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Pa^e Ten 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Februar^,,i9li 



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Echoes from Annual Meeting 



.pany, the Agricultural Mutual Insur- 

 ance Company, the Farm Bureau Base- 

 ball League, the Farm Bureau Serum 

 Association, the Produce Marketing 

 Association, the Country Life Insurance 

 Company, and the Farm Supply Com- 

 pany. r.'':'^'\,:-y •?;"■■■■ i': ^ :'':•■ ^\';;-' .v^f.:'' ■■'• 



The presence of Chairman Legge of 

 the Federal Farm Board, as we stated 

 in an editorial Wednesday, focuses na- 

 tional interest upon this gathering, but 

 the collective objective transcends the 

 views, activities or ambitions of any in- 

 dividual or sectional group. 



Agriculture has entered upon a new 

 era of economics and now faces new 

 problems. The day when agricultural 

 bodies like this great association could 

 be manipulated politically is past. It 

 is accepted as an insult for any party 

 leaders or partisan organization to as- 

 sume that they can now "deliver" the 

 agricultural vote . to promote partisan 

 ends. 



The welfare of the farmer is an eco- 

 nomic and not a partisan political prob- 

 lem. True, if political parties are to 

 survive they must determine the needs 

 of agriculture and frame their plat- 

 forms and policies accordingly. 



More important than partisan ambi- 

 tions are the policies of such organi- 

 zations as the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation. 



The keynote of this great meeting 

 now and throughout the coming year 

 should be united demand for legislative, 

 action in state and nation which will 

 supply practical farm relief. 



An uncompromising campaign must 

 be carried on to see that more such 

 frauds as were perpetrated in 1928 shall 

 not be repeated to the disadvantage of 

 agriculture.! -■, ni; v "• .^. 



If such a powerful organization as 

 the I. A. A. exercises its prestige unit- 

 edly and aggressively along this line it 

 will rescue agriculture from its pres- 

 ent depression and give the farmer that 

 which he has consistently been deinTed 

 — a fair share in national prosperity. — 

 Illinois State Register. 



Annual Convention of I. A. A. 



Substantial and practical suggestions 

 for agriculture's recovery from the 

 situation in which it finds itself should 

 come from the three-day convention of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 opening in Springfield today. 



Five thousand farmers are expected 



from all corners of the state for the 



series of meetings and conferences. The 



local committee plans to accommodate 



il,600 at the annual banquet Thursday 



evening at which the principal speaker 

 will be Alexander H. Legge, chairman 

 of the Federal Farm Board. 



Springfield's guests today are prac- 

 tical farmers. They know conditions 

 on the farms, not from reading tables 

 of statistics, but from wrestling with 

 the soil and trying to outwit the 

 weatherman. Theory will be tempered 

 with fact in the exposition of the situ- 

 ation and in recommending remedial 

 action. 



From the doleful tales one hears of 

 agriculture's plight, there might be an 

 excuse for believing that the farmer 

 has thrown up his hands in surrender. 

 Such a notion will be blasted by a thou- 

 sand motor horns as the farmers ar- 

 rive today. ■^'-S;-': V' *■; ■ ^■'.' -■■:-;■'■■ ■'-:<■':.■■■''■':. 



They are gathered, not for a post- 

 mortem, but for a clinical consultation, 

 determined to put their ailing patient 

 back on his feet and back to work. — 

 Illinois State Journal..^ .- ; ^' 



GOV. EMMERSON'S TAX- 

 REFORM VIEWS 



In a speech before the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association, Gov. Emmerson, 

 after reviewing the revenue and tax 

 situation in the state and in Cook coun- 

 ty, urged, in addition to necessary re- 

 forms in the assessment and equaliza- 

 tion of taxes, an- earnest restudy of the 

 ways and means of complete and per- 

 manent improvement of thcjevenue 

 system of Illinois. He bespoke the co- 

 operation of all civic and other organi- 

 zations. 



It serves no useful purpose now to 

 complain of the opposition to the reve- 

 nue amendment submitted last fall and 

 rejected by the voters. That amend- 

 ment lacked merit, and certainly did 

 not embody the complete and perma- 

 nent reform of taxation which Gov. 

 Emmerson recognizes as indispensable. 

 A /new revenue and tax amendment 

 should be drafted, and every legitimate 

 interest should be given adequate op- 

 portunity to contribute to the right 

 solution of the problem. 



The next amendment submitted 

 should be frank, comprehensive and 

 free from all ambiguities and jokers. 

 It should permit classification of prop- 

 erty for purposes of taxation, the levy- 

 ing of different rates on different types 

 of property, the exemption of person- 

 alty from taxation, and the imposition 

 of a fair tax on incomes. 



• ^ Hitting the Nail <r^^} 



The governor struck the nail on the 

 head in addressing the Illinois Agri-^ 

 cultural Association in state convention" 

 assembled at Springfield, today, where 

 he said there "had been no apportion--: 

 ment for thirty years and it would be: 

 thirty years more before the 101 down-, 

 state counties would turn the state ' 

 government over to one county — 

 Cook." In his biennial mesage he 

 suggested an agreement with Chicago 

 whereby Cook County should be given 

 full representation in the senate but 

 that its membership in the house be 

 forever limited to one-third. 



With the session only a month old 

 the Chicago members are more insis- 

 tent in the demands for control of both 

 branches than ever before, and are tell-, 

 ing their constituents that the execu- 

 tive is substituting his own ideas for 

 the state constitution — the sacredness 

 of which they repeatedly point out in 

 their demands for their pound of flesh. 

 Thfe statement of .the governor today 

 ■Will strike a responsive chord in every 

 fair-minded man. Many of the Chi- 

 cago delegation privately admit that 

 their demands for control of both • 

 branches are unreasonable and would be 

 for the best interests of neither down- 

 state nor Chicago, but that they are 

 powerless to express publicly theit real 

 sentiments because of the attitude of 

 the metropolitan press. 



A commission is in the making to 

 study this situation, and it is not un- - 

 likely it will in the end recommend a 

 limitation for Cook County in one", 

 house at least. It means nothing to 

 Chicago that the voting strength of 

 every other large city in the nation is 

 limited in its general assembly. ..;.". 



Young as is the present session it is 

 not too early to predict that there will 

 be no apportionment by the Fifty- 

 seventh general assembly nor its suc-^- 

 cessor either, unless in the meantime 

 Cook County consents to and helps put^ 

 over a constitutional amendment limi 

 ing its voting strength. Chicago makes 

 the noise but down-state has the votes. 

 It is ready and willing to deal fairly 

 with Cook, but Cook is not yet ready 

 to enter into a give and take proposi- 

 tion. Its attitude is to take all or noth- 

 ing, and nothing is just what it is go-, 

 ing to get. Down-state would be in 

 a fine pickle with Chicago in cont«oI, 

 of both branches of the generat~^assem- 

 bly. — Peoria Star. - ■>^^::\^ 



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Gov. Emmerson should urge that 

 sort of amendment. It could be de- 

 fended successfully in a campaign of 

 education, and would deserve popular 

 approval. Its chance of adoption would 

 be excellent. — Chicago Daily News. 



Only two cancellations out of -^,300 

 members of the Sanitary Milk Pro- 

 ducers, St. Louis, at the close of the 

 year, is reported by Manager A. - D. 

 L^nch. . ,: -, 



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