A Healthy Agriculture . . . . 



, . . . A Healthy Hat ion 



Agriculture must be recognized and treated as a basic industry 

 if we are to have national postwar prosperity. Smith declares 



Annual Address off Earl C. Smith, President, Before 



30th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Agricultural 



Association, Chicago, November 30, 1944 



IT AGAIN becomes my privilege and 

 duty to report to the delegates and 

 members on the state of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association, mention some 

 of its accomplishments and to make rec- 

 ommendations for the consideration of 

 the delegates in further outlining the 

 general policies of the organization. 



As we open this, the Association's 

 Thirtieth annual meeting, we are all 

 deeply conscious of, and we salute, the 

 millions of young men and young wom- 

 en of America who are serving their 

 country in the armed forces on every 

 battlefront, upon far-flung seas, and in 

 preparation for such service. Neither do 

 we forget the fine young men and women 

 who because of their special abilities are 

 serving their country upon the farms, in 

 offices, and in factories. The magnif- 

 icent achievements of all bring to every 

 worthy American a renewed sense of 

 pride and loyalty to his country. Their 

 outstanding attainments also instill with- 

 in us a deeper feeling of responsibility 

 to meet and to solve the many and diffi- 

 cult problems arising daily in our various 

 walks of life. 



Never have I felt more keenly my re- 

 sponsibility, and never have the dele- 

 gates assembled carried greater responsi- 

 bility in the determination of policies 

 whereby farmers through their organiza- 

 tion can make their greatest contribution 

 to the welfare of our country. We are all 

 conscious and proud of the manner in 

 which farmers have continued to over- 

 come serious obstacles, lay aside dis- 

 appointments, and at times ignore unfair 

 treatment, as they moved forward in sup- 

 plying the nation with the greatest vol- 

 ume of food ever produced in any one 



year. Neither do we forget that all of 

 this has been accomplished when our 

 members and other farmers throughout 

 the country have been going about with 

 daily and deep concern for the welfare 

 of their sons and daughters serving in 

 the armed forces, and some with heavy 

 hearts after receiving the message that a 

 loved one was killed, wounded or miss- 

 ing in action. 



Again there has been no threat of farm 

 strikes or slow downs, nor have price 

 advantages been sought, notwithstanding 

 the long hours that have been required on 

 farms to meet the production goals re- 

 quested by the government. It is be- 

 coming increasingly recognized that farm- 

 ers are the one group in America which 



has been called upon constantly to do 

 more and more with less and less. 



If for no other reason, the record of 

 accomplishments by farmers during the 

 war will entitle them to a prominent place 

 around the council tables of state and 

 nation in solving problems of peace. 



Although somewhat different in char- 

 acter, your organization has been forced 

 to meet and overcome many serious prob- 

 lems resulting from wartime conditions. 

 When our country entered the war there 

 were 242 men and 282 women on the 

 staff of the organization. Of this num- 

 ber 142 men and 3 women have entered 

 the armed forces since the day of Pearl 

 Harbor. At the close of the fiscal year 

 181 men and 300 women constituted the 

 staff of the organization, which you will 

 note is considerably less than during nor- 

 mal times and conditions. To carry on 

 the organization's activities and to im- 

 prove efficiency,- it has been necessary to 

 increase the hours of service by ten per- 

 cent, and to curtail some of the ordinary 

 detail that is desirable, but not impera- 

 tive, and to ask both the men and senior 

 women on the staff to discharge ever in- 

 creasing responsibilities. 



Equipment and supplies of nearly 

 every character that are necessary for or- 

 derly operations have been seriously lim- 

 ited, and some impossible to secure. 



I mention these things only that our 

 members may know that, as an organiza- 

 tion, we have been forced to meet many 

 limiting factors similar to those con- 

 fronting the members generally. In ad- 

 dition to these daily problems, have been 

 the serious considerations that always con- 

 front an organization, such as ours, dur- 

 ing a general election year. 



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