I 



Strip Mines Are Stripping 

 Away Land Values 



Landowners Alarmed Over Destruction of Taxable Property 



Q\ ONSTIiR shovels, the l.irj,'cst 

 ^.--^\/f of 'I'cir kind, work day .ind 

 ^ , -^ Yl nit;lit in all parts of Illinois. 

 I arms, sections and townships in their 

 patiis arc torn away. Harth is piled in 

 creat mounds and is no longer valuable, 

 lake animals that root or dig, these giant 

 engines of commerce search for food. 

 .\nd their food is coal, 



^X'ith the return of industrial activity 

 there is a demand for cheap fuel with 

 which to operate factories. Deep under- 

 ".'round mining is expensive save where 

 ■he coal lies in thick veins and is of 

 -ood quality. Where coal veins are only 

 nco or three feel thitk and are less than 

 lO teet below the surtaie. ^trip mining 

 \s profitable. Much of the toal in Illi- 

 nois is lotated in shallov\ \eins less th.m 

 1.0 feet below the surf.uc 



Barren Hills Left 



In strip mining the earth is lorn away 

 uith great electric. Diesil-elcCtric. or 

 sleam shovels leaving deep narrow pits 

 .11 the bottoms of which lies cual. Tracks 

 are laid into the pits aiiti stancl.crd rail- 

 ■A ay cars arc run into the pits lo be 

 loaded with coal. 



Alter the great sho\els luuc done their 

 «ork. all th..t Is left of the once fertile 

 larms is a series of barren hills and 

 gullies unfit for any u.se fiut the ser- 

 ious problem resulting from strip min 

 ing is not the destruction of t'arm land. 

 1' is one of tax readjustment. 



larmers living in the area ■^i strip- 



BIG CRANES TEAR AWAY 

 at Mother Earth searching for coal. 



ping operations must continue to support 

 their local governments, roads and 

 schools. They must pav the tax bill from 

 the lands that were not used as mines. 

 I!ach year this bill grows larger as the 

 shovels destroy ever increasing amounts 

 of farm land. I:ach year the shovels move 

 into new areas and more and more farm- 

 ers are asked to pay the cost of govern 

 ment from fewer acres. 



Coal mining operators want to buy 

 more land as their present iioldings be- 

 come worked out. Landowners know 

 that if they do not sell to ihem their 

 taxes will be incre.ised. Nearly always 

 the coal companies are able to buy the 

 land they need to exp.ind operations. In 

 Cirundy county List \e.ir lanil was sold 

 lor mining purposes .it from ,S~(i to SI .."' 

 per acre. 



Delegates to the \.\,\ con\enlu)n in 

 Chicago in January, recognized the ser- 

 iousness of the problem .ind askc.l that 

 a committee be .ippointcd lo snuiv the 

 situation 



Counties now collecting material to 



be Sent to the tlood ,irea are urgcvl to 

 report their progress to A. R. Wright 

 at the lAA otfices. They will be in- 

 tornied where to send iheir contribu- 

 tions in or..ler to rv.ich i.irniers who .ire 

 in serious need of the feed .Many 

 counties have alreadv reported excel- 

 lent progress in their flood relief pro- 

 urams. 



A NO MANS LAND 

 is the result with earth piled high 

 forever. 



ruined 



GIANT SHOVELS LIKE 



big animals rooting in the ground for food. 



I'lood victims on farms in Saline 



ci);:niy aie leeding their livestcxk feed 

 sent to them by truck irorii the l-'iatt 

 larm Hure.iu. l-'ebrii.iry Z\. lourieen 

 lM.■d^ ot gr.uns .iiul hay made uji the 

 first shipmciir, |-'arm Hiireaus of other 

 coimtKs .ire s..iuiing addition.il feeds 

 to lUlier counties in the flooded area 



CJhani|iaign County Farm Bureau 



sent s(i truck loads of feed to flood 

 stricken counties. I iflecn of these 

 truck loads were distributed bv the 

 .Mass.u ( ounty I'.irm Bureau to t.irmers 

 who need {i:i:A for their hvestink. The 

 remainder of the consigniiKnt from 

 ( hainpaign county went to CroKond.i 

 lor distribution bv the I'ope H.irdin 

 I'arm Bureau. 



\X . K. Mason. Buda, age 80. joined 



the Bureau ( ountv |-arm Bure.iu on 

 l-'ebruaiy 19. reports deorge D 

 Springer, eouiily org.ini/ation director 

 Charles Bitting who signed him elaims 

 the distiiution of signing the oldest 

 new member in the state. 



The business men of Menrv ran a 



full page .id in the local News Rejuib 

 lican congratulating the Marshall-Put- 

 nam 1 .irm Bureau on its plans for secur 

 ing a permanent home of its own in 

 Henry. 



MARCH, 1937 



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