ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



To aJicince the purpose jor uhich the Farm Bureau uas organized 

 namely, to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, social 

 and educational interests of the farmers of Illinois and the nation, and 

 to develop agriculture. 



JULY 

 VOL. 17 



1939 

 NO. 7 



Publishci monthly by the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation at 1^01 West Washington Road, Mcndola. III. 

 Editorial OffKe-i. U\H So. Dcarhnrn St.. Chic.ii;o. 111. 

 Fntcted as second t lass matter at r"st offuc, Mcndota. 

 Illinois. September II. \^)^(^ Ancrtance for mailini; 

 at special rate of postate provided in Seition 412. Att ot 

 Feb. :8. \92*>, authorized Oit. r. ^)^*i. Address all 

 communications for publication ti. I.ditonal Otiues, Illinois 

 Agricultural Assoti.ition RECORD. 'M)S So. Dearborn St.. 

 Chicago. The individual member ■-hip fee of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association is five dollars a year. The fee 

 includes pavnient of hftv icnts tor subscription to the 

 Illinois Ayrtcultural Association RFCORO. Postmaster : 

 Send notues on Fntm ^^''8 and iiiulcltverabic ( opics 

 returned under Form ^^"9 to editorial ofTit cs. 6( 8 S. 

 Dearborn St., Chicacf), III. 



rditor and Ad\ertisin<; Director. F. G. Thiem ; Assistant 

 Dtret tor an<I Ass't. Fditor. Fawrcni c A. Potter. 



Illinois Agricultural Association 



Greatest Sl.ite V-iim Org.iniz.ilio}; itj An.trji.i 



Xcwton 



Bclkn.ip 



Red Bud 



OFFICERS 



Pre'ident. Earl C. Smith Detroit 



VicePrcuJt'it. Talmaoe DfFrefs Sniitliboro 



Corpor.ite Sccret.iry. Paul E. Mathl\s Chicago 



FielJ Sccur.iry. Gro. E. Metzgfr Chioc" 



Tre.]furcr. R A. Cowrrs Blodminpton 



Aii'l Tre-iiurir. A. R VC'RiOHT Varna 



BO.ARD OF DIRECTORS 



(By Consrcssion.il District) 



1st to Iltli Artliur States. Flwood 



12th E. E. Hoiiplithy, Shahbnna 



13th I.eo M. Knox. Morrison 



14th Ottn Steffev, Strontluirst 



15th M. Ray Ihri.i:, Golden 



I6th AlScrt H.ivcs, Chillicothc 



17th C. M. Smith, Eiirek.i 



18th W. A. Dennis. Pans 



19th Eiijrme Curtis. Champaicn 



20th K. T. Smith, Greenfield 



21st Dwipht H:irt. Sharpsbiiru 



22nd A. O. Fckert. Belleville 



23rd Chester MiCord. 



2-4th- - Charles Marshall, 



25th. Auciist G Ecu'crdinc, 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Comptroller R. G. Ely 



Dairy Markctini; Wilfred Shaw 



Field Service - Cap Mast 



Finance R A Cowks 



Fruit and Vecetable M.ar';ctin,K H W. Dav 



Grain Marketinc Harrison Fahrnkopf 



I.cpal and General Coimsel Donald Kirkratrick 



Live Stock Marketin,;; Sam F. Russell 



Office C. E. Johnston 



Organization G E. Metzqer 



Produce Marketing F A. Goucler 



Pubh'city Geor.cc Thiem 



Safety C M. Seacravcs 



Soil Improvement John R Spencer 



Taxation and Statistics J. C Watson 



Transportation-Claims Division G. W Baxter 



Younc Peoples Activities Frank Gingrich 



ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Life Insurance Co Dave ^lieher, 



Manacer; Howard Reeder. Home Office 

 Farmers' Mutual Reinsiir.ince Co. I. H Kclker. 



Illinois A.cr. Auditing Ass'n C. E. Strand, 



Illinois Agr. Mutual Ins Co A E Richardson, Mgr. 



Illinois A.cr. Service Co Donald Kirkpatrick, Sea-. 



Illinois Farm Suppiv Co L R. Marchant, Mcr 



Illinois Fruit Growers' Exchanpe H. W. Dav, Mcr. 



