Bow LA. A. Stands On Public Questions 



^ Resolutions Adopted at 23rd Annual lAA Meeting 



Springfield, Jan. 28, 1938 



• 



4 s AMERICAN citizens we 

 / TT ^^^ interested in the social, 

 ^^y / educational and economic 

 opportunities of all groups. We would 

 preserve the institutions which vouch- 

 safe these opportunities. To neglect the 

 problems of agriculture is to sap the 

 foundations of these institutions. 



No group in this country is less mili- 

 tary minded than are American farmers. 

 Farmers love peace. But at this moment 

 organized American agriculure is on the 

 march. Its man-power, its resources, its 

 facilities, are marshalled to obtain equi- 

 table balance as between all groups, be- 

 lieving, as it does, that only through such 

 mobilization will come the greater field 

 of freedom and opportunity. Agricul- 

 tural security and national well being de- 

 mand that this balance be effected with- 

 out delay and without compromise. 



I. National Policy 



We endorse the essential provisions of the 

 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1937 as pre- 

 sented by representatives of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation to the House and 

 Senate Committees on Agriculture on May 

 17, 1937. This proposed legislation offers 

 the Nation assurance of ample supplies of 

 basic farm products; affords farmers the op- 

 portunity to effectively control surplus re- 

 serve supplies supported by adequate Fed- 

 eral loans based upon warehouse and trust 

 receipts; assures farmers an opportunity to 

 mtelligently adjust production to the extent 

 necessary to keep surplus reserve supplies 

 from becoming unduly large and unwieldy 

 and assures to each farmer his fair share of 

 the current market at parity or near parity 

 prices. Through a system of marketing 

 quotas, this measure gives assurance to co- 

 operating farmers that should excessive sup- 

 plies occur within any year, each farmer 

 producing a commodity for market, through 

 the authority of a referendum by interested 

 producers, would be required to withhold 

 from market channels his equitable portion 

 of the excess until total supplies are brought 

 into balance with market demands and a 

 reasonable reserve carryover. 



We urge the continued efforts of the As- 

 sociation in support of these provisions of 

 law until a well-rounded and effective Na- 

 tional policy for agriculture embodying 

 these essential provisions as a supplement 

 to the Soil Conservation and Domestic Al- 

 lotment Act is adopted by the Congress. 



II. Tariffs 

 We reaffirm our position in support of a 

 schedule of agricultural tariffs to fully pro- 

 tect the domestic market from competing 

 imports that hold or force American prices 

 below parity levels; reduction of excessive 

 industrial tariffs to equalize the price levels 

 of industrial and agricultural commodities; 



more aggressive efforts to develop new 

 domestic and foreign outlets and markets for 

 American grown farm products, with the 

 continued use, for this purpose, of a sub- 

 stantial amount of import revenue; and State 

 and Federal marketing agreements and 

 orders to enable producers, with distributors 

 or consumers, to stabilize the price level of 

 any agricultural commodity. ■ • ■ 



III. Appreciation 



We extend our appreciation to the mem- 

 bers of the Illinois delegation in Congress 

 for their expressed interest in and support 

 of adequate and necessary farm commodity 

 surplus control legislation as disclosed by 

 their petition to the House Committee on 

 Agriculture urging favorable action before 

 adjournment of the last regular session of 

 Congress. 



IV. Illinois Congressmen 

 We particularly commend the members 

 of the Illinois delegation in Congress who 

 remained steadfast in their support of amend- 

 ments to pending farm commodity surplus 

 control legislation supported by the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association and American Farm 

 Bureau Federation, when under considera- 

 tion by the House of Representatives during 

 the last special session of Congress, and we 

 deplore the action and vote of those mem- 

 bers who responded to political machine 

 domination and either withheld support 

 from, or opposed, these amendments. 



V. Ubor 



We believe that a proper balance between 

 the wages of organized labor, industrial 

 prices and farm prices is essential to the 

 permanent prosperity of all groups and to 

 the security of America. 



We recognize that labor is entitled to 

 reasonable hours, proper working condi- 

 tions and a fair share of the National in- 

 come. We also recognize that farm prices 

 are now at a wide disparity below industrial 

 wage levels and industrial prices. 



At least until such time as the existing 

 disparity is removed, we will oppose the 

 enactment of legislation increasing further 

 the disparity through shortening the hours 

 of labor and raising wage rates, especially 

 of those groups whose wage standards are 

 above parity level with farm prices. 



VI. Boycotts 



We deplore the encouragement of organ- 

 ized boycotts against farm products by cer- 

 tain labor groups, in particular because the 

 standard of wages of such labor groups is 

 substantially higher than the retail price of 

 food as measured by their exchange value 

 existing previous to the World War. Such 

 activities are ill-advised, un-American and 

 conducive to ill-will and misunderstanding 

 between agriculture and labor, and will, if 

 continued, be detrimental to labor, agricul- 

 ture and the general public interest. 



VII. Industrial Prices 

 We deplore the action of industry when it 

 pyramids increases in wage rates into the 

 price levels of industrial products. Such 



action is not conducive to the maintenance 

 of present industrial output, decreases the 

 opportunity for gainful employment and is 

 generally adverse to National welfare. 



VIII. Rural Electrification 



The extension of high line electric ser- 

 vice to farmers affords great possibilities for 

 increasing the standard of living in the farm 

 home and will provide an economical source 

 of power. If the Association and County 

 Farm Bureaus are to continue to support 

 and sponsor rural electrification financed 

 with Federal funds, the Boards of Directors 

 of these projects must be given authority 

 equal to the responsibility entailed by their 

 sponsorship. These projects should operate 

 within the general policies of the Rural 

 Electrification Administration but so long 

 as the loans are not in default, the Rural 

 Electrification Administration should exer- 

 cise only such supervisory authority as is 

 necessary to protect its investment. If these 

 projects are to be controlled, their policies 

 dictated and their operating problems deter- 

 mined by the Rural Electrification Admin- 

 istration, then the membership of these proj- 

 ects should be so advised in order that there 

 may be no misunderstanding as to the bu- 

 reaucratic nature of this program and that 

 the Boards of Directors may not be charged 

 with responsibility which they have no auth- 

 ority to discharge. We believe that these 

 local projects, through a state-wide federa- 

 tion, can effect many economies and provide 

 engineering, auditing and other professional 

 .services of a calibre which the individual 

 projects cannot afford. 



IX. Roads 



So long as the Federal Government col- 

 lects large amounts of taxes from purchasers 

 of gasoline and motor vehicles and parts 

 therefor, we oppose any reductions in ap- 

 portionments of regular Federal Aid Road 

 funds among the several States and in ap- 

 propriations therefor. 



In order to increase the mileage of sec- 

 ondary roads annually improved, we favor, 

 increasing the proportion both of Federal 

 Aid Road funds and of State appropriations 

 to match the same which are earmarked for 

 this purpose. 



We also favor liberalizing the present 

 rigid Federal and State specifications for 

 construction of secondary roads. 



X. Bang's Disease 



Reasonable annual Federal appropriations 

 have been available to dairymen within the 

 States for use in Federal-State cooperative 

 programs for the voluntary elimination of 

 cattle affected with Bang's disease. It ap- 

 pears probable that a continuation of an- 

 nual Federal aid to any State may become 

 dependent upon t}ie State matching in whole 

 or in part Federal funds available to such 

 State and should such contingency arise, we 

 urge that the State of Illinois be prepared 

 to meet such a situation with the appropria- 

 tion of adequate funds for indemnity to 

 herd owners desiring to cooperate with such 

 worthy programs. 



FEBRUARY. 1938 



