Typical <rf th« ponab femtrd during th» MIdwett Coirferenc* of AgrUuUure, Induttry and 

 Labor at Detatur In mid-January was Mils one on world trade. Lett fo right: i. I. Llndtay, 

 oditorlal director of Detatur Newtpapert, Int.; O. R. Atkinson, Cincinnati, of the Inter- 

 national Brotherhood of Railway and Steatnthip Clerk; AJ. of 1.; H. M. Busch, professor 

 of sociology. Western Reserve Unlvertlty, Cleveland; Dean H. R. Bowen, University of 

 llllnolt College of Commerce; Ather Hobson, head, department of agricultural economics, 

 Unlvertlty of Wltconstn, and W. J. Parker, president, Manitoba Pool tievators, Winnipeg, 

 Canada. The conference was sponsored by the Macon County farm Bureau, Decatur As- 

 sociation of Commerce, labor groups and others. 



r 



tion is on the upgrade, FitzGerald said, 

 and Europe had a good crop year. 



One or the big problems facing the 

 United States is how to balance exports 

 with imports. He said that if the Eu- 

 ropean nations are to buy our goods, 

 they must have something to sell Amer- 

 ica. This calls for an examination of 

 our tariff levels and import quotas. When 

 Western Europe buys more than it selk, 

 someone has to pay the difference. To- 

 day the American taxpayer is footing the 

 bill through the EGA, but that can't go 

 on forever. 



The solution of this problem of world 

 trade will determine the prosperity of the 

 American farmer, business man and 

 worker. 



President Charles B. Shuman of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association told the 

 conference in a discussion panel on world 

 peace that the United States can make 

 the greatest contribution by demonstrat 



AMERICA can't afford to abandon 

 the Marshall plan of aid to Eu- 

 rope according to the views pre 

 sented at the Midwest Conference 

 of Agriculture, Industry and La- 

 bor held in Decatur in mid-January. 



It was admitted that much of the ECA 

 • is a give-away program and the United 

 States won't be paid back for much of 

 it, but it's to America's best interests to 

 get Western Europe back on its feet. 

 Most of the countries do not have the 

 necessary dollar exchange to make re- 

 payment, and anyway it would be better 

 if America were paid back in strategic 

 raw materials such as petroleum, uranium, 

 copper, manganese and lead. 



Discussion at the conference also 

 pointed out that it was t^- America's best 

 interests to help raise living standards 

 abroad. By raising living standards, it 

 was argued, these European countries be- 

 come better customers for American 

 goods. 



The vital need of world trade to the 

 American farmer, laborer and business- 

 man was stressed repeatedly at the Deca- 

 tur conference. Agriculture with an ex- 

 panded production of 25 per cent over 

 prewar is especially in need of an out- 

 let for her produce beyond domestic 

 needs. 



The ECA is taking a part of the agri- 

 cultural output of the United States at 

 the present time and the experts are won- 

 dering what will happen when the for- 

 eign relief program ends. 



One of the top officials of the ECA 

 told the conference that while aid pro- 

 gram food amounted to only 10 per 

 cent of the total diet of Western Eu- 

 rope, it was a key 10 per cent. Our 

 grain shipments make up two out of 

 every five loaves of bread consumed by 

 the Western European. Bread grains 



18 



(i/joM Jhadsi Oiiai Jo 



FARM INCOME 



are exceedingly important to their living. 



Food trains from America like the 

 CARE and Christian Rural Overseas Pro- 

 gram are received with gratitude out of 

 all proportion to the amount of food 

 involved, Dennis A. FitzGerald, director 

 of the ECA's food and agricultural di- 

 vision, said. 



FitzGerald said the Marshall plan is 

 working and of this country's five billion 

 dollar authorized aid, four billion has 

 been allotted and 3 billion dollars worth 

 of goods was shipped by the end of 

 1948. 



Marshall plan aid has totalled only 

 five per cent of all European resources, 

 but he said it is like a much needed 

 sparkplug on a motor that has been mis- 

 firing. 



European agricultural workers are pro- 

 ducing "as much as can reasonably be 

 expected with the available resources," 

 FitzGerald said. Industrial workers are 

 keeping up their end about as well as 

 the farmers except for those areas where 

 Communist doctrines have taken hold. 



Of the four-billion dollar allotment, 

 1.9 billions went for industrial goods, 

 1.8 billions for food and farm produce 

 and the remainder of 300 million dollars 

 for shipping expenses. 



Western European industrial produc- 



ing how well our form of government 

 works. 



In this connection, President Shuman 

 said that we must beware of "big gov- 

 ernment" as it leads the people away 

 from democracy. He cited as a trend 

 toward big government the agitation by 

 some for high rigid price supports for 

 farm commodities. Such price supports 

 he said lead to rigid production controls 

 and large numbers of government admin- 

 istrators. Hassil Schenck, president of 

 the Indiana Farm Bureau, another speak- 

 er for agriculture at the conference, said 

 that we are headed for disaster unless 

 we can maintain a high national income. 

 Such high income is needed to carry ouj 

 national debut. National income musi 

 average more than twice that of the pre- 

 war level, he said. 



Enactment of a national land use {X)l- 

 icy was advocated at the conference by 

 E. H. (2^ck) Taylor, associate editor of 

 Country Gentleman. He also approved 

 recommendations for reorganization of 

 the Department of Agriculture made to 

 the Hoover committee by a task force 

 headed by Dean H. P. Rusk of the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois College of Agriculture. 



Taylor said that soil conservation is 

 divided among too many different gov- 

 ernment agencies. .. 



L A. A. RECORD 



FARM econom 

 Illinois Coll( 

 taken a look intc 

 the New Year, 

 is generally favo 



Here, briefly, 

 1949 farm outlo 



DEMAND fo 

 good through IS 

 what weaker thai 



PRICES for ir 

 will shift upwarc 

 ing to changes in 



OPERATING 

 go up. 



PROFITS froH 

 moderately. 



LAND PRICl 

 because of the lo 



LIVING COS' 

 lower. 



Conserval 

 Off in Dc 



CONSERVATr 

 in cold cash 

 $4.17 to |1( 

 willing to wait a 



This has been i 

 aing study of co 

 Illinois farms n 

 soil economist ei 

 University of 111 

 culture and the f( 

 Service. 



Although retui 

 long-term net pn 

 to $10.63 an acre 

 conservation fam 

 conservation farm 



AFBF Dei 



Gerald Lee, a c 

 from Portland, 

 ployed as the di 

 partment of the 

 Federation. 



Golden A 



Mr. and Mrs. 

 their golden wed 

 has been organi 

 Wabash County 

 past nine years. 

 Farm Bureau att( 

 a body. 



FEBRUARY. 19 



