April, 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seven 



57TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 



~-^ — (Continued from page 4) —-—^ 



only for the purposes named, but also -> 

 for all other purposes for which appro- 

 priations are usually made from the 

 General Revenue Fund. If they should 

 fail to do so, the State Levying Board 

 is directed to levy taxes on property 

 sufficient to make up the deficiency. 



A NUMBER of measures of more or 

 less importance the L A. A. is 

 supporting before the General Assembly 

 cover varied subjects, all of practical 

 interest to farmers. Bills which have 

 already passed the House include H. B. 

 410 (Rep. Luckey, Vermilion county) 

 which would absolve an owner from 

 damages resulting from his live stock 

 running unattended on public highways 

 without his knowledge, where such 

 owner used due care in keeping such 

 live stock off the highways. Under the 

 act, responsibility for accidents result- 

 ing from live stock running at large 

 would be placed on the party whose 

 negligence brought about the damages. 



Cow^ Has Right-of-Way 



In a recent decision a Wisconsin 

 judge held that a cow being driven 

 across a road from one pasture to an- 

 other had the right-of-way, and that 

 drivers of vehicles were bound to exer- 

 cise due care to avoid hitting such ani- 

 mal. The present Illinois law presumes 

 the owner of live stock to be Hable for 

 damages resulting from unattended 

 live stock on public highways. 



H. B. 501 (Rep. Johnson, Ford coun- 

 ty) would make' the owner of any dog 

 liable for damages it inflicts by killing 

 or molesting live stock (sheep, goats, 

 cattle, horses, mules, poultry, swine). 

 This bill, which authorizes the killing 

 of such dog, passed the House by a 

 [,. substantial majority vote on April 1. 



1^ Butter Substitutes 



H. B. 451, which provides that no 

 state institution supported by public 

 funds shall purchase more than 2 5 per 

 cent of its fat requirements for in- 

 mates in the form of butter or lard 

 substitutes, passed the House on March 

 31, although it was amended before 

 passage so as not to apply to county and 

 municipal institutions. This bill was 

 substituted for H. B. 84 (Handy), 

 which prohibited the use of butter sub- 

 stitutes in all state institutions. 



H. B. 4 (Rep. Davis, Jackson coun- 

 ty) provides that lime dust manufac- 

 tured at the Southern Illinois (Chester) 

 Penitentiary shall be furnished free to 

 farmers in the drouth stricken area of 

 that section. This bill will be supported 

 by the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 as an emergency measure to expire at 

 the end of the year 1931. Sen. Harry 



Wilson of Perry county has introduced 

 jhe same measure in the Senate as S. B. 

 387. 



License Milk Dealers 



The milk dealers' licensing bill, H. B. 

 440 (Rep. Corzine, Christian county) 

 provides for state licensing of milk 

 dealers and carries a provision that ap- 

 plications for licenses shall contain a 

 certificate signed by a physician show- 

 ing freedom from communicable dis- 

 eases of each person handling or coming 

 in contact with milk sold. The state's 

 attorney and sheriff of each county 

 shall be furnished with a list of licenses 

 twice a year. The measure is designed 

 to improve the milk supply in small 

 towns and rural communities. This bill 

 received favorable consideration by the 

 Committee on Agriculture, and as we 

 go to press, is on third reading in the 

 House. 



Motor Vehicle Bills 



A number of bills amending the mo- 

 tor vehicle act, changing the classifica- 

 tion of trucks by weight and the license 

 fees therefor, also clarifying the law 

 with reference to exempting farm trac- 

 tors and other farm machines from the 

 payment of motor license fees have been 

 introduced. 



Reps. Hunter, Winnebago county, 

 and Allen, Whiteside county, have in- 

 troduced similar measures covering the 

 reclassification of trucks according to 

 capacity. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 will support the bills which coincide 

 closest to the resolution on these ques- 

 tions passed at the last annual meeting, 

 namely: 



"We favor and pledge our support 

 to amendment of the Motor Vehicle 

 Act: 



1. "To exempt farm- tractors and any 



farm implements and machinery 

 drawn by tractors from the re- 

 quirement of motor licenses tchcn 

 such tractors, implements and ma- 

 chinery use the highways only in 

 moving between fields or farms for 

 the purpose of carrying on farm 

 operations. 



2. "To establish a more equitable 



schedule of license fees with differ- 

 ent rates for trucks having a com- 

 bined weight and rated capacity of 

 less than 4,000 pounds, between 

 4,000 and 8,000 pounds, and be- 

 ; fween 8,000 and 12,000 pounds." 



Hunter Bill Passes 



Rep. Hunter's bill, H. B. 228, which 

 provides that farm machinery including 

 tractors, threshing machines, clover 

 hullers, ensilage cutters, corn shredders, 

 corn shellers, etc., shall not be subject 



to the motor vehicle act, passed the 

 House on March 26. . 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 appeared in opposition to H. B. 407 

 which would give cities one cent of the 

 three cent gas tax to use for the con- , 

 struction of roads and streets. The I. 



A. A. supports the State Department ' 

 of Highways in contending that the 

 distribution of the gas tax be left un- 

 disturbed, the hard road program com- 

 pleted, but that the Highway Depart- 

 ment take over the building and main- 

 tenance of streets through towns and 

 cities that have been designated as state 

 highways. 



Amendments to the Co-operative 

 Acts of 1915 and 1923 are covered in 

 House bills 466 and 467 (Homer J. 

 Tice, Menard county), respectively. H. 



B. 466 would make the 1915 Act co- 

 operative in principle as well as in 



name, would increase the number of ' 



shares a stockholder can hold from five . 

 to ten shares, authorizes a maximum of 

 $1,000 per share instead of $5 00, per- 

 mits one co-operative to invest in the 

 stock of another up to 10 per cent of 

 its capital stock, and provides that 

 dividends on capital stock be limited 

 to 8 per cent. 



H. B. 467, which amends the Co- 

 operative Act of 1923, is designed to 

 broaden and make more flexible the 

 1923 Act so as to meet all conditions 

 developed through past experiences. 



Under the amended act it will be pos- ■ 



sible to organize co-operative credit 

 corporations, to organize national co- 

 operative marketing associations under 

 the Illinois law. It will do away with 

 the necessity of organizing co-operatives 

 under the Delaware laws. 



The amendments proposed in H. B. 

 467 have the approval of the Legal 

 Department of the Federal Farm Board. 



State Income Tax Up 



In Senate on April 15 



As this issue of the RECORD goes 

 to press the Lantz state income tax 

 bill, S. B. 138, is scheduled to come up 

 for third reading in the State Senate 

 Wednesday, April 15, at 10 A. M. 

 The legislative committee of the I. A. 

 A. secured a special order for considera- 

 tion of the measure following the ac- 

 tion of the Senate two weeks before 

 in passing the bill from second to third 

 reading. ■ ■ - r 



A state-wide conference of County 

 Farm Bureau presidents has been called 

 at Springfield for Wednesday afternoon, 

 April 15, to consider the income tax 

 bill and other legislation supported by 

 the Illinpis Agricultural Association be- 

 fore the 57th General Assembly... ,: 



