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JUNE 25, 1932-EXTRi 



STATE-WiDE DEMONSTR 





LAUNCH DRIVE AT DECATUR FOR 

 EMERGENC Y PRICE -RAISING BILL 



3000^ Far in Bureau Leaders Demand Congress Stay in 

 Session Until Something Eflfective fi Done v 



DECATUR, ILL., June 17.— With the battle cry, "prosperity In 

 America must begin on the farm" more than 3000 Farm Bureau 

 delegates representing every organized Illinois county thundered 

 their unanimous approval and determination to move forward in 

 a mammoth July 4th demonstration throughout Illinois in a meet- 

 ing held in the Armory here today. 



Like the minute men of '76 who left their plow handles on a 

 moment's notice to free their country from the yoke of oppression, 

 came this loyal group of leaders from the cornfields of Illinois 

 rallying to an emergency call to help free their industry find the 

 country from the yoke of depression. 



The meeting which was called secretly "to consider matters of 

 vital importance to agriculture" took on the appearance of a great 

 party convention when pasteboard banners bearing the name of 

 each county, were raised aloft by the delegates. The meeting 

 launched a drive for emergency farm price improvement legisla- 

 tion, which President Earl C. Smith explained had been introduced 

 only two days before by Congressman Henry T. Rainey, majority 

 leader in the* House, at the request of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation. 

 "This meeting and demonstra- 



tion may well be a 'Boston Tea 

 Party' of American agriculture as 

 well as a July 4th celebration," said 

 Clifford V. Gregory, editor of 

 Prairie Farmer who was cheered to 

 the echo when introduced as a 

 great champion of agriculture and 

 friend of farmers, by President 

 Smith. 



"This emergency bill, if enacted, 

 will operate for one year only," ex- 

 plained Mr. Smith. "It will raise 

 farm prices within 15 days after its 

 enactment. Its purpose is to make 

 the tariff eflfective on farm prod- 

 ucts, to raise domestic prices to 

 the world price plus the tariff." 

 A thunderous "Go" was the re 



3 — That an excise tax of 42 cents 

 per bushel be levied on the process- 

 ing of wheat, the tax to go into the 

 government fund to redeem the 

 negotiable grain certificates. 

 Will Raise Price 



That in brief is the plan, Mr. 

 Smith explained. The same system 

 applies to hogs and cotton. It is 

 designed to raise the price of farm 

 products on the domestic market 

 to a point equal to the tariff im- 

 posed on them. 



"It will raise the price of wheat 

 above the current price level to the 

 amount of the tariff on wheat, 

 which is 42 cents a bushel," he ex- 

 plained. "It will not disturb the 



sponse Irom 3000 voices when the 1. 1 present marketiuer &yiUtit - in any 

 A. A. president asked if he should way. The processors of wheat will 

 go to Washington Monday to fight pay the excise tax. Whatever the 

 for the enactment of the emergency price the farmer receives for wheat 

 legislation. "Then go home, write going into domestic consumption, 

 your Congressmen and tell them be will be paid the additional price 

 to stay in , Washington until some- on his negotiable certificates 

 thing effective is done to lift agri- 





culture out of the^^Jepression," he 

 replied. 



"Let us sidetrack all other meet- 

 ings and enterprises between now 

 and July 4, make this demonstra- 

 tion a success, get this bill enacted 

 by congress, and maybe we'll have 

 something to celebrate after all," 

 he said. 



Reviewing the efforts of Farm 

 Bureau leaders to secure price -im- 

 provement legisl^on, Mr. Smith 

 told of arriving in Washington on 

 May 23 to prevail on congress to 

 do something. 



Blame Each Other 



"We went to the Republicans and 

 they laid the blame on the Demo- 

 crats," he said. "When we went to 

 the Democrats they blamed the 

 Republicans, so we got the leaders 

 from both parties into one room 

 and told them what farmers were 

 up against and what had to be 

 done." 



In that appeal to Congress the 

 farm leaders set out a program 

 with three salient features: 



1 — That funds be provided for 

 the disposal of accumulated crop 

 surpluses. 



2 — Passage of emergency legisla- 

 tion having for its purpose imme- 

 diate price improvement for basic 

 crops. 



3 — Establishment of a legitimate 

 and effective control of future crop 

 surpluses. 



. "The Illinois downstate delega- 

 tion promised solid suport for these 

 three points," Mr. Smith said. 



"After conferring with leaders in 

 both parties in Washington we 

 were asked to draft our own solu- 

 tion of our problems. 



"We have done so and Wednes- 

 day Congressman Rainey intro- 

 duced into Congress a bill that, if 

 passed, will give us relief within 15 

 days. If you men will fight for 

 that bill as I know you are capable 

 of fighting, we will be out of the 

 woods in a hurry." 



What It Provides 



This bill provides for the emer- 

 gency, only, as follows: 



1 — That the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture shall proclaim at once what 

 percentage of this year's crop of 

 wheat, hogs and cotton is needed 

 for home consumption, 



2 — That any farmer selling wheat 

 shall present his weight certificate 

 to an agent of the Secretary of Ag- 

 riculture in his county and shall 

 receive a negotiable certificate for 

 that percentage of his grain that 

 the secretary's estimate declares 

 will be consumed at home on the 

 basis of the tariff, or 42 cents for 

 wheat. 



Wheat moving into export will not 

 be taxed. 



"We could not specify all grains 

 and all crops. But if wheat, hogs 

 and cotton prices are raised other 

 commodity prices will follow. This 

 bill is very simple. All we have to 

 do is put it over." 



Purpose Kept Secret • " v . 



