NEWS ^ VIEWS 



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Foreword 



During the present period of reconver- 

 sion we are confronted with critical prob- 

 lems in protecting and conserving the wel- 

 fare of the farm family. 



We believe it is the responsibility of the 

 Associated Women of the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation to face up to these prob- 

 lems and to help determine policies and 

 carry forward a program of action for their 

 solution. 



Farm Family 



We believe that the farm family is im- 

 portant to the nation. It produces most 

 of the nation's children. 



The necessity for conserving the ability 

 of the farm family to transmit to the na- 

 tion the best in human life is becoming in- 

 creasingly evident. 



The necessity for raising the standards 

 of home life on the farm are evidenced by 

 statistics which show a larger increase in 

 juvenile delinquency in rural than in urban 

 areas during the war period. 



We believe that the family-sized farm 

 offers the best opportunity for the develop- 

 ment of the farm family. We recommend 

 t^at all agricultural policy, including price 

 and production, credit and land policies, be 

 directed toward the maintenance of the fam- 

 ily-sized farm and the long-time objective 

 of owner-operated farms. 



Better Living on the Farm 



One of the critical decisions to be made 

 is whether present income and savings shall 

 be used to improve farm living or whether 

 it will be used as after the last war, in 

 capitalizing higher land values. 



We believe that the best investment farm 

 families can make at the present time is to 

 earmark their Bonds and Savings for future 

 use, for such things as the maintenance of 

 the soil and buildings on the farm and for 

 labor-saving equipment for the home such 

 as running water and electricity. 



There is still much to be done to make 

 the farm home comfortable. Since the avail- 

 ability of electricity does more than any 

 other one factor to alleviate the drudgery 

 of home making, we recommend that every 

 effort be used to extend the use of elec- 

 tricity to every farm home in the nation. 

 Food Policy 



It has long been recognized that the fer- 

 tility of the soil is the basis for prosperity 

 in agriculture and in the nation, and we 

 have come to know that a close relationship 

 exists between soil fertility and human 

 nutrition. 



We believe that women and homemakers 

 should be greatly concerned with programs 

 designed to improve the soil. We recom- 

 mend study and discussion of the signifi- 



32 



cance of new developments now taking place 

 in the fertilizer program of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation. 



We heartily encourage the expansion of 

 the school lunch program as an effective 

 way to better serve the nutritional needs of 

 all children, but we believe that the pro- 

 gram means more than providing a meal. 



It should also teach nutrition, selection 

 of foods and good food habits, which will 

 later reflect upon the health and well being 

 of our future citizens. There is a great 

 need for well trained supervisors of school 

 lunch programs and trained lunch room 

 workers — more equipment and special help 

 is needed in the smaller schools, especially 

 in rural areas; training of personnel in 

 problems of finance and administration; and 

 plans to combine school lunch and better 

 health teaching. 



Education 



We are firmly convinced that education 

 of our youth is the best overall, longtime 

 method of solving our domestic and world- 

 wide problems. 



We urge the establishment of state and 

 county Farm Bureau school committees to 

 assist existing educational agencies in a 

 study of possible school reorganization 

 plans. — 



Th'ere is very real evidence that interest 

 in preparation for the profession of teach- 

 ing is waning due to general reluctance to 

 adequately compensate those who are so en- 

 gaged. We favor assistance through scholar- 

 ships to interest young men and women in 

 the teaching profession and legislation that 



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will place teachers wages on a par with 

 other lines of specialized work. 



Believing that we have too long been in- 

 articulate in expressing our disapproval of 

 the unwholesome movie and radio programs 

 being offered to the public, we urge that 

 committees be set up in each community 

 Farm Bureau for the purpose of expressing 

 our disapproval to the proper agencies, and 

 we solicit the aid of other organized groups 

 of women interested in a program of this 

 nature. 



Health 



One of rural America's most urgent prob- 

 lems is to provide a program assuring better 

 hospital and medical facilities for rural peo- 



Illinois Home Bureau Federation delegates to the Son Francisco convention of the Asso- 

 ciated Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation, left to right, Mrs. John Morris, 

 Peoria county; Mrs. J. S. Woodburn, Rock Island; Miss Leona Barnes, Mercer; Mrs. Charles 

 Schmitt, Logan; Miss Pearl Barnes, Mercer, Federation president; Mrs. J. C. Graham, 

 secretary, Mercer; Mrs. Stanley Castle, Madison, and Mrs. Claire Gordon. Other delegates 

 not in the picture are Mrs. James Grant, Mercer; Mrs. C. V. Golden, Rock Island; Mrs. J. 

 S. Woodburn, Rock Island; Mrs. J. J. Martin, Greene; and Mrs. Charles B. Shuman, Moultrie. 



L A. A. RECORD 



