I. A. A. RECORD— June, 1933 



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1,200 Hear Farm 



Bill Explained 

 I In Grundy 



President Smith Expresses Belief That With Vigorous Ad- 



ministration And Co-operation of Producers 

 ^^^;V M Will Be Effective 



THE OUTLOOK for agriculture 

 is brighter and more hopeful 

 today than at any time in the 

 past 10 years, President Earl C. Smith 

 told more than 1,200 Farm Bureau 

 members and their guests who came 

 out in spite of a heavy rain to attend 

 a mass meeting in Morris, Grtindy 

 county, Wednesday pight, May 10. 



The meeting was held in celebra- 

 tion of the passage of the Emergency 

 Farm Bill at Washington and to bring 

 latest information to local farmers 

 and their friends from the towns 

 and cities of the county, on the con- 

 tents and probable operations of the 

 measure. 



In addition to discussing the farm 

 bill, Mr. Smith reviewed the economic 

 situation as it affected agriculture be- 

 fore and after the world war, traced 

 the decline of farm income and the 

 terrific rise in taxes, and outlined the 

 legislative program for the relief of 

 the property taxpayers the Associa- 

 tion is fighting for at Springfield. 



C. V. Gregory, editor of Prairie 

 Farmer, explained the credit sections 

 of the bill, the inflation amendment, 

 and briefly reviewed latest develop- 

 ments in alcohol-gasoline blending 

 legislation. 



"The effectiveness of any law de- 

 pends on its administration and the 

 co-operation of the people it is de- 

 signed to help," said Mr. Smith in 

 commenting on the farm bill. "With 

 the fullest co-operation of the farmers 

 of America and with vigorous ad- 

 ministration from Washington, I have 

 no hesitancy in saying that this meas- 

 ure in time will restore parity prices 

 for farm products and prosperity for 

 the entire nation. It will not only re- 

 sult in farm prices that bring cost of 

 production, but also prices that will 

 restore profits with which to pay debts 



and buy some of the comforts of life 

 for the farm family." 



The purpose of the bill, Mr. Smith 

 explained, is to establish prices for 

 farm products that will give the farm- 

 er buying power equal to that he 

 possessed in the period fron^ 1909- 

 1914. He expressed faith in the 

 possibilities of the trade agreement 

 section of the bill under which, for 

 example, it will be possible to control 

 the tonnage of pork marketed by 

 premiumizing earlier selling of hogs 

 at lighter weights, reduce the produc- 

 tion of wheat and cotton by cutting 

 acreage and compensating producers 

 therefor, and compelling the handlers 

 and processors of farm products to 

 co-operate toward establishing fair 

 prices and so stop the confiscation of 

 farms through taxation and fore- 

 closure. 



A striking picture of what has been 

 happening to the farmer during the 

 past 30 years was presented in figures 

 on farm income and taxes. Net income 

 of American farmers in 1920, Mr. 

 Smith showed, was approximately 9^4 

 billion dollars. By 1925 it had de- 

 clined to a little more than 7^2 bil- 

 lions. In 1930 it had dropped to around 

 $4,200,000,000 and last year, 1932, net 

 farm income was estimated at only 

 one billion dollars, although national 

 net income was approximately 38 bil- 

 lion. Thus the farmer comprising 

 around 30 per cent of the population 

 received only l/38th of the national 

 income. 



But what happened to taxes during 

 the past 30 years? Total property 

 taxes for state, county, and local gov- 

 ernment in Illinois outside of Cook 

 county in 1899 amounted to $24,417,- 

 020; by 1909 taxes had increased to 

 $39,494,276; in 1919 the downstate tax 

 bill was $89,781,442; and in 1929 



EARL C. SMITH 



property taxes had risen to the enor- 

 mous total of $144,358,582. In Grundy 

 county, it was shown, property taxes 

 had grown from $187,436 in 1899 to 

 $847,345 in 1929. 



The tax problem and its solution 

 alone justifies and demands a strong 

 organization of farmers to head off 

 ultimate confiscation of all property, 

 Mr. Smith said. The public and pri- 

 vate debt of the United States has 

 been estimated at 200 billions of dol- 

 lars which is said to be more than 

 all the wealth of the country. Thus 

 the national debt amounts to around 

 $9,000 for each head of a family, the 

 interest on which approximates the 

 average annual income per family 

 head. 



Explaining the important work of 

 the I. A. A. legislative committee at 

 Springfield, Mr. Smith said that 1,500 

 bills were now under consideration 

 by the General Assembly, 1,000 of 

 which directly or indirectly affect the 

 welfare of the farmer. 



Had the emergency relief bond is- 

 sue not been passed largely through 

 the influence of the Farm Bureau 

 movement, Illinois farmers this year 

 would have paid five millions more 

 taxes, IV4 mUlions of which would 

 have been contributed by Farm Bu- 

 reau members. This alone is more 

 than the total cost of the county, 

 state and national organization for 

 the year by a wide margin. 



Farm Bureau members about Tus- 

 cola are considering the establish- 

 ment of a co-operative livestock con- 

 centration point there. 



