flationary price levels have resulted in road 

 maintenance costs which are far in excess 

 of existing revenues. The last annual 

 meeting of the Association authorized 

 the appointment of a Road Study com- 

 mittee which has submitted a tentative 

 report that should receive the careful 

 consideration of every farmer in Illinois. 

 No single panacea can be evolved which 

 will solve our road problems. In fact, 

 the development of a satisfactory farm- 

 to-highway road system presents many 

 problems that differ from those ques- 

 tions that must be faced in connection 

 with our primary road network. Reor- 

 ganization of road districts to obtain more 

 efficient use of manpower, machinery and 

 funds is certainly needed. Traffic con- 

 trols to protect our highways from need- 

 less destruction must be enforced. Rev- 

 enue for road building and maintenance 

 must be increased. 



Careful studies should be made and 

 gasoline taxes increased if necessary to 

 be sure that property owners do not un- 

 duly subsidize highway users. A continu- 

 ing rural road research project should be 

 established to develop improved methods 

 and materials. In short, a permanent, 

 long-time plan for an adequate rural road 

 system must be adopted at an early, date. 

 City consumers as well as farmers pay 

 a heavy penalty as a result of rapidly de- 

 teriorating rural roads in Illinois. 



Economy in Government 



With the increased drain upon the 

 state treasury for welfare, education and 

 all other state activity there is little pos- 

 sibility that the state of Illinois will con- 

 tinue to pile up a surplus. Farmers will 

 continue to insist that every possible 

 economy be made in the operation of 

 government. There are thousands of em- 

 ployees on the government payrolls who 

 would be of greater service if they were 

 available for private employment. 



College of Agriculture's Needs 



Farmers are proud of the excellent 

 state-owned colleges and universities in 

 Illinois. We know the great service that 

 has been rendered to all phases of agri- 

 culture by the College of Agriculture and 

 Experiment Station at the University of 

 Illinois. Each biennium the Board of 

 Trustees goes before the Legislature for 

 the operating and building needs for the 

 entire University. The Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association has recognized the grow- 

 ing needs of a great university and has 

 supported these requests. We have seen 

 the huge new building programs include 

 athletic, engineering, student housing, 

 chemistry, art and airport facilities. 



However, there has been no major 

 agricultural structure erected in the last 



Tha tirtt prBtU^nt cl 

 rh« lllinoli Agrlcul- 

 fvrol Association, Her- 

 man W. Danforih, Iro- 

 quois county, ragMeri 

 for the 34tli annual 

 lAA convention. Tha 

 girl taking the data Is 

 Oroco Powell of the 

 lAA office. Danfortft 

 •ros prasidenf in 1 91 A. 



Looking over tlia 1948 

 annual report of the 

 lAA and Associated 

 Companies luued dur- 

 ing lAA convention 

 are (left to right), 

 leo Swinford, Edgar 

 county; Dr. A. E. Dicic 

 erson, veterinarian, 

 Sangamon; Edwin 

 Oumm, Knox, lAA di- 

 rector; and Albert E. 

 Debotln, Clinton. 



24 years.*" During this period of time 

 the research and educational needs of 

 agriculture have expanded very rapidly. 

 If Illinois is to continue to have an ade- 

 quate Agricultural College and Experi- 

 ment Station, we must have increased 

 appropriations earmarked for both operat- 

 ing and building needs of the College 

 of Agriculture. The major needs are 

 for the Veterinary College, Home Eco- 

 nomics, Agricultural Laboratory and Agri- 

 cultural Engineering Buildings. Farmers 

 will not permit this essential institution 

 to continue to suffer from neglect. 



Today, as never before in the history 

 of our country, the activities and policies 

 of the Federal government influence to a 

 marked degree the every-day life and 

 business of all Americans. We live today 

 in an artificial economy created by govern- 

 ment as it struggles under the impact of 

 the most destructive war in history,with its 

 aftermath. The size of the national debt 

 is almost beyond comprehension. 



Demands for more and more govern- 

 ment services and assistance have resulted 

 in adding millions of persons to the 

 federal payrolls and their numbers con- 

 tinue to increase. All of these factors 

 contribute to the inflation that is ramp- 

 ant in America today. If there was ever 

 a time for clear thinking and united ac- 

 tion, that time is now. The American 

 Farm Bureau Federation is one of the 

 few national groups which has thus far 

 developed a broad plan that charts a com- 

 mon-sense course of action. 



During 1948, we have experienced still 

 further inflation. Farm operating costs 

 mounted rapidly as the general price level 

 reached new all-time high peaks. Some 

 of the contributing factors to this con- 

 dition were continued high consumer pur- 

 chasing power, heavy government spend- 

 ing, new rounds of industrial wage in- 

 creases, huge exports to foreign countries 

 to relieve suffering and an artificially 

 pegged government bond market. A 

 few feeble attempts were made to apply 

 the brakes, but they were not sufficiently 

 drastic to have much effect. Early in the 

 year there was a slight adjustment in 

 the bond market and more recently con- 

 sumer credit restrictions were applied. 



Your organization has long insisted 

 that the most effective remedy for infla- 

 tion is full and adequate production by 

 all segments of the economy — labor, 

 industry and agriculture. Farmers have 

 responded to the incentive of high prices 

 and, with the assistance of a favorable 

 season, are flooding the markets with one 

 of the largest crops in history. The re- 

 sult has been that many farm product 

 prices have come crashing down, some 

 of them to below parity levels. 



If labor and industry would attempt 

 to match this abundant production we 

 could check inflation and adjust to new 

 price levels without serious injury to any 

 group. I regret to report that thus far 

 there is no indication that either industry 



(Continued 



on pa^^t) 



lANUARY, 1949 



