We reaffirm our previously expressed 

 policy of encouraging the improve- 

 ment of rural schools through the re- 

 organization of school districts and 

 other means. We recognize and ap- 

 prove the fine spirit in which most 

 counties and communities have accepted 

 the County School Survey Law. We 

 recommend that the officers of the As- 

 sociation seek specific legislation to 

 enable a vote to be taken on any county 

 committee proposals for reorganized 

 districts including county-wide school 

 districts and community unit districts. 



We will also sponsor legislation to 

 distribute the burden of school support 

 more equitably by abolishing school 

 administrative districts which have had 

 fewer than five pupils for three suc- 

 cessive years. Exceptions should be 

 made where such requirements would 

 work an unnecessary hardship upon 

 local people because of road conditions 

 or other geographical factors. 



XVI. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

 HOME ECONOMICS BUILDING 



The housing facilities for the Home 

 Economics Department at the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois are inadequate and out 

 of date. We will join with the Illinois 

 Home Bureau Federation to secure a 

 state appropriation for a new home ec- 

 onomics building with adequate equip- 

 ment for the research and educational 

 program of this department. 



XVII. HNANCIAL RESPONSIBIL- 

 ITY FOR AIRCRAFT OWNERS 



The use of aircraft is increasing rap- 

 idly. This results in an increased num- 

 ber of aircraft accidents involving pub- 

 lic liability and property damage. At 

 the present time there is no law in our 

 state requiring financial responsibility 

 on the part of the aircraft owners or 

 operators causing such damage. Prop- 

 erty owners and other individuals 

 should be adequately protected in case 

 they are injured or adversely affected 

 in any way by aircraft accidents or 

 forced landings. 



Therefore, we urge and will support 

 legislation requiring each aircraft own- 

 er and operator to submit proof of 

 financial responsibility before being 

 allowed to operate an aircraft in this 

 state. 



XVIII. STATE REGULATION OF 

 INSURANCE RATES 



We are opposed to any legislation or 

 regulations which would require all 

 casualty insurance companies, including 

 mutual companies, to maintain uni- 

 form rates. The state should limit its 

 regulation to that which is necessary to 



make certain that the Insurance Com- 

 panies are financially sound and their 

 policyholders fairly treated. If a mutual 

 company can operate soundly at a low- 

 er premium rate than other companies, 

 it should be allowed to do so. We will 

 vigorously oppose any attempt that 

 may be made in Illinois to restrict the 

 freedom of mutual companies to oper- 

 ate for the benefit of their members, 

 providing their operation is non- 

 discriminatory as between members and 

 such operation meets the requirements 

 of the State Department of Insurance 

 insofar as sound practices and proced- 

 ures are concerned. 



XIX. FARM BUREAU MEMBER- 

 SHIP 



The present Illinois Farm Bureau 

 membership of more than 130,000 is 

 most gratifying, but the opportunity 

 for greatly increased membership still 

 exists. The membership in many coun- 

 ties is still low in relation to potential 

 membership. Practically every county 

 has one or more townships that are 

 poorly organized. 



Farmers are fully conscious of the 

 importance of organization. They re- 

 alize today as never before that only 

 through complete organization can they 

 hope to meet the problems and the 

 responsibilities that face agriculture. 



We, therefore, urge township, coun- 

 ty and state leaders to redouble their 

 efforts to establish and maintain such 

 a program of service as will fully serve 

 the present members and attract the 

 non-member. We also urge that an 

 effort be made to reach all potential 

 members and, that they be personally 

 invited to join with their neighbors in 

 Farm Bureau. The time to do this is 

 NOW. 



FARMERS WANT ECONOMY, 

 PRICE STABILITY — SHUMAN 



(Continued jrom page 29) 



certain that this committee will make a 

 significant contribution to thinking along 

 these lines. 



Farmers believe in full production and 

 they would certainly prefer not to return 

 to the specific crop acreage control pro- 

 grams of the past. However, farmers 

 know that prices supported at 90% of 

 parity without any program for keeping 

 production in balance with effective de- 

 mand could result in huge surplus ac- 

 cumulation. Excessive production and 

 surplus acamiulation would be wasteful 

 of soil resources as well as disastrous to 

 price levels. Much of the surplus pro- 

 duction in the past has come from in- 

 creased grain acreage at the expense of 



proper land use and conservation prac- 

 tices. Consideration should be given to 

 coupling the support price program with 

 an effective soil conservation plan. Much 

 public support could be had for a plan 

 that would assure those producers who 

 conserve the soil a parity price for their 

 products. 



Many people, especially those in 

 great cities, have been led to believe 

 that farmers are getting rich. As you 

 all know, this is far trom the truth. 

 According to the U.S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Illinois gross cash farm 

 income in 1945 was $1,198,790,000. 



Investigations by the University of 

 Illinois indicate that about 60 per cent 

 of gross farm income was required 

 for operating expenses. Working from 

 these figures we find that net cash 

 receipts in 1945 averaged only $44.77 

 per farm per week. Out of that $44.77 

 the farmer had to pay income taxes, 

 rent and interest. 



After meeting these charges the 

 average Illinois farmer had less than 

 $30 a week for his labor, according to 

 estimates by the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association research department. 



During the first seven months of 

 1946, Illinois farmers took in about 7 

 per cent more cash than in the corres- 

 ponding period of 1945. Prices of 

 farm equipment and supplies, however, 

 have increased 10 to 20 per cent. Con- 

 sequently net income of Illinois far- 

 mers this year will be little if any 

 higher than in 1945. 



World Problems 



Agriculture, as much as any other 

 group, has deep interest in the attain- 

 ment of permanent world peace. We 

 favor every reasonable effort to establish 

 and maintain world peace. We com- 

 mend Congress and the Administration 

 for their non-political cooperation in the 

 development of the United Nations or- 

 ganization. Farmers are practical in their 

 approach to a solution of this unsolved 

 problem. They know that we in America 

 cannot separate ourselves ftom the world. 

 However, we must concentrate on mak- 

 ing our democracy so strong that it will 

 be invulnerable to the attacks of those 

 from within who would destroy our 

 form of government. 



If we can live in a spirit of brother- 

 hood here at home, perhaps we can then 

 convince the people of other nations 

 that world brotherhood and peace are 

 more to be desired than world domina- 

 tion, u 



As soon as die esKS hatch, spray bag- 

 worms on evergreens with one pound lead 

 arsenate and one pound hrdrated lime in 

 2S gallons of water. 



DECEMBER, 1946 



