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THE 



ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



To advance the purpose jar which the Farm Bureau was organized, namely, 

 to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, social and educa- 

 tional interests of the farmers of Illinois and the Nation, and to develop 

 agriculture. 



THE STATE FARM 

 MIUAU PUlUCAnON 



CHERRY BLOSSOMS, WORKERS & DRONES 



V^u J-^ resident Charlei (O. ^n 



T 



HE famous oriental cherry trees in full bloom around 

 the Tidal Basin in Washington, D. C, were a beauti- 

 ful sight. We joined the thousands of tourists to 

 stroll through the parks and buildings and other 

 points of interest in the nation's capital. 



As we stood beneath one cluster 

 of fragrant blossoms I noticed that the 

 flowers were attracting the same kind 

 of bees that we have in Illinois. Busy 

 worker bees were heavily laden with 

 pollen and nectar which they would 

 carry several miles to a hive where 

 much of it probably would be con- 

 sumed by the drones. 



Washington is like that! Like 

 the cherry trees it is beautiful. It has 

 the hustle and bustle of the worker bees but it also has 

 many thousands of drones. Unlike the bees in the hive, 

 we have no effective system of eliminating the drones in 

 Washington. Our federal offices and bureaus are filled 

 with thousands of employees many of whom do little, if 

 any, useful work and whose chief goal is to remain on the 

 public payroll for the rest of their lives. Civil service has 

 largely ceased to be a benefit to the public and has now 

 become a device to maintain inefficient and unnecessar)' 

 federal job holders at the expense of the tax paying public. 



■ XXX 



uman 



The purpose of our trip to Washington was not to 

 see the cherry trees but rather to testify before the House 

 Sub-Committee on Agricultural Appropriations. We were 

 trying to reflect to Congress the thinking of you folks on 

 the farms of Illinois when we asked for substantial reduc- 

 tions in appropriations. We urged a 20 per cent cut in 

 administrative, office and salary expenditures at national 

 and regional levels. We suggested that at least $100,- 

 000,000 could be cut from the Department of Agriculture 

 appropriation without seriously reducing essential services. 



However, the U. S. Department of Agriculture is not 

 the worst offender in the matter of excessive spending of 

 the taxpayers' money. In the Pentagon building alone 

 there are more office workers today than there are citizens 

 in the city of Bloomington, Illinois! Nearly 800 janitors 

 are used in this one building with its 17 miles of corridors 

 filled daily with milling throngs. Nearly two years after 

 the end of the war with our Army and Navy forces largely 

 disbanded we still have hundreds of "temporary" office 

 buildings filled to overflowing with office workers sub- 

 merged in red tape. 



Your Congressmen have an unpleasant but necessary 

 task to perform in reducing federal expenditures. I would 

 like to suggest that we take a minute to write a few words 

 of encouragement to our Representatives and Senators. 



X X X X 



MAY, 1 947 



VOLUME 25, NUMBER 5 



lUINOIS A6IIICULTURAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS and BOARD OF DIRECTORS (By Congressieiwl Dtstrictt) 



PTe<id»nt, Charles B. Shuman. SuUiTon 



Vice-Prnidant, Flotd E. Morris Buffalo 



Socrotory, Paul £. MaUuas Hinsdolo 



Field Sec. Geo. E. Metsger Chicogo 



Treasurer. R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



Aflst. Treas., Lyle Eikelbamer Northbrook 



Comptroller. C. C. ChopeUe Chicago 



General Counsel. Donald Kirkpatrick Chicago 



1st to lllh. £arl M. Hughes. Woodstock 



12th. C. I. Elliott. Streator 



13th ilomer Curtiss, Stockton 



14th Otto Stefiey. StronghursI 



15th Edwin Gumm. Galesburg 



16th BussaU V. McEee, Varna 



17th E. T. Culnan, Lincoln 



18th fohn T, Evans, Hoopeston 



19lh l«ilton W. Warren. Mansfield 



20th. _ K. I. Smith, Greenfield 



21sL -....Dan L. Clarke, New Berlin 



22nd. I. King Eaton, EdwordsTille 



23rd Chester McCord, Newton 



24th- _ Lyman Bunting. Ellery 



25th _ _ AUMrt Webb, Ewing 



Editor, Cresten Fester. Ass't. EdHer, James C. Themson. Field Editor, Lewis A. Reisner. 



The Illinois Agricultural Association RECORD is published monthly except August by the Illinois Agricultural Association at 1501 W. Washingten Road, 

 Mendota, 111. Editorial Officea, 608 So. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. Entered as second class matter at post office. Mendota. HI.. Sept. 11, 1^6. Accept- 

 ance for mailing at special rate of postage provided in Section 412, Act of Feb. 28. 1925, authorized Oct. 27, 1935. Address all communications for 

 fmbticotion to Editorial Offices, Illinois Agricultural Association RECOBLD, 608 So. Dearborn St., Chicago. The individuol membership fee of the 

 llinois Agricultural Association is five dollars a year. The fee includes payment of fifty cents for subscription to the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 RECORD. Postmaser: Send notices on Form 3578. Undeliverable copies returned under Form 3579 to editorial offices. 608 So. Dearborn St., Chicago. 111. 



MAY. 1947 3 