III. Grain Corporation Frank Haines, Mgr. 



III. Livestock Marketing Ass'n S'm Russell, Mcr. 



Illinois Milk Producers' Ass'n ^X'ilfred Shaw, Mqr. 



III. Producers' Creameries T. B Countiss Sales Mcr. 



Frank A. Coupler, Procurement Mgr. 



Sales 

 Mqr. 

 Mcr. 

 Mgr. 



GEORGE THIEM, Editor 



y^N A ringing editorial plead- 

 C/l ing for more competition, 

 \^^ free enterprise and lower 

 prices the Chicago Daily News asks: 

 "What has been the plainly marked 

 policy of American business as a 

 whole ever since that fateful day in 

 October 19-9 when our flimsy house 

 of paper profits .... collapsed about 

 our heads.'" Then answering its 

 own cjuestion the News says: "It has 

 consisted of an increasing effort by 

 leaders of commerce, industry, l.ibor. 

 and .igriculture to keep prices up I 

 This in the face of a fall in income 

 from KO billions in 1929 to a low 

 of 40 billions in 1932." 



The reference to agriculture here 

 should not go unchallenged com- 

 mendable as is the News' statesman- 

 like approach to the problem of re- 

 covery. Just to clear the record, let 

 us look at the facts for a moment. 

 The index of farm prices in 1929 

 stood at 1-46 per cent of the 1909-1-4 

 base level. By 1932 aver.ige farm 

 prices had dropped to 65, a reduc- 

 tion of more than 55 per cent. 



Despite the continuing decline in 

 farm prices from 1929 through 

 1930. '31, and '32. farmers con- 

 tinued to produce bumper crops and 

 in 1932 topped all previous records 

 in the abundance of .igricultural 

 production. 



But what was the picture, in in- 

 dustry? An entirely different one. 

 Industry closed down its plants, 

 maintained its prices on a relatively 

 high level. Organized labor for the 

 most part grudgingly took pay cuts 

 but successfully resisted any such 

 reduction as the 55 per cent in 

 acriculture. 



Retail prices paid by farmers for 

 equipment and supplies used in pro- 

 duction declined only from 147 in 

 1929 to 107 in 1932 a reduction of 

 some 27 per cent — less than half 

 that chalked up against farm com- 

 modities. So the year 1932 revealed 

 the farm population of America liv- 

 ing under a low price level of 65, 

 for farm products while industry- and 

 labor engaged in manufacturing the 



thmgs needed by farmers in pro- 

 duction were holding out at a price 

 level of 107. 



In 1932 and '33 there seemed lit- 

 tle hope that industry and labor 

 would do anything alx)ut coming 

 down to earth and meeting the farm- 

 er on even ground. In fact indus- 

 try and labor clamored for the 

 N'RA to put their prices and wages 

 back to higher levels, and got the 

 approval of congress about the same 

 time the AA-^ was advanced to res- 

 cue .igriculture from the lowest price 

 levels in 60 years. 



All these f.icts arc well known to 

 farmers and are mentioned here only 

 to keep the record straight. Had 

 there been any serious disposition 

 shown by industry and labor fol- 

 lowing the 1929 stock market 

 debacle to exchange their goods 

 and services for farm produces on 

 something like an equitable basis, 

 there never would have been a de- 

 mantl by organized farmers for a 

 crop surplus curtailment program. 

 In fact, there would have been no 

 substantial farm surplus. Rural peo- 

 ple who normally purchase close to 

 half of the nations annual output 

 of industrial goods would have kept 

 the factory wheels running at a 

 mcrrv p.ue. And the employed 

 \\orkers would have consumed most 

 if not all the farm surplus. Instead 

 the nation's farmers went on a buy- 

 ing strike from necessity rather than 

 choice. 



Today the farm-industrial price 

 disparity is not as wide as it was 

 seven years ago, yet it is still wide 

 enough to have a serious effect 

 on business activity. A restoration 

 of the competitive spirit and free 

 enterprise in the industrial centers 

 as the News suggests, would go far 

 toward restoring national prosper- 

 itv. The News is pushing in the 

 right direction. May it succeed in 

 winning more support for this 

 sound proposal to solve the coun- 

 try's most pressing problem. 



—EOT. 



JULY. 1939 



9 



