The Illinois Agricnltnrol Association Record 



ss 



The Utinoift Agricultural Association RECORD is 

 published monthly except August by the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association at 1501 W. Washington 

 Road. Mendota. 111. Editorial Offices, 608 So. 

 Dearborn St., Chicago. III. Entered as second 

 class matter at post office. Mendota. 111., Sept. 11, 

 1936. Acceptance for mailing at special rate oi 

 postage provided in Section 412. Act of Feb. 28, 

 1925. authorized Oct. 27. 1935. Address all com- 

 munications for publication to Editorial Offices. 

 Illinois Agricultural Association RECORD. 608 So. 

 Dearborn St.. Chicago. The individual member- 

 ship fee of the Illinois Agricultural Associotion is 

 five dollars a year. The fee includes payment of 

 fifty cents for subscription to the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association RECORD. Postmaster: Send 

 notices on Form 3578 and undeliverable copies 

 returned under Form 3579 to editorial offices, 608 

 So. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 



Director of Information, Creston Foster; Editor. 

 Merrill C. Gregory, on leave of absence with the 

 United States Army. 



Illinois Agricultural 

 Association 



Greatest State Farm Organization 

 in America 



OFFICERS 



President, Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-President, Talmage Defrees Greenville 

 Corporate Sec, Paul E. Mothios Hinsdale 



Field Sec, Geo. E. Metzger Chicago 



Treasurer, R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



Asst Treas., A. H. Wright Varna 



Comptroller, R. G. Ely Chicago 



General Counsel, Donald Eirkpatrick 



Chicago 



BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

 (By Congressional Districts) 



1st to 1 1th Harvey W. Adair, Chicago Hts. 



12th C. I. Elliott, Streator 



13th Homer Curtiss, Stockton 



14th Otto Steffey, Stronghurst 



15th Ronald A. Holt, Galva 



16th Albert Hayes, ChUlicothe 



17lh Charles Lauritzen, Reddick 



18th W. A. Dennis, Paris 



19*1> Charles B. Shuman, Sullivan 



20th t T. Smith, Greenfield 



21»t F. E. Morris. Buflalo 



22nd Alvin O. Eckert. Belleville 



23Td Chester McCord, Newton 



24tl» Lyman Bunting, EUery 



25th August G. Eggerding. Red Bud 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Dodry Motketing Wilirsd Shaw 



Fruit and Vagetabls Markaling L. L. Colvis 



Grain Markating Georg* H. litnar 



Legal Donald Kirkpatrick 



Li»» Stock Markoting S. F. Runall 



Office C. E. lohneton 



Organization O. D. Briasenden 



Produc* Marketing F. A. Gougler 



Publicify Creston Foster 



Research and Toxatiett. L. H. Simerl 



Rural School Relations lohn X. Cox 



Sales Service _ W. P. SandJord 



Soil Improvement John R. Spencer 



Tronsportation-Claims G. W. Baxter 



Young People's Activities Ellsworth D. Lyon 



ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Lite Ins. Co Dave Mieher. Mgr. 



Farmers' Mutual Reinsur. Co J. H. Eelker. Mgr. 



111. Agr. Auditing Assn C. E. Strand. Mgr. 



lU. Agr. Mutual Ins. Co A. E. Richardson, Mgr. 



ni. Agr. Service Co Earl C. Smith. Pres. 



Donald Eirkpatrick, Sec. 



ni. Co-op Locker Service Dana Cryder, Pres. 



ni. F. Bur. Serum Assn. S. F. Russell, Sec.-Mgr. 



111. Farm Supply Co C. H. Becker, Mgi. 



m. Fruit Growers' Exchange L. L. Colvis, Mgr. 



ni. Grain Corporation Frank Haines, Mgr. 



lU. Livestock Mktg. Assn. H. W. Trautmann. Mgr. 

 Ul. MUk Producers' Assn. Wilfred Shaw, Mgr. 

 ni. Producers' Creameries J. B. Counties. Mgr. 

 111. Wool Mktg. Assn. S. F. Ruasell, Soc.-Mgr. 



JUNE, 1945 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was 

 organized, namely, to promote, protect and represent the 

 biasiness, economic, social and educational interests of the 

 farmers of Illinois and the Nation, and to develop agriculture. 



lUNE. 1945 



VOLUME 23 NUMBER 6 



By Earl C. Smith 



THE Gateway 

 Amendment t o 

 the constitution of 

 Illinois, which was 

 sponsored by the Il- 

 linois Agricultural 

 A s s o ci a t ion, has 

 been approved by 

 the Illinois General 

 Assembly, and will 

 be submitted to the 

 voters of the state at the next general elec- 

 tion in November, 1946. 



This amendment if approved by the 

 voters will make possible the submission 

 to the voters, by the General Assembly, 

 of amendments to as many as three ar- 

 ticles of the constitution at one time, in- 

 stead of only one as at present, and pro- 

 vides that amendments to the constitu- 

 tion, submitted by the General Assembly, 

 will be adopted by the affirmative vote 

 of two-thirds of those voting on such 

 proposition, instead of A MAJORITY 

 OF ALL WHO VOTE for candidates in 

 the election, as is now required. 



The Gateway Amendment is simply 

 an amendment to the amending clause of 

 the Illinois constitution. Under present 

 constitutional limitations, proposed 

 amendments to the constitution have 

 been defeated by the large number of 

 voters who voted in the general election, 

 but who did not have sufficient interest 

 in constitutional matters to vote on 

 amendments. In other words, a pro- 

 posed amendment must now have a fa- 

 vorable vote of the MAJORITY OF 

 THOSE who cast ballots in the election, 

 and thus, those who fail to vote on pro- 

 posed amendments are counted against 

 the proposition. In short, failing to vote 

 on an amendment amounts to the same 

 thing as voting against it. It is there- 

 fore, apparent, under the present require- 

 ments, that it is practically impossible to 

 amend any article of the constitution. 



A review of amendments submitted to 

 the voters of this state since 1894 reveals 

 that only two amendments to the con- 

 stitution have received a favorable vote 

 by the MAJORITY OF THOSE VOT- 

 ING in the election, although in many in- 

 stances, such proposals have received 

 from seventy to eighty percent of the 

 votes cast on such proposals. 



The immediate question is — how to 

 secure favorable action by voters in the 

 adoption of the Gateway Amendment, 

 and avoid the tremendous obstacle of 

 present constitutional requirements, which 

 require a MAJORITY OF ALL VOTES 

 CAST IN THE ELECTION, regardless 

 of the favorable vote of those interested 

 enough to vote on the proposal. 



To overcome this obstacle, the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association is sponsoring the 

 so-called Party Circle Bills in the present 

 General Assembly. In effect these bills 

 provide that the Gateway Amendment is 

 to be considered by state conventions of 

 the respective political parties, and later 

 when voting, any citizen who votes in 

 the party circle at the top of the ballot 

 will have his vote counted in accord with 

 the position taken by such political party 

 on the Gateway Amendment. However, 

 if such voter is not in accord with the 

 position taken by his political party, he 

 can vote directly on the proposition in 

 such manner as he may choose and his 

 vote will be counted accordingly. The 

 Party Circle Bills, therefore, do not re- 

 strict the individual votjer in any way 

 from voting as he may desire on the 

 Gateway Amendment, but do prevent 

 that large number of voters who vote 

 straight party tickets and who have ig- 

 nored constitutional questions, from be- 

 ing counted as voting in opposition to 

 a proposed amendment. 



Many persons have expressed opposi- 

 tion to the so-called Patty Circle Bills, 



(Continued on page 5) 