Friday's meeting was one of the 

 most remarkable ever conducted at 

 Decatur. Its purpose kept secret, 

 the call was issued Wednesday to 

 Farm Bureau leaders and directors, 

 and representatives of the various 

 enterprises fostered by the Illinois 

 Agricultural association. 



Large placards expressing the 

 needs and wants of farmers brought 

 a tremendous response of approval 

 when paraded up and down the 

 aisles of the armory before the 

 opening of the meeting. 



"Give Us a Price and We'll Buy 

 the Nation Back to Prosperity," 

 said one huge sign. "Bring Back 

 the Dollar of 1926," said another, 

 and "Higher Prices the Way to Re- 

 covery," advised a third, while a 

 fourth asserted, "Taxes Must Come 

 Down." The theme of the meeting 

 was expressed in "Prosperity for 

 America Begins with The Farmer." 



"We are here to do what the na- 

 tional Republican convention failed 

 to do," C. V. Gregory, Prairie 

 Farmer editor, explained to the 

 crowd that had given him a tumul- 

 tuous greeting as he was introduced 

 by Mr. Smith. "To consider the se- 

 rious situation in which we find 

 ourselves. 



"Only twice before, at Valley 

 t'orge and at Gettysburg, has the 

 nation faced the peril it faces in 

 this year of 1932. Here in this 

 meeting may be the turning point," 

 Gregory Cheered 



Mr. Gregory was cheered to the 

 echo by men who had left their 

 homes, some of them, before 4 

 o'clock Friday morning from far 

 northern and southern reaches of 

 the state. Appearance of groups of 

 men on the streets at an early 

 hour in the day, obviously stran- 

 gers, and their increasing fiumbers 

 started questions flying from mouth 

 to mouth in the business district. 



No one knew why they were here 

 and they did not know themselves, 

 beyond the fact that something 

 important was portending. By 11:30 

 o'clock, the hour the meeting was 

 called, the big armory was filled, 

 the main floor with Its folding 

 chairs and the bleacher seats 

 against the walls. 



In the meantime, the board of 

 directors and officers of the asso- 

 ciation were In session In the Hotel 

 Orlando. 



(Continued on Page 4, Col. 7) 



THE SPIRIT OF '7( 





m^ 



PROCMM 



Three thousand County Farm Bureau leaders 

 ignated Monday, July 4, 1932 as a day wl en farme) 

 cities of every community are urged to unite md redec 

 bly toward restoring the economic independ( nee of A| 

 prosperity of the nation. 



Let us all gather on that day in our r jpective 

 land, to pledge our best efforts in bringing ibout an| 

 and national welfare. 



The nation is now stagnating in the g ip of fetel 

 and low prices, such as this generation has m rer befor( 

 ture, long" out of balance with other industr es, has re 

 and falling to its economic level. ^ \ 



It is now generally recognized that prosperity foj 

 Higher farm prices must lead the way to re< Jvery. Tl 

 izatiqn as through organization alone can wefepeak loi 

 must stand shoulder to shoulder on a sound basis anc 

 forward to the goal. The principles of fain^ss and 

 fought are in the balance. 



Let's have a coalition of the farmers aid citizei 

 make July 4 ring with the spirit and courate neces 

 justice, and independence. 



"^cu^jeA 



■:..y 



4.H Club Boys and 



Girls To Be In Parade 



More than 5,000 4-H Club boys 

 and girls are expected to appear in 

 the July 4th DEDICATION DAY 

 parades scheduled in every Illinois 

 county. 



Four-H Club floats and marchers 

 will be given a prominent place. In 

 several counties 4-H Club member- 

 ship runs up Into the hundreds and 

 the various units themselves will 

 make a colorful exhibition. The 4-H 

 colors, green and white, will be 

 much In evidence. An added attrac- 

 tion will be the> prizes to be awarded 

 at every county celebration. Thou- 

 sands of children of Farm Bureau 

 members not enlisted in 4-H Club 

 work, likewise, will take part in the 

 parade. \ ■ 



Ask Charter Members To 

 Take Part In Program 



Charter members of their respec- 

 tive County Farm Bureaus will be 

 requested to march as a select 

 group In the 4th of July parades. 

 Among these will be many of the 

 early leaders of the Farm Bureau 

 movement in Illinois. It will In- 

 clude that substantial group who 

 founded the I. A. A. on Its present 

 basis in Peoria. 1919 when they 

 signed $100 notes underwriting the 

 expense of an executive secretary, a 

 staff, and a headquarters prior to 



the organization campaigi 

 year. 



All of these notes were 

 to their signers uncashi 

 many are now tresDN 

 possessions. In this grou^ 

 men as Uncle Joe Fulkersc, 

 Holmes, John Gummershel 

 B. Culp, Henry T. Marsht 

 Hill, G. C. Johnstane, L. _. 

 John P. Stout, and others. 



Board Unanimous 

 In Dedication Dal 



Aroused over the plighi 

 culture and the need for irj 

 ing a fighting spirit, courif 

 faith through these trying 

 the Board of Directors of 

 A, voted unanimously ort 

 to recommend to the Farr 

 membership of the state 

 suitable DEDICATION D^ 

 celebration be staged on Jul 



"Only by standing shof 

 shoulder can farmers hope] 

 many of their problems," 

 director. "Only through k\ 

 effort can agriculture 

 needs known and Its volcl 

 where there Is power and al 

 to bring about farm Impro{ 



It was with this thought] 

 that the directors voted 

 mously pledging their ef|| 

 work for a successful redel 

 to the cause for which tl 

 Bureau movement was orga 





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"A. 



