FARMERS WANT ECONOMY, 

 PRICE STABILITY — SHUMAN 



(Continued from page 10) 



adoption of employee retirement plans 

 by both private and cooperative business 

 organizations has become general during 

 recent years. The advantages to both 

 the employer and employee are many 

 and obvious, and need not be discussed 

 here. The wide divergence of our ac- 

 tivities and the many different types of 

 organization have made it difficult to 

 develop a plan which would meet the 

 requirements of every situation. Studies 

 over a considerable period of time have 

 culminated in the plan being recom- 

 mended by your Board of Directors to 

 the voting Delegates at this meeting. The 

 plan to be presented is not perfect and 

 probably can be improved as it is de- 

 veloped, but your Board believes that it 

 is a progressive and desirable program 

 and should be established at this time. 



During the year the Association, as 

 principal original sponsor of the "Gate- 

 way Amendment" to the State Constitu- 

 tion, undertook the task of organizing 

 support for the amendment at the elec- 

 tion in November. I want to compli- 

 ment the county Farm Bureaus and all 

 individual members who did such a won-- 

 derful job in this worthwhile effort.- The 

 prestige of your organization is meas- 

 ureably increased by the effectiveness of 

 your work. In addition, every county 

 that actively participated in this campaign 

 will have an increase in membership 

 consciousness through the active partici- 



pation of its many member workers. 

 State Legislative Problems 



The Association will soon again have 

 the opportunity to present to the state 

 legislature certain suggestions regarding 

 legislation on many problems affecting 

 agriculture and the state as a whole. 

 The delegates in this convention will 

 adopt definite policy resolutions to guide 

 your new Board of Directors in legisla- 

 tive matters during the coming year. 



The present school reorganization 

 movement in Illinois is rapidly gaining 

 momentum. I know we are all proud 

 that the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 has played a major role in initiating and 

 guiding these improvements. All who 

 have had contact with the school laws 

 in Illinois know that they present a con- 

 fusing problem. Steps toward school 

 reorganization have brought our attention 

 more forcibly to some of the inadequacies 

 of our present laws. Certainly a care- 

 ful study should be made of our school 

 laws and suggestions for improvement 

 and clarification of reorganization pro- 

 cedure brought to the attention of the 

 legislature. 



Country Roads 



In 1945 the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation sponsored state legislation pro- 

 viding $15,000,000 for surfacing farm- 

 to-highway roads. In many counties sub- 

 stantial progress has been made under 

 this program. In other counties most of 

 the funds have been used for maintenance 

 or other activities and farmers have seen 



Looking over the 1946 lAA annual report during distribution during the annual conven- 

 tion are left to right: Audio Bennett, Franiclln county; Victor Yung, Franldin; President 

 Charles B. Shuman, Moultrie; Stanley Castle, Madison; Arthur L. High, Kankakee, and 



Frank A. Easterly, Jackson. 



28 



little improvement. The whole farm-to- 

 highway road problem in Illinois remains 

 acute and largely unsolved. One of the 

 first responsibilities of the State of Illi- 

 nois should be to develop 'an adequate 

 long range road plan. The Association 

 must study this problem carefully and be 

 prepared to make recommendations for 

 action by the state legislature. 



The state weed and seed laws of Illi- 

 nois are in need of revision and improve- 

 ment. Laws dealing with animal health 

 regulations also appear to require some 

 modification. The hasty adoption by the 

 last legislature of new laws providing 

 for assessment of property of 100% of 

 actual value created many problems. The 

 next legislature must devote considerable 

 time to a solution of these problems 

 and a clarification of the new laws. These 

 and many other problems forecast a very 

 active year for your organization on the 

 state legislative front. 



National Problems 



Illinois farmers have much at stake 

 on the national level. In many ways 

 our problems seem greater and farther 

 from solution today than they did one 

 year ago. Certainly this year of 1946 

 has been one of such confusion of agri- 

 cultural policy that no one can blame 

 farmers for being disturbed and resent- 

 ful. Little consideration was given to 

 the effect upon farmers of countless 

 changes in regulations and laws. Gov- 

 ernmental agencies lightly toyed with the 

 prices of farm products and through ill 

 considered actions ran the prices of live- 

 stock, grain and dairy products up and 

 down as their whims or political con- 

 siderations dictated. Farmers now de- 

 mand an end to this type of manipulation. 



Greater Stability of Price Levels 



Agriculture, perhaps more than any 

 other group, has suffered the full brunt 

 of the violent and recurrent periods of 

 inflation and deflation that have char- 

 acterized our economy for generations. 

 Moderate cyclical changes are expected 

 and cause farmers no great concern. It 

 is the severe and prolonged periods of 

 depression, such as we experienced in 

 the nineteen thirties, and the wild in- 

 flations such as that in which we are 

 now engulfed, that threaten not only 

 agriculture with bankruptcy, but the en- 

 tire nation as well. Farmers believe that 

 some corrective action can and should 

 be taken that will bring about a more 

 stable general price level. Most certainly 

 the national government should follow 

 fiscal, monetary and credit policies that 

 will reduce, rather than accentuate these 

 ruinous cycles. Common sense should 

 tell us that this is not the time for large 



L A. A. RECORD 





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