WE'RE BACK 

 IN THE MUD 



{CoiltltliuJ tl""i /'.i.l't -1) 



riif As.>rOC«atioii believed the (iiii|>o>al 

 liir increarsing the gasoline tax and mo- 

 tor vehicle license fees to he fair. An 

 iMTape motorist, drivinjj 7500 miles 

 |.er yeiiF and fretting IS miles to the 

 ;;allon of gasoline, would use 5(H( gal- 

 lons of gasoline. The additional 2c tax 

 \M)uId cost him $10. The additional 

 li(<-ns<' fee would have co.«t SI. .SO. or a 

 total of SI I. -SO for the year. 



However, the hill failed to jiass. 

 TlnTe wa-i general agreement on the 

 1 undition of our highways and the need 

 lor additional revenues except that pe- 

 troleum interests and the trucking in- 

 dustry opposed the increa.se and argued 

 that highway.s coidd he rebuilt from 

 present funds. The state administration 

 did not favor the allocation of 12', i 

 per cent for local roads. 



Cities generally opposed the alloca- 

 tion for local roads insisting that cities 

 Here entitled to their present percentage 

 of gasoline tax revenues and shoidd 

 lia\e one-third of the total revenues 

 from the increased tax. The Illinois _ 

 Agricultural .Association and represent- 

 atives of townships pointed out that the 

 \2y2^'r allocation to townships was ar- 

 rivi'd at as a result of a compromise in 

 the Illinois Highway and Traffic Prob- 

 lems Conimi.ssion. Thev could not agree 

 to a further reduction in the allocation 

 for local roads. 



As a result of the differences over the 

 allocation together with the general op- 

 position to a tax increase, the bill was 

 defeated. No additional revenues will 

 lie available and our Illinois highway 

 system wiH continue to deteriorate. The 

 ~iale will have very little money avail- 

 able for new construction. Counties 

 and cities must get along with their 

 present revenues. 



riiere will l)e no state aid for local 

 roads. For the past four years S7.- 

 iOO.OOO per year from general ftmds 

 has been available. A similar appro- 

 priation was not made at this session. 

 While this appropriation has been be- 

 littled, nevertheless it has been of real 

 ii<l. The local roads must relv upon 

 local [)roperty taxes and the proceeds 

 ot local bond issues. The problem will 

 !"■ particularly acute in those areas 

 ^\here schools have been reorganized 

 iirid state funds are needed in order to 

 I'rovide roads over which the school 

 busses can o{)erate. There' is need for 

 ~tate aid for local roads from a perma- 

 nent source in order that a long-range 

 program for improvement of these 

 roads may be developed. There also is 

 'leed for reorganization of tow nship road 

 administration on a more efficient basis. 



Some of the O[)position to the allocation 

 of slate funds to lown>hips was on the 

 groun<l that the nv .ev would be wasted 

 and no lasting results would be ob- 

 tained. Local people must fiive atten- 

 tion to till' probh'm of obtaining funds 

 for thc'^e roads and the problem of >e 

 curing more iniiformK efficient admin- 

 istration. 



RURAL YOUTH 



( CoimiiiiiJ 



NK' 



20) 



give the campers an appreciatioti ol tin- 

 out-of-doors and the \aried |)lant life 

 of the area. 



("ampers under the trotter s\stem 

 place the food on the table and remove 

 the dishes at the end of the meal. Thev 

 lead the sinking. |)reside at grou|) meet- 

 ings, and put on their own stunt shows: 

 in fact, the whole |)rofi;ram is [)lanned 

 to develop self-reliance, citizenshij). a 

 love for the out-of doors, and to help 

 the campers discover th<ir own talents. 



Candidates for the IWnois Dairy Queen of 

 1949 pose wjfh Kyland Caprott (lefi), preti' 

 dent of the Peorfa Milk Producers' and O. 

 H. Ryan, La Salle tounly, president of the 

 Illinois Milk Producers' Association during 

 finals of state contest held in Peoria July 

 14. The girls, left to right, are: Carolyn 

 Sears, Vandalia; Pat Stanley, Harvard; 

 Shirley Moberly, Bloomington; Joan Brady, 

 Decatur; Dorothy Davies, La Salle; Donna 

 Waddtngton, Pana; Joan Amant, OIney; 

 and the winner, June Bostrom, Chicago. 



June Bostrom (center) hears the applause 

 of the crowd as she is proclaimed llllrtols 

 Dairy Queen for 1949 during state finals 

 in Peoria July 14. I^ight is last year's 

 queen, Patricia Monroe of Decatur. At left 

 is Announcer Mifton Budd. 



New Laws Passed 



i(.,>:iiiti>,ii Ui.n: f>.ixi IS) 



l)oublle"lv much of till- additional 

 ~tate mone\ will be used to iucrea»«- 

 teachers" salaries, (iraduallv. over a 

 period of \ear~. better salaries should 

 attract Ixtter talent into the teachin;; 

 field and enable seho<d districts to 

 retain teachers of abilitv who would 

 otherwise be attraeted to other job~. 

 \lso better salarii-s should encouraiji- 

 manv teachers now on the job to return 

 to summer schools for refrohi-r cours---. 



Howeve.. the main reason for arldi- 

 tional slate aid i> to equalize educational 

 opporliniitv. lietler teacher- i< an im- 

 portant sleji toward this ^oal but ordv 

 one step. Inipioxed curricMlnms plu^ 

 more adetpiate eipii|iinenl are otlu-r 

 step- toward an ei]ualizatio?i of oppor- 

 tunitv. .School boards -hould se<' lo it 

 that additional slate fimd- are u*ed to 

 strengthen all pha~e- of their educa- 

 tional program. 



AUGUST, 1949 



25 



