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THERE'S A BIG JOB OF 



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TO BE DONE AFTER WAR 



27,000 ILLINOIS FARMS STILL ON UNIMPROVED 

 ROADS, REPORT AT ANNUAL MEETING SHOWS 



THERE IS still a job to be done in Il- 

 linois in providing farmers with all- 

 weather farm to market roads. 



This point was emphasized at the pub- 

 lic relations conference of the 30th an- 

 nual meeting of the lAA held in Chi- 

 cago. 



it was reported that the 1940 U.S. cen- 

 sus showed that 27,000 Illinois farms are 

 still on unimproved roads. As an example 

 of the need for all-weather roads, the 

 situation in two counties were cited. One 

 county had 1351 farms on unimproved 

 roads, and the other had 1384 on unim- 

 proved roads. 



President Earl C. Smith of the lAA 

 who is a member of the sub-committee 

 on agriculture of the Illinois Postwar 

 Planning Commission, told of the pos- 

 sibilities of using in the postwar period 

 some of the vast store of road-building 

 machinery owned by the U.S. Army. 



President Smith pointed out that since 



Illinois is the third largest taxpayer 

 among the states, it would seem reason- 

 able that It should have its fair share of 

 such machinery when it is released by 

 the Army after the war. Such dirt-mov- 

 ing machinery might also be used for 

 other soil projects such as terracing, etc. 



President Smith also stressed the post- 

 war use of state reserve funds for meri- 

 torious projects which would give gainful 

 employment to returning soldiers dur- 

 ing the conversion period. 



"We must have plans ready after this 

 war so that we will not be in the same 

 position as we were after the first World 

 War," President Smith said. If proper 

 plans are made, he explained, it will be 

 po.ssible to provide men with an honest 

 day's pay for an honest day's work. 



Another major topic at the public re- 

 lations conference was that of the need 

 for a so-called Gateway Amendment to 

 the state constitution. Under the pres- 



Thirty-three Richland County Fann Bu- 

 reau members attended the 30th onnual 

 meeting oi the lAA, and more than one- 

 hali oi these were ottendiilg an lAA an- 



DECEMBER, 1944 



nual meeting ior the first time. The 

 County Farm Bureou provides a trip to 

 the lAA convention to men who sign five 

 or more new members in campaign drives. 



Mrs. Stanly Castle, president oi the Illinois 

 Home Bureau Federation, brought greet- 

 ings to the lAA convention at the Friday 

 morning session. 



ent requirements of the state constitu- 

 tion, if an amendment is to be adopted, 

 it must receive approval from a majorit)' 

 of all the votes cast in the election. 



Thus, a citizen who casts his ballot 

 in the general election, and fails to vote 

 on the proposed amendment actually is 

 counted as voting against the amendment. 



To correct this situation, the lAA is 

 urging that at the next general election 

 a Gateway Amendment be submitted to 

 the people. Such an amendment, if 

 approved, would permit the adoption of 

 amendments to the state constitution b)- 

 a vote of a substantial majority voting on 

 the proposal. In other words, the ques- 

 tion of whether the amendment was 

 passed or defeated would be decided by 

 counting the nu'tnber of votes for or 

 against the proposal, regardless of how 

 many votes were cast in the general elec- 

 tion. 



It also was pointed out that the Illinois 

 General Assembly should provide that in 

 considering the Gateway Amendment, the 

 party circle would be counted for the 

 position taken by the part)' on the pro- 

 posed amendment unless the voter indi- 

 cates otherwise. 



Other topics considered at the public 

 relations conference included the pro- 

 posed veterinarian college at the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois, and postwar agricultural 

 problems. L. H. Simerl, lAA director 

 of research and taxation, reported on 

 reciprocal trade agreements, lend-lease op- 

 erations and other aspects of foreign trade 

 of interest to farmers. 



The position of the lAA on the veter- 

 inarian college is stated in the conven- 

 tion resolutions printed in this issue of 

 the Record. 



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