much of the con- 

 sumer's dollar. It is right that we work unceasingly to 

 narrow this spread between the price the producer gets 

 and the price the consumer pays. But let's be practical. 

 Let's realize that consumer co-operation is not going to 

 change the economic system under which we have been 

 operating, for many years to come, if at all. We are faced 

 with a condition, not a theory. Without a definite check 

 on production and crop surpluses American agriculture 

 indeed would have a dreary outlook. 



Attend The Sports Festival 



r> y^ AST year an estimated 30,000 Illinois Farm Bureau 

 ^<J^ folks and their guests launched the first state- 

 '' — ^ wide Farm Sports Festival ever held in America. 

 It was an impressive gathering, revealing that Illinois 

 farmers can organize for play and recreation as well as 

 for economic reasons. The Farm Bureau from the begin- 

 ning has contributed to the social and spiritual side of 

 farm life through co-operation with the churches, com- 

 munity meetings, picnics, parties, and other gatherings. 

 The Sports Festival comes in this category. It has stimu- 

 lated sportsmanship, team play, music and recreation, all 



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of which are needed in building a successful rural com- 

 munity life. 



This year the second Sports Festival will be held at 

 Champaign-Urbana, Sept. 3-4. It promises to surpass in 

 interest and attendance the opener last year. Combined 

 with the sports and musical program, will be a historical 

 narration showing 25 years of progress in agricultural ex- 

 tension and Farm Bureau organization in this state. Many 

 of the pioneer Farm Bureau leaders will be there. The 

 University of Illinois, Prairie Farmer, Radio Stations WLS, 

 WMBD, WDZ, WILL and others are co-operating as 

 last year. If you come to the Festival, your faith and pride 

 in rural Illinois will be strengthened. You will see hun- 

 dreds of boys and girls, young men and young women, and 

 some not so young, contesting for honors and having a 

 lot of fun. For many it will be the first trip away from 

 home this year. Such things make life fuller and richer 

 for us all. So come to the Sports Festival. Take time to be 

 young again. It will repay you in many ways. 



Young Folks Aid Parents 



C^*^^ HE part young folks play in helping their parents 

 ^*^^ work out of staggering farm debts was the sub- 

 ^^_/ ject of an interesting afternoon's discussion at the 

 Young Adult Camp on Lake Bloomington. 



Twelve young persons related their personal experi- 

 ences. Four talked with tears in their eyes of the struggle 

 their families are having and the adjustments that were 

 necessary to stay on top. 



In one case two boys in their early twenties have 

 taken over the farm from their parents, borrowed ad- 

 ditional capital, and assumed the responsibility of paying 

 off a heavy mortgage. In another case, a school teacher 

 daughter told how liability for stock in closed banks had 

 forced her parents to put a heavy mortgage on the farm; 

 how her mother started a rock garden to overcome worry 

 and keep her sanity. In another case, insurance on the life 

 of the father who died made it possible for the children 

 and mother to hold the farm and continue its operation. 



These experiences are not unusual; they are typical 

 of life's drama constantly being enacted in every commu- 

 nity. Many may be inclined to pity youngsters who in- 

 herit debts and responsibility. Yet what develops character 

 and ability in a young person more than a tough assign- 

 ment such as those mentioned? 



A Word To The Wise ' 



"Farm income this year will be a billion dollars 

 more than last. Consequently the only relief problem 

 will be how to relieve the farm boys of all that extra 

 dough," says a writer in Advertising Age. 



P^ ANY a truth is said in jest and judging from 

 ^^-Ayj the signs of the times, unusual efforts will be 

 ^^^/fl made this fall and winter to separate farmers 

 from their increased income. The publicity being given 

 higher farm income, promises to send many a dead beat 

 to the country looking for easy money. 



If a stranger comes along offering something of 

 questionable worth, it's a good idea to check with the 

 County Farm Bureau office before you buy. If further 

 investigation is necessary, the lAA office is at your service. 



L A. A. RECORD 





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