I. A. A. Record— February, 1934 



11 



encouraging the careful consideration 

 of all factors involved by fa-rmers and 

 Government alike. However, a sec- 

 tional movement cannot solve a na- 

 tional problem. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association 

 stands ready to co-operate with or- 

 ganized groups of live stock producers 

 in this and other states in working out 

 a satisfactory and permanent solution 

 of this problem. We urge the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture of the United 

 States to exercise its full authority in 

 the speedy development of proper 

 measures either to control or to elimi- 

 nate the buying of livestock by packers 

 direct from farmers. 



Because of the imminent threat of 

 invasion of Illinois by the corn-borer, 

 we urge the Officers and Directors of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association to 

 support the continuance of reasonable 

 governmental appropriations for re- 

 search and investigation of means to 

 combat and control this destructive 

 pest. 



In order to relieve the disproportion- 

 ate burden imposed on property by the 

 provisions of our present constitution, 



^ we propose that the constitution be 

 amended to empower the General As- 

 sembly to distribute the cost of gov- 

 ernment and to impose taxes accord- 

 ing to ability to pay; to fix a Consti- 



^ tutional limitation upon property taxes 

 which will reduce present taxes on 

 property one-half and that such limi- 

 tation shall not exceed one per cent 

 (1%) of the fair cash value, exclusive 

 of taxes levied for payment of prin- 

 cipal and interest on bonded indebted- 



• ness; to require a referendum vote be- 

 fore indebtedness is incurred by any 

 local government and to authorize 

 legislation providing for uniform 

 budgeting, auditing and publication of 

 local governmental expenditures. 



VIII. 



We commend the efforts of the leg- 

 islative committee of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association in opposing legis- 

 lation before the First Special Session 

 of the Fifty-Eighth General Assembly 

 providing for an increase of Thirty- 

 eight million dollars ($38,000,000) in 

 the State Tax levy upon property, 

 coupled with the submission of a bond 

 issue to the voters next November. We 

 are forced to recognize that this legis- 

 lation has been enacted and that un- 

 less the bond issue is approved by the 

 voters at tiie pdls, the property tax- 

 payers of the State will be forced to 

 meet and pay an increased tax of $38,- 

 000,000 in 1935, we, therefore, favor 

 the passage of this bond issue when 



submitted but sdrve notice that in the 

 future, bond issues of this or a similar 

 character will have the determined 

 opposition of this organization, at 

 least until such time as the General 

 Assembly imposes equal and uniform 

 responsibility for poor relief upon 

 every community and county of the 

 State. , • - ■':■-■-■::■■,'■:■■■■■■■■.■■--'.■. 



:. " IX. /^-■v^^;:ir'''::vr'.t- 



We re-affirm our belief in the prin- 

 ciple that each local community should 

 draw reasonably upon its own re- 

 sources before state aid or credit is 

 extended for relief purposes and we 

 direct the Officers and Directors of this 

 Association to continue to urge and 

 seek legislation which will place all 

 communities upon the same basis and 

 enable them to draw upon their re- 

 sources and we oppose the continua- 

 tion or any extension of state aid or 

 credit to any community until that 

 community has made a reasonable ef- 

 fort to provide for its destitute. 



Inasmuch as the Illinois primary 

 road system is practically completed 

 but only thirty per cent (30%) of the 

 total mileage of the "State has been 

 improved with an all weather con- 

 struction and seventy per cent (70%) 

 of the farmers still reside upon dirt 

 roads, we oppose any further diversion 

 of gasoline tax moneys from road 

 building whether by investment in 

 State antipication notes or otherwise, 

 and direct the Officers and Directors 

 of the Association to exert every ef- 

 fort to preserve these moneys for road 

 building, the purpose for which the 

 tax was imposed. 



-::■;;■ -^■- XI. :V-V:;;v ;.■''- 



We reaffirm our belief in the legis- 

 lation providing for a moratorium on 

 mortgages, heretofore sponsored by 

 the Association and of the nature re- 

 cently sustained by the United States 

 Supreme Court, and direct the Officers 

 and Directors of the Association to 

 seek the enactment of such legislation 

 at the next special session of the Gen- 

 eral Assembly. 



XII. 



To reduce the charges in connection 

 with chattel mortgages, we authorize 

 and instruct the Officers and Board of 

 Directors of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association to seek the enactmen!; of 

 legislation which will permit chattel 

 mortgages for farm production and 

 other purposes to be filed at nominal 

 cost in the offices of County Recorders 

 instead of recorded, necessarily at con- 

 siderably higher costs, as at present, 

 and to request that this subject be in- 



cluded in the call for the next special 

 session. v 



XIII. 



In order to more effectively combat 

 organized crime, we favor legislation 

 authorizing an adequate state police 

 force, free from political domination, 

 empowered to enforce the criminal 

 laws and to apprehend criminals in 

 any county or municipality of the 



state. ,,i-.;-v,;-.^,- .';';;;,•;■-,■■, -,;^^^/ ■..;■,,;'■■ 



We favor amendment of the Agri- 

 cultural Adjustment Act to provide 

 that if and when two-thirds of the 

 producers of any basic commodity 

 voluntarily respond and co-operate 

 with one another to reduce production 

 of such commodity in line with a pol- 

 icy announced by the AAA, that the 

 Secretary of Agriculture be given 

 authority by proclamation or other- 

 wise to limit production of such com- 

 modity by non-co-operators to the base 

 production provided in the adjustment 

 program for the commodity. 



Two additional resolutions offered 

 from the floor at the business session 

 Friday afternoon were unanimously 

 adopted. One urged that the Agricul- 

 tural Adjustment Administration take 

 steps at an early date to solve the 

 beef surplus problem and as part of 

 the program that the U. S. govern- 

 ment withdraw public domain lands 

 from grazing. 



In this connection, it was explained 

 by President Earl Smith that the 

 American Farm Bureau Federation 

 and the I. A. A. are now supporting 

 an amendment to the Agricultural 

 Adjustment Act to include beef cattle 

 as a basic commodity. 



The other resolution suggested by 

 Cook county vegetable growers urged 

 that farmers avoid planting fruits and 

 vegetables on lands not under contract 

 as well as on acreage under contract, 

 and thus prevent further surpluses 

 from piling up. 



A proposed resolution urging state 

 legislation to raise the minimum but- 

 terfat content in fluid milk from 3 to 

 3.5% and in cream from 18 to 22% 

 was referred to the I. A. A. board of 

 directors for further study at the re- 

 quest of delegates from the northern 

 Illinois dairy district. 



The resolutions committee composed 

 of A. R. Wright, Varna, chairman; M. 

 Ray Ihrig, E. D. Lawrence, W. A. Den- 

 nis, Geo. Muller, Chas. Marshall, R. B. 

 Endicott, H. C. Irwin, E. R. Reeves, 

 Frank Gallaway, Harry Bergener, and 

 John Hanna, was assisted by Donald 

 Kirkpatrick and Paul Mathias of the 

 legal department, and John C. Watson 

 of the department of taxation. 



