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JULY, 1932 



HALF MILLION WITNESS 



FARM DINNER BELLS RING OVER 

 i ILLINOIS ON INDEPENDENCE DAY 



Counties Report Record Crowds As Banners and Floats 

 Proclaim Need For Action In Ending Depression 



Toulon, July 4: Approximately 6,000 people attended the 

 Stark county celebration here today, reported Wayne Gilbert, 

 farm adviser. Wm. G. Jackson of Toulon won the wagon, Mrs. 

 Donald Leadey of Wyoming, the chest of silver, Mrs. Ray Putman, 

 Yyoming, the community plate goblets, and Margaret Adeline 

 Rogers, the bicycle. Thirteen floats in all including those entered 

 by towns of Toulon, Wyoming, Bradford. Parade escorted by Uncle 

 Sam and Goddess of Liberty, Boy Scout drum and bugle corps. 



Floyd Keepers' address was well received by everyone. Incom- 

 plete returns show that at least 20 new members joined the Farm 

 Bureau. American Legion and Farm Bureau put on Water fight 

 with fire department hose, streams playing on empty barrel. 



Judsre Le«ds Parade 



Harrisburg, July 4: The Saline 



county Fair Grounds were crowded 



today at the big Farm Bureau cele- 



■ bration. The parade led by Judge 



H. N. Finney on a fine saddle horse, 



: began soon after 11:00 A. M. and 



':,':■ proceeded through the business 



.district and out to the Fair 



Grounds. The executive committee 



of the Farm Bureau was at the 



; front of the parade followed by 



• • the grand prize wagon drawn by 



a team of horses. 



Dinner Bell, Honest Dollar, 4-H 

 Club, and other floats attracted 

 much attention. Wabash Valley 

 .Service Co. also had a float. 

 A. O. Eckert of Belleville, former 

 vice-president of the I. A. A., made 

 a splendid address in which he ex- 

 plained the principles of the Ralney 

 Emergency Relief Bill. 



The Wabash Valley Service Co. 

 distributed patronage refund checks 

 for t he second 10 per cent refund 



UIl' IVBl iblUlUL*.' I 



Alice Lewis, the 12-year-old 

 daughter of Ralph H. Lewis of 

 Stonefort won the bicycle. Mrs. 

 Harmon Bramlet of Wasson was 

 the winner of the 34-piece set of 

 silverware and a set of eight beau- 

 tiful goblets. The grand prize, a 

 McCormick - Deering - Weber, All - 

 purpose, roller bearing wagon, com- 

 " plete with box, tongue and double- 

 tree was won by J. O. Thaxton of 

 Eldorado. The picnic will be long 

 ' remembered by this county. 



25 to 30 Dinner Bells 



Danville, July 4: "Our program 

 went off in fine shape here today," 

 reported Otis Kercher, farm ad- 

 viser. Traffic officers estimated 

 the parade to be from two to four 

 miles in length. The streets were 

 ,:: crowded with people who witnessed 

 it. Fifteen floats and 25 to 30 dinner 

 bells were in the parade. The Dan- 

 ville American Legion, city band, 

 Chamber of Commerce, and other 

 local business groups co-operated. 



Estimated attendance at the pic- 

 nic grounds was 10,000 of which 

 5,000 heard the program through 

 . the loud speaking system which 

 was certainly worth the money. Mr. 

 Needier of the Indiana Farm Bu- 

 reau gave a very good address. 



L. H. Duke of Fithian won the 

 wagon; Mrs. Thos. Allison of Dan- 

 ville, the chest of silver; Mrs. 

 . Wayne Pruitt of Rossville the set 

 of goblets; and Helen Strubinger of 

 Ridgefarm won the bicycle. 



NashvUle, July 4: Approximately 

 8,000 people including the Ameri- 

 can Legion, and local business 

 groups as well as farmers, gathered 

 here today for Washington county's 

 Dedication Day program. The pa- 

 rade was two miles long. It was the 

 largest attendance of any 4th of 

 July celebration ever held in the 

 county. Floats included a dinner 

 bell, organization, insurance, 4-H 

 Club, Farm Supply trucks, and 

 many others. The afternoon ad- 

 dress, con^'sts, burning in effigy 

 , .held a Irrge audience throughout 

 . the a Lemoon. 



Fir- Crackers and Effigies 



^'''Ontgomery County: We had & 

 great bay yestfcrdiy and we believe 

 ■■ it accomplished its purpose, wrote 

 Alden Snyder, farm adviser. The 

 member.s took hoir' of the affair 

 and woiked vUi wonderful co- 

 , operation. Every city organization 

 came across 100 per cent. The 

 farmers fee* closci together and 

 more sure of their strength today, 

 and we know the townspeople were 

 surprised at the size of our organ- 

 ization. 



The parade consisted of more 



than 250 cars and floats, and about 



1 500 people. We had two drum 



.corps, a rube band, and about eight 



"floats. 



