One-third of the Illinois state gas 

 tax collected between July 1, 1934 and 

 March 1, 1935 will be diverted to the 

 common school fund as a result of 

 legislation passed in the recent third 

 special session of the General As- 

 sembly. It is estimated that this meas- 

 ure will take from construction and 

 maintenance of roads and streets be- 

 tween $6,000,000 and $7,000,000 during 

 this period of eight months. 



If it came to a choice between clos- 

 ing the schools and stopping road 

 building most of us would cast our 

 vote for the schools. But there has 

 been no evidence to support the belief 

 that this was the only choice. Numer- 

 ous other feasible plans for aiding 

 needy school districts were pointed 

 out in the discussion before the Gen- 

 eral Assembly without deliberately 

 seizing gas tax moneys. 



This question of gas tax diversion is 

 closely tied up with the unemployment 

 problem. During the discussion at 

 Springfield it was estimated that $8,- 

 000,000 of gas tax funds would employ 

 around 22,500 men on road building 

 and improvement during the current 

 ^season. Counting four to the family 

 this would provide an income for 

 about 90,000 persons. And assuming 

 'that jobs were given to the unem- 

 ployed, would result in removing from 

 unemployment relief rolls a very sub- 

 stantial number of people. 



Road construction is well adapted 

 to the employment of idle men. Ex- 

 cept for supervision unskilled labor 

 can largely be used. Nearly all of the 

 money spent for road building — esti- 

 mated at 90 per cent — goes for labor. 

 This, of course, includes labor used 

 in manufacturing and hauling road 

 building materials. . - . 



The handling of the unemployment 

 relief problem in some of our larger 

 centers of population will probably go 

 down in history as one of the shock- 

 ing wastes of the depression era: 

 waste not only of money but of the 

 energy, spirit and morale of men. How 

 much better for the individual as well 

 as for society to use unemployment 

 relief funds in compensating for use- 

 ful work rather than giving a dole. 



■■ . .^ 



With rare good judgment the board 

 of supervisors in Pike county, Illinois, 

 decided to discontinue the use of state 



or federal funds for unemployment 

 relief. Instead each township super- 

 visor was instructed to use his in- 

 fluence to secure adequate levies for 

 poor relief "in his township. It was 

 further suggested that substantial por- 

 tions of such levies be set aside to 

 pay unemployed men within the town- 

 ship at the rate of not more than 

 $1.50 a day to work on county high- 

 ways. Men needing jobs are sent to 

 the township road commissioner who is 

 authorized to pay such labor out of 

 funds levied for poor relief. Why 

 should not this same principle be fol- 

 lowed everywhere? How much better 

 to use relief funds for getting useful 

 work done — better for the community 

 and for those so employed. — E. G. T. 



:.■.''!■<■: ■ : 



Bang's Disease Cause ^^ 



of Heavy Losses 



.V 'l- 



Between 12 and 13 per cent of the 

 cattle in Illinois harbor contagious 

 abortion germs, according to Dr. 

 Robert Graham of the University of 

 Illinois. The loss to Illinois farmers 

 is estimated at $5,000,000 annually. 



Investigations over a 10-year period 

 have shown that infectious abortion 

 (Bang's disease)* will cut milk flow 

 of the average dairy cow as much as 

 25 gallons a month, while as high as 

 45 per cent of the infected cows may 

 become sterile over a five-year period. 

 Elimination of cattle infected with the 

 bacillus Bang is being advocated both 

 by dairy and beef producers to reduce 

 cattle surpluses. 



* Also affectc humans — one of the rarities in 

 medical annals. 



Tax Delinquency To State J 



■ * ■•»..•. 



&'...<« * * _• •- . * 



Cook county and downstate Illinois 

 counties on May 1 owed the state 

 $29,673,270 in delinquent taxes, ac- 

 cording to State Treasurer John C. 

 Martin. Of this total Cook county 

 owes $26,529,579, largely as a result 

 of delinquency in Chicago. These 

 figures do not include 1933 taxes now 

 being paid. , '■^■'''■y '■/■:'.•' •.'"' ' '. • 



Doneghue Back on Job 



Ray Doneghue of McDonough coun- 

 ty has completely recovered from the 

 effects of the automobile accident he 

 was in last winter^ and resumed his 

 duties as farm adviser on May 1. 



E. W. Runkle, former assistant ad- 

 viser, who handled the farm adviser's 

 work capably during Mr. Doneghue's 

 absence is back at his old job manag- 

 ing the McDonough Service Company. 



Country Elevator Code 



Signed By Roosevelt 



The country elevator code applying 

 to approximately 15,000 local grain 

 elevators was signed by President 

 Roosevelt and becomes effective May 

 21, 1934. 



The code prohibits intentional un- 

 derweighing and overweighing and 

 provides for docking and grading in 

 conformance with the Federal Grain;; 

 Standards Act. It prohibits bribes and^ 

 other gratuities so as to protect small 

 elevators from being driven out of 

 business by competitors who tempo- 

 rarily outbid them for that purpose. 

 It seeks to maintain a competitive 

 market for farmers' grain. The code 

 provides that the elevator operator 

 must post in his elevator the complete 

 schedule of elevator charges for stor- 

 age, handling grain, etc. Discrimina-' 

 tion in rates among patrons is pro- 

 hibited. 



Minimum wages of office workers 

 vary from $12 a. week in towns under 

 2,500 to $16 weekly in cities of two 

 million population or over. Elevator 

 employees' minimum weekly wages 

 vary from $12 to $15. Minimum hourly 

 wages of 30 and 35 cents an hour tor. 

 elevator office and elevator employees 

 are set forth in the code, with a dif-; 

 ferential of five cents an hour less for 

 employees in the South. 



The code is to be administered by a 

 code authority of the industry to con- 

 sist of 11 members selected by varioiw 

 groups within the industry. The 

 Farmers National Grain Corporation* 

 is recognized as one group having 

 authority to select a representative. 

 The Secretary of Agriculture and the 

 NRA Administrator are authorized to 

 have representatives to attend n*eet- 

 ings of the code authority but to be 

 without vote. 



• .V 



• C. E. Huff, prMldMt if FanMrt NcHmmI^ f«ir»- 

 Mflted eo-tparatlvo faraert tia w ttr i m flm miwlwmj 

 b«ard which 4niw up the etit. 



Pres. Smith In Iowa 



President Earl C. Smith addressed 

 mass meetings of Iowa farmers at 

 Fairfield and Cedar Rapids on May 

 23-24 respectively. The meetings 

 were two of a series sponsored by the 

 Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to in- 

 crease membership. 



If the drouth continues the crop 

 insurance feature of production con- 

 trol programs will be appreciated 

 more than ever. Benefit payments will 

 go to contract signers regardless of 

 whether or not they produce a crop, 

 Administrator Chester C. Davis said 

 in a recent radio address. 



. < 



JUNE, 1934 



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