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Soil Committeeinen 

 6000 Strong Meet 



at Springfield 



^^N^ETWEEN 5,000 and 6.000 Illi- 

 ^*-/^ nois farmers who are in charge 



_J } of administering the Agricul- 

 tural Adjustment Act of 1938 assembled 

 at the State Armory in Springfield, March 

 19 to hear and take part in a discussion 

 of the principles and details of the pro- 

 gram. 



These men, who were elected by their 

 neighbors to the county and community 

 soil conservation committees, met at the 

 call of Lee M. Gentry of Ogle county, 

 chairman of the State Soil Conservation 

 Committee. With him on the platform 

 were other members of the state commit- 

 tee, including S. E. Purvines of Sangamon 

 county; John S. Bumgarner, Marshall 

 county; John Bicket, Randolph county; 

 and J. B. Andrews who represents the 

 Agriculture Extension Service. 



Guest speakers included Earl C. Smith, 

 president of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation ; Governor Henry Horner ; J. H. 

 Lloyd, State Director of Agriculture ; 

 Claude Wickard, AAA Administrator in 

 the north central division. J. H. "Uncle 

 Joe" Fulkerson, J. C. Spitler, and others 

 were called on for brief remarks. 



In opening his address Mr. Smith paid 

 tribute to Ex-Governor Frank O. Lowden 

 of Oregon who he called the outstanding 

 champion during the twenties of effec- 

 tive farm legislation. Because Frank O. 

 Lowden refused to compromise on this 

 issue at Kansas City in 1928 he lost the 



support of influential groups at the Na- 

 tional Republican Convention. This re- 

 sulted later in the withdrawal of his 

 name as a presidential candidate. 



It was that early fight, Mr. Smith 

 said, which culminated in the enactment 

 of the Triple A Act of 1933, the Soil 

 Conservation Act of 1936 and now the 

 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. 



"It is now the responsibility of you 

 men," he said, referring to the members 

 of county and community committees, "to 

 administer this program faithfully and 

 honestly and thereby express our appre- 

 ciation for the sacrifice made by Ex- 

 Governor Lowden and others to secure an 

 effective farm program." 



Mr. Smith answered newspaper charges 

 published in an editorial "A Famine 

 Guaranteed" that the new farm bill was 

 steamrollered through the House in four 

 hours. "The fact is," he said, "that it 

 required more than a year from the time 

 100 farm representatives met in Wash- 

 ington early in 1937 to develop a perma- 

 nent program to help stabilize basic 

 farm prices at fair levels." 



To the charge that the nation would 

 suffer from the surplus control program, 

 Mr. Smith said: "What are the facts? 

 The greatest slump in business and em- 

 ployment experienced during our times 

 came in 1932 and early 1933 when our 

 granaries and corn cribs were overflow- 

 ing, when crop surpluses were piled up 

 higher than at any time in history, and 

 when farm prices were the lowest in 60 

 years. Business conditions did not begin 



Unlimited Production 

 Keeps the Corn Price 

 Kite from Rising. 



Balanced Production 

 Through Cooperation 

 With the IVew Agri- 

 cultural Adjustment 

 Act Will Bring Ahout 

 Fair^ Stahle Prices 



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L A. A, RECORD 



