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Agricultural Association, constituted a 

 statewide committee of thirty-five. 



This committee held nine meetings, 

 covering eighteen days, and three sub- 

 committee sessions. It sought and re- 

 ceived the advice and counsel of many 

 outstanding educators of experience. It 

 has reviewed, in reasonable detail, the 

 conditions and the problems confronting 

 our schools in all sections of Illinois. 

 After careful consideration, the commit- 

 tee reached almost, if not unanimous, ac- 

 cord in recommending steps that should 

 be taken to meet squarely the problems 

 as they appear to exist. 



I want to take this means of thanking 

 the outstanding group of men and wom- 

 en who have sen-ed on the school com- 

 mittee, for the time they have given to 

 this important problem. And may I add 

 in passing, that it has been one of the 

 most able and conscientious general com- 

 mittees it has been my privilege to meet 

 and counsel with. 



Farm Bureaus Get Reports 



Both the preliminary and final reports 

 of this committee were sent to every 

 county Farm Bureau. Their recommenda- 

 tions will be considered in the School 

 Conference, which is scheduled for this 

 afternoon. I hope the results of this 

 Conference will be reported to the dele- 

 gates through the Resolutions Commit- 

 tee, so as to provide the Association with 

 an Outline of policy and procedure where- 

 by the Association can be of the greatest 

 assistance in adequately solving the many 

 serious problems with which our rural 

 schools are confronted. Of one thing 

 we must be sure, either rural people must 

 become much more aggressive in meeting 

 and solving these problems, or I fear a 

 renewal of attempts to remove from with- 

 in the school district, the responsibility 

 and the authority for the guidance and 

 direction of rural schools. 



It is my belief that we can no longer 

 defend state assistance to schools where 

 the daily attendance is so low as to re- 

 move even the necessary competitive con- 

 ditions that are essential to develop the 

 best within children, and where the per 

 unit cost of maintaining such schools is 

 beyond reason. 



There are two over-all problems that 

 must be met. First, will those most in- 

 terested within the district or districts 

 bring about such reasonable consolida- 

 tions as are known to be warranted, or 

 will their failure to do so result in some 

 law creating a tailor-made way for the 

 coordination of schools, that even when 

 accomplished will not meet the reason- 

 able needs of the rural community.-' This 

 is largely, if not entirely, a local prob- 

 lem. 



The other problem has to do with the 

 readjustment of the basis upon which 



state equalization funds are distributed, 

 to a basis of real need, rather than as at 

 present — an unneeded subsidy to some 

 and a deficit of revenue to meet the nec- 

 essary requirements of children in other 

 areas. This is largely a state problem. 

 Both of these problems must be faced 

 squarely. 



Recognizing the importance of the 

 rural school problem, the Association 

 created a Rural Schools Department dur- 

 ing the year, and employed an able, ex- 

 perienced man to direct its activities. He 

 will be available to the county Farm Bu- 

 reaus to assist them in the study and the 

 solution of their local problems to the 

 full extent his time will permit, and the 

 counties may desire. 



Postwar Planning Commission 



Outstanding among recommendations 

 before the next General Assembly will 

 be the report and recommendations of 

 the Illinois Post War Planning Commis- 

 sion, which was authorized by the last 

 General Assembly, and appointed by 

 Governor Green early in the year. The 

 over-all purpose of this Commission was 

 to make a comprehensive study and to 

 make recommendations to the Governor 

 and to the next General Assembly where- 

 by the state could best assist business, 

 agriculture and workers during the re- 

 adjustment period following the war. 

 As a member of this Commission, I was 

 requested to recommend a number of 

 representatives of agriculture to serve 

 with me on a sub-committee of agricul- 

 ture, and to make recommendations as 

 to agriculture's needs. Dean Rusk and 

 Dr. Case from the University of Illinois; 

 Howard Leonard, Director of the State 

 Department of Agriculture; Walter W. 

 McLaughlin, former State Director of 

 Agriculture and now Manager of Decatur 

 Farm Management Service; Edwin Bay, 

 President of the Farm Advisers' Asso- 

 ciation of Illinois; Dr. Henry Taylor of 

 the Farm Foundation; E. A. Eckert, Mas- 

 ter of the Illinois State Grange, and Chris 

 Christensen, former Dean of the College 

 of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin, 

 now Vice-President of Celotex Corpora- 

 tion, rendered able ser\'ice on this Com- 

 mittee. 



The committee confined its report to 

 matters having to do with rural schools, 

 rural roads, soil needs and the importance 

 of giving and maintaining official state 

 support to broad national policies which 

 are required for the stabilization of agri- 

 culture at a prosperous level. 



The recommendations of the committee 

 on rural school needs are not at variance 

 with the report and recommendations of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 School Committee. 



The committee emphatically set forth 

 the immediate and widespread oppor- 



tunity rural road improvement offers for 

 the employment of men in all areas as 

 soon as such labor is available. It called 

 for immediate blue printing of rural road 

 needs in all counties of the state, and it 

 particularly emphasized the responsibility 

 of the state in assisting local governments 

 to meet these requirements. 



The committee's report on soils was in 

 some respects alarming, for it pointed out 

 definitely the serious drain put upon the 

 soils of Illinois, as well as other states, 

 in meeting - wartime production require- 

 ments. The report also pointed out the 

 state's responsibility to assist in making 

 available necessary machinery for the 

 much wider production and use of lime- 

 stone and other fertilizers, as soon as 

 conditions permit. The report further 

 pointed out the imperative need for offi- 

 cial state support of broad agricultural 

 policies that are necessary for the effective 

 segregation and control of surplus re- 

 ser\'es of basic soil crops and that this 

 matter should be considered and sup- 

 ported on a strictly non-partisan and noo- 

 political basis. 



I can here mention, only briefly, the 

 aspects of this report, but when the final 

 and official report of the Commission is 

 available, I commend it for the careful 

 study of all interested citizens of Illinois. 

 During the next session of the General 

 Assembly, the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation will have a real opportunity to 

 render the state, as well as all rural areas, 

 great service in using its influence in sup- 

 port of efforts made to provide practical 

 ways and means for the application of 

 the recommendations of the Illinois Post- 

 war Planning Commission. 



Urges Gateway Amendment 



The failure of the proposed constitu- 

 tional amendment in the recent election 

 again demonstrates the impossibility of 

 amending our State Constitution under 

 the present requirement that an amend- 

 ment to be adopted must receive a ma- 

 jority of all of the votes cast in the elec- 

 tion. The proposed amendment, which 

 would have permitted sheriffs and county 

 treasurers to succeed themselves in office 

 had been submitted by a two-thirds vote 

 of each House in the General Assembly 

 It was considered by both political par- 

 ties. It was defeated by those not suf- 

 ficiently interested to even vote on the 

 proposal. The experience with this 

 amendment and with others submitted 

 in recent years, should convince all 

 thoughtful people of the necessity of 

 submitting to the people at the next gen- 

 eral election a so-called Gateway Amend- 

 ment. Such an amendment, if approved, 

 would permit the adoption of amend- 

 ments to our State Constitution by vote 

 of a substantial majority of those voting 



(CoHtinutd on pjge 2~ ) 



DECEMBER, 1944 



