The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-09-15
NOT THEORIES
BUT HARD FACTS
South Dakota Farmer Does Not
Beat AbOst tho Bush But States
Plainly Bureau Benefits.

The following is an address given
by Dennis Murphy, president Of the
Bon Homme, S. D., County Farm
bureau.
Draw up your easy chair and sit
down a moment. I want about ten
minutes of your time. / want to
talk to you about the farm bureau
organization which is OF vital i'm
portance to you as an American
farmer.
Do you know and appreciate Just
what the farm bureau did for you
last year? l have given the prop
osition a little study and l am go
ing to tell you just what 1t did for
me and then you can figure your
benefits for yourself. bearing in
mind the size Of your farming op-
Grafton. am farming half sec
ton in Bon Homme county, and in
the year 1921 the farm bureau,
through the national office. made
the following savings for me:
One hundred forty dollars a year
by the defeat of the Nolan bill.
s166 a year by the defeat Of the
sales tax bill, $3.50 year by the
defeat of the transportation tax,
$50 a year by the reduction Of rail-
road generalization, SIS year by
the reduction Of railroad rates.
Total $379.5O.
Sounds like fairy tale doesn't
it? If you doubt these things, get
a copy Of the Nolan bill and the
rest of the bills and study them
awhile. Do some figuring with
pencil and then after you ascer-
tain the part Of the American
Farm Bureau federation played to
protect our interest, you will feel
proud of your organization. l said
the national office, which is sup
ported by our SO cent pieces saved
me $379.50 in 1921. Not only did
they do it last year, but the saw
, ilgs will be the same for this year,
1922, and the next year. and every
year that is to follow; the savings
bill will increase in proportion to
the manner in which we back our
organization. The $37950 l can
. figure out for myself with my stub
pencil, but what l can't figure out
is the untold good the American
Farm Bureau federation has done
for US in their great educational
campaign to enlighten the city peo-
pie, the consumers OF our pro-
ducts, as to the condition and need
of the American farmer.
! Last year a bill providing for
three transcontinental concrete
pleasure bouleyards was intro
duced N congress, the automobile
and cement blocs backed the bill.
The defeat of this bill was largely
due to the American Farm Bureau
i. federation. The federal road pro-
gram now calls for farm to mar
ket roads" which will benefit the
American farmer. What was this
worth to you?
Packers control has been agitat-
ed for 20 years, The farm bureau
put it through. The farm bureau
took gram exchange legislation out
Of cold storage and passed it. The
American Farm Bureau federation
is still working away at the truth
in fabric law" and fighting for a
further reduction in the freight
rates. not to mention better credit
laws and other big propositions
that are Of vital interest to US.
Have. you ever stopped to realize
what the great cooperative market
ing program Of the American Blu
reau federation means to US indi-
lvidually as we'll as collectively
They have organized the cotton
growers, the grain growers, the
wool growers, and are now at work
getting the livestock producers into
one big organization
What are We going to do this
year. 1922? Are we going to slip
back? I say no. l realize that the
farm bureau has done more for us
in two years than has been done fo1
agriculture in the entire history OF
the county before. No one man or
group OF men can do it all; it will
take a solid front moving forward.
Can. we afford to lose the organ
! izat!on already perfected