We burned effigies all of which 

 were fUledwith fire crackers. They 

 made quite a fuss as they burned. 



The 4-H Clubs had charge of all 



(Continued on page 2 Col. 3) 



LEADERS FM 

 SAYSj^GORV 



Real Danger to Country Not 



Red Menace but Black Flag 



of Financial Piracy 



Note: Following is the outstand- 

 ing address delivered by Clifford 

 V. Gregory, Editor of Prairie Farm- 

 er at the Boone County Celebration 

 July 4, also at the Mercer County 

 Celebration July 7. 



THIS is the farmers' day in mi- 

 ' nois. The dinner bells are ring- 

 ing all over the state, as the Liberty 

 Bell rang 153 years ago in Phila- 

 delphia. They are ringing out the 

 same message — a declaration of in- 

 dependence from specks priYficse 

 and greed. 



The divine right of kings is dead. 

 Today we are fighting against the 

 divine right of the few to exploit 

 the many. 



Farmers fought at Lexington and 

 Concord for the right to establish 

 their own government. Farmers are 

 fighting today to make that gov- 

 ernment truly a government of the 

 people and for the people. 



As we gatlier here today on the 

 Fourth of July, 1932, our nation is 

 facing a crisis as desperate as Val- 

 ley Forge or Gettysburg. 



America has grown great because 

 it has been the land of opportu- 

 nity. We are fighting today to 

 make it the land of opportunity 

 for the people who work as well as 

 for the people who speculate. We 

 are fighting for the right of the 

 little man to live. 



A Fool's Paradise 



For ten years after the farm de- 

 flation of 1920 the cities lived in 

 a fool's paradise. Our financial and 

 political leaders talked glibly about 

 a "new era," in which the cities 

 were no longer dependent on farm 

 prosperity and buying power. Bil- 

 lions in income that should have 

 gone to the farmer went to the 

 cities, where it was diverted into 

 speculation. City people watched 

 paper fortunes grow over night. It 

 became unpopular to worl^ for a 

 living. It was so much easier to 

 take it away from someone else by 

 speculation. 



Even that process became too 

 slow for the financial ovei lords. 

 They floated billions of dollars 

 worth of domestic and foreign se- 

 curities, backed by little real value, 

 and sold them to a gullible public. 

 Credit was expanded twice as fast 

 as the needs of business demanded. 

 Even the banks became Infected 

 with get-rich-quick germ, and un- 

 sound banking practices helped to 

 pave the way for the deluge. 



During all this period speculative 

 fortunes obscured the fact that the 

 solid foundation of farm buying 

 power was lacking. The inevitable 

 end came in 1929, with results that 

 are too fresh in mind to need re- 

 viewing. 



Courageous leadership even then 

 could have brought about a re- 

 adjustment to sanity without se- 

 riously hurting anyone but the 

 speculators. But we had little 

 courageous or intelligent leader- 

 ship. 



At first the official policy of the 

 country was to ignore the depres- 

 sion. Then we tried to whistle our 

 way out. We were told that pros- 

 perity was just around the corner. 

 Beginning last winter Washington 

 adopted the theory that we could 

 borrow our way out, and provided 

 billions in federal credit for that 

 purpose. More recently we are try- 

 ing to save our way out and tax our 

 way out, Ignoring the fact that 

 there Is little left to save or tax. 



(Continued on page 2, Col. 4) 



DISTURBING THEIR Ll 



SEEK EARLY VOTE ONfPR 



Washington, D. C, July 12 — 

 SPECIAL:— The fight for emer- 

 gency price-raising legislation is 

 being vigorously pushed here by 

 Earl C. Smith, president of the 

 I. A. A., and Edward A. O'Neal, 

 president of the A. F. B. F. who are 

 driving for an early vote on the 

 Nor beck bill In the Senate. Both 

 men have been in the national 

 capital since July 5th. 



The Norbeck bill is identical to 

 the Rainey bill introduced in the 

 House several weeks ago. The Sen- 

 ate Agricultural Committee ap- 

 proved the Ndfbeck bill and voted 

 it out last week. An effort is being 

 made to get a vote on the measure 

 in the Senate within the next day 



or two. A promise hai been s 

 to bring it up imirediately 

 the vote on the Honfe Loan 



Down-state lUinof} congr< 

 are aggressively flgUlng tc 

 action on the RainVy bill 

 House. This emergency m 

 explained elsewhere m this 

 would boost the price of h 

 per cwt.. add 42 ceUiS a bui 

 the price of wheat,|and pi 

 cents a pound on thif price 

 ton for that portioli of th 

 consumed in this cointry. 



The unemployment rell( 

 vetoed yesterday i.>y I 

 Hoover because of tlt3 public 

 appropriation It cabled, al.< 

 vides for an approi^ilation 



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ONE OF THE Good ONES 



FLOATS POLt-CO OP |AFTtr| 





ORANGE TOWNSHIP FLOAT T»^IRd 



Floats From Knox County's Manl 



