Voting Records on 4a^9uueA 



CHECK lAA LEGISLATIVE ANALYSIS BEFORE VOTING 



IN ACCORDANCE with action tak- 

 en by the voting delegates of Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association at an 

 annual meeting several years ago, the 

 Board of Directors has authorized and 

 directed the publication of the follow- 

 ing statement, together with the records 

 of the members of the General As- 

 sembly as determined by their votes and 

 general attitude on matters of impor- 

 tant legislation directly aflPecting farm- 

 ers, as supported or opposed by the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association. In 

 the 1943 regular session, the Associa- 

 tion did not sponsor an ambitious pro- 

 gram but endeavored to avoid highly 

 controversial issues. However, there 

 were numerous legislative matters of 

 considerable interest to agriculture 

 upon which the Association took a 

 position. The Association regarded 

 the Gateway Amendment to the Con- 

 stitution and the companion Party Cir- 

 cle bills as the most important agri- 

 cultural legislation in the session. The 

 Association believes the adoption of 

 these measures is necessary and funda- 

 mental if needed changes in our State 

 Constitution are to be made. The As- 

 sociation informed members of the leg- 



VOTE IN THE 

 PRIMARIES APRIL 11 



In lin« with it> long-established 

 policy, the Illinoia Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation publishes herewith the voting 

 records oi members oi Congress and 

 oi the Illinois General Assembly. 



Many ol these legislators are can- 

 didates for office in (he primaries on 

 April II. The Association urges its 

 members to study carefully the in- 

 formation published in this issue of 

 the RECORD and to actively support 

 for nomination and election those 

 representatives and Congressmen 

 who, by their records, have proved 

 themselves worthy of confidence of 

 farmers. 



Farm people represent only a 

 minority of the population. Only 

 through their united action at the 

 polls, wherein they place the in- 

 terests of agriculture above parties 

 and personalities, can they hope to 

 maintain fair representation in law- 

 making bodies. 



islature of its position on these meas- 

 ures and stressed their importance. The 

 voting record of downstate legislators 

 on the amendment issue was given in 

 the August 1943 issue of the Record. 

 In view of the fundamental importance 

 of the Gateway Amendment and the so- 

 called Party circle bills, this report is 

 weighted heavily by the vote and at- 

 titude of members on these measures. 

 Basis of Report 



This report is based entirely upon 

 the legislator's record and attitude as 

 observed in Springfield. The Associa- 

 tion has not given and obviously can- 

 not be aware of, or give consideration 

 to, the record or attitude upon local 

 problems which may affect the voters' 

 decision. 



The first column of the report tabu- 

 lated below lists the number of regular 

 sessions of the General Assembly dur- 

 ing which the respective members have 

 served. The second column carries the 

 legislative record of the legislators as 

 determined by their votes on agricul- 

 tural legislation during the last reg- 

 ular session, together with their gen- 

 eral attitude on legislation supported or 

 opposed by the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation throughout their terms of 

 service. 



Ratings Used J 



A member, to receive a rating of 

 "Excellent" must have not only a sat- 

 isfactory voting record, but his general 

 attitude throughout his legislative serv- 

 ice must have been generally recognized 

 as actively supporting the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association's legislative pro- 

 gram. To achieve an "Excellent" rec- 

 ord, a member must also have served 

 more than one two-year legislative pe- 

 riod and must have taken a favorable 

 position on highly controversial legisla- 

 tive proposals. 



First term members, to secure a 

 "Very Good" rating, must have a satis- 

 factory voting record and must have 

 actively supported the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association's legislative program. 

 This rating is the highest given any 

 first term member. 



In compliance with the directions 

 given by the delegates of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association, members of 

 the Association are advised that all 

 members of the present General As- 

 sembly seeking reelection who are rated 

 as "Excellent" or "Very Good" are en- 

 titled to support by all members and 

 friends of the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation in the coming primary and 

 general elections. 



The records of members rated as 

 "Good" are worthy of careful consider- 

 ation in comparison with the qualifica- 

 tions of new candidates seeking office. 



Retord of out Legislators in Washington 



PROBABLY the most far-reaching 

 and serious issue of domestic policy 

 considered by the present Congress had 

 to do with the so-called roll-back con- 

 sumer food subsidies. The Association 

 did not believe these subsidies to be 

 warranted or justified and consistently 

 opposed them. The ban on the con- 

 tinuation of these consumer food sub- 

 sidies was carried in a bill to continue 

 the Commodity Credit Corporation. In 

 addition to continuing the Commodity 

 Credit Corporation, this bill prohibited 

 subsidies to- consumers of agricultural 

 commodities and provided for the ter- 

 mination of the subsidy programs now 

 in effect. The bill permitted and pro- 

 posed to continue the price support 

 programs. The Association and the 

 American Farm Bureau Federation sup- 



ported this measure. The opposition to 

 consumer food subsidies was on the 

 ground that these subsidies were un- 

 necessary and placed a huge burden on 

 the Federal treasury at a time when 

 consumers generally were able to pay 

 their food bills. The Association was 

 opposed to passing these costs on to 

 future generations. Further, it pointed 

 out that subsidies would not increase 

 or tend to increase production of 

 needed agricultural products. The bill 

 passed the House by a vote of 278 to 

 117 and passed the Senate by a vote of 

 43 to 28. It was vetoed by the Presi- 

 .dent and his veto was sustained. The 

 vote of members of Congress from 

 Illinois upon this subsidy -measure is 

 given below. 



Another far-reaching measure con- 



1 

 V 



.1 



4 



t 



'J I 



L A. A. RECORD 



