June, 1932 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seventeen 



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Break Ground For New 

 World's Fair Ag. Building 



Illinois Men Have Prominent Part 



In Century of Progress 



Ceremonies 



THE development of agricul- 

 ture from the period of the 

 ox-drawn wooden plow to the 

 period of the huge power-drawn 

 plow, capable of doing fifty times 

 as much work as the primitive 

 implement, was shown in a pag- 

 eant May 20 at the ground break- 

 ing ceremonies for the Century of 

 Progress agricultural building to 

 be erected in Chicago in the near 

 future. The building will be lo- 

 cated on the island south of the 

 new Adler Planetarium, on the 

 south Grant Park lake front. 



Earl C. Smith, president of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 gave a short address on the hopes 

 and purposes of agriculture, and 

 explained the pageantry illus- 

 trating the four periods. Mr. 

 Smith was introduced by Charles 

 S. Peterson, vice-president of the 

 Century of Progress Exposition. 



The periods were represented 

 by the old ox-plow, the mule- 

 drawn steel plow, the sulky plow, 

 and the modern gang plow. 

 ■ The first period — agriculture a 

 century ago — was dramatized by 

 Dr. W. A. Bitting of the Century 

 of Progress driving a team of 

 Connecticut oxen harnessed to an 

 eighteenth century plow loaned 

 for the occasion by A. Watson 

 Armour of Chicago. 



News-reel cameras clicked and 

 an amused twitter went up in the 

 audience of several hundred spec- 

 tators as the crude plow skimmed 

 the crust of the ground scarcely 

 making a scratch. 



Mr. Smith explained that the 

 plow was built in 1750 and was 

 first used by James Armour at 

 Quobbin, Mass. It has been 

 handed down from generation to 

 generation, its present owner 

 being the fifth to own it. 



Frank I. Mann, pioneer farmer 

 of Oilman, Iroquois county, Illi- 

 nois, illustrated the second period 

 by plowing a furrow with a span 

 of mules and the original wood 

 beam steel bottom plow, commonly 

 known as the walking plow. It 

 was the first plow manufactured 

 in the plow factory of William 

 Parlin of Canton, Illinois, in 1847. 



Mr. Mann, widely known as an 

 authority on practical farming 

 and the use of fertilizers, has 

 lived on the same farm for 71 

 years. 



Earl C. Smith, predident of the IlIlnolH Agricultural Association, slvinK addretis 

 at grround breaking ceremonies of the Century of Progress Agricultural Build- 

 ing to be erected in Chicago. 



The third period was portrayed 

 by Eugene D. Funk of McLean 

 county, Illinois, with the original 

 sulky plow introduced into this 

 country more than sixty years 

 ago, drawn by three champion 

 Clydesdale horses. Mr. Funk is the 

 third generation of his family to 

 operate the same farms, the fam- 

 ily having owned these lands for 

 a full century. 



The final development was illus- 

 trated by Harvey J. Sconce, agri- 

 cultural director of the Century o 

 Progress, Mr. Sconce drove a 

 tractor drawing a modern gang 

 plow. He is also the third gen- 

 eration of his family to operate 

 the Fairview Farm at Sidell, Ver- 

 milion county, Illinois. The farm 

 has been in possession of his fam- 

 ily for 101 years. 



"I am convinced," said Mr. 

 Smith, "that this Exposition will 

 bring home not only to those who 

 are fortunate enough to attend, 

 but to those who read of its great- 

 ness, the gigantic proportions of 

 America and its wonderful de- 

 velopment in all fields of agricul- 

 ture and industry." 



Livestock Shippers And 

 Railroad Men At Macomb 



WHAT can the railroads do to 

 improve the handling of 

 livestock to hold this business 

 against growing competition from 

 trucking? 



This question formed the back- 

 ground of a nine-county meeting 

 with I. A. A. and C. B. & Q. rail- 

 road representatives at Macomb 

 May 19. 



The livestock shippers asked for 

 a modification of the rule govern- 

 ing charges on mixed shipments, 

 requesting that provision be made 



for permitting stop-over privileges 

 to complete loadings. Unless sub- 

 stantial improvement is made in 

 handling livestock by rail more 

 business will be diverted to trucks, 

 farmers told the railway men. 



The matter of extending tran- 

 sit privileges at concentration 

 points — which means providing 

 one through rate from original 

 shipping point to terminal market 

 where livestock is unloaded and 

 £esjji^p^dsg,t a concentration point 

 — also was considered. Organized 

 livestock shippers want transit 

 privileges on all livestock includ- 

 ing mixed shipments. 



"This matter is just as im- 

 portant to the railroads as to the 

 producers," said L. J. Quasey, di- 

 rector of transportation. "Ship- 

 pers are no longer in the position 

 of having to beg for better service. 

 If railroads don't meet the situa- 

 tion of growing competition from 

 trucks they must suffer the con- 

 sequences. It is encouraging to 

 note that the carriers are doing 

 more to accommodate the ship- 

 per than ever before." 



The adjustment of rates from 

 western Illinois points to points 

 east of Buffalo also came ud for 

 discussion. The railroads can bring 

 about such changes and improve- 

 ments by recommending them to 

 the Interstate Commerce Com- 

 mission and securing the approval 

 of this body. 



Farm advisers and livestock 

 shipping association represent- 

 atives in McDonough, Adams, 

 Warren, Mercer, Knox, Henry, 

 Fulton, Schuyler, and Hancock 

 counties attended the meeting. 

 L. J. Quasey, and Ray E. Miller 

 represented the I. A. A. Traffic 

 and operating officials from the 

 C. B. & Q. participated. 



