IT'S AFBF'S SILVER 



MEMBERSHIP ANNOUNCED AT ALL-TIME HIGH OF 828,486 AS ANNUAL 



MORE than 828,000 Farm Bureau 

 members with their total efforts 

 pledged toward total victory and 

 total peace for America and her allies 

 — that's the message that went out from 

 the annual meeting of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation as the AFBF 

 quietly observed its silver anniversary — 

 25 years of service to American agricul- 

 ture. 



Records showed that AFBF member- 

 ship stood at the highest peak in the or- 

 ganization's history — 828,486 Farm 

 Bureau members, or a gain of 140,987 

 over a year ago and representing a per- 

 centage increase of 20.5. This leaves 

 the AFBF only 171,514 short of its 

 "Million Member" goal. 



The Midwest region, which includes 

 Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michi- 

 gan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, 

 Ohio, and Wisconsin, had a gain in 

 membership of 66,442, over last year, or 

 an increase of 19.42 per cent. This brings 

 the Midwest region total membership to 

 408,478. 



Ten state and 669 county Farm Bureaus 

 which had reached their goals in the 

 "Million Member" campaign were a- 

 warded certificates at the AFBF annual 

 meeting by R. B. Corbett, secretary- 

 treasurer. Illinois was one of the state 

 winners and 52 county Farm Bureaus in 



Illinois received awards for attaining 

 their goals. Iowa was the only state in 

 the Midwest which had a higher number 

 of county awards. Iowa had 58 county 

 awards. 



The annual address of AFBF President 

 Edward A. O'Neal and the resolutions 

 adopted at the closing session indicated 

 clearly that the strength of the organiza- 

 tion's united membership was pledged 

 toward building an even better America. 



Said President O'Neal: ". . .1 take 

 great pride in the fact that we now have 

 the largest membership in our history, 

 and that our organization has risen to a 

 position of great importance in the affairs 

 of the Nation. Never before has so large 

 a group of farm people marched together 

 behind a single banner ... I earnestly 

 hope that we will all go home less im- 

 pressed with what we have done in the 

 past than with the grave responsibilities 

 which farm people have imposed on us 

 for the future. The decisions which the 

 people of this country make during the 

 next few years will establish the pattern 

 of American life for generations to come. 



. . .Farm people must be as zealous 

 serving their nation through their or- 

 ganizations as in developing their own 

 industry. The nation's character was 

 formulated largely by farm people. It 



is our responsibility to perpetuate those 

 principles for which our forefathers 

 fought and died." 



President O'Neal declared that the 

 postwar world security organization 

 must be prepared to maintain peace by 

 force if necessary, but force will not be 

 necessary if the victorious countries will 

 permit all nations to rebuild their shat- 

 tered economic structures. 



Turning to the domestic front, the 

 AFBF leader said, "AH leaders and 

 groups in this country are agreed the only 

 possible way we in America can main- 

 tain employment after the war and serv- 

 ice our national debt will be through 

 creating an economy of abundance. 



"But we can't have such economy 

 under high-tariff policies. Restriction, 

 scarcity, monopolies, unemployment, and 

 eventually war are certain fruits of ex- 

 cessive tariffs." 



President O'Neal also warned that if 

 the various groups in our economy de- 

 pend too much upon the government 

 and fail to coordinate voluntarily their 

 own efforts to achieve the same goal, 

 the government will become the sole 

 employer and our historic tradition of 

 freedom of the individual will become 

 a thing of the past. 



In conclusion. President O'Neal said, 

 "We must meet the stern realities with 



W. W. Waymack of Des Moines Register 

 and Tribune who received one of the two 

 awards for distinguished service to agri- 

 culture, shakes hands with AFBF Presi- 

 dent Edward A. O'Neal .after the award 



presentation. Waymack addressed the 

 1941 lAA convention in Springfield. 

 At right, lAA delegates to AFBF conven- 

 tion study resolutions. Front row, left to 

 right: Chester McCord, E. T. Smith. Homer 



Curtiss, and a voting delegate from New 

 lersey, W. C. Spargo. Second row. left to 

 right: Vice-President Talmage Deirees, Ot- 

 to Steffey, W. A. Dennis and Albert Hayes. 

 This was the AF3Ps 25th Anniversary- 



I. A. A. RECORD 



