PALMER, ALASKA
Dorothy M._3c11_L Editor_
Published every v;cok at Taljner, Alaska, for the Matr.nuslca Galley Farmers' Cooperating
Association for.the purpose of giving news of the Associations Uork, Problems and
Accomplishments.
SUBSCRIPTION BY MAIL- '$1. 75
lOtf
SINGLE COPY
7)0 ' YOU iq:pT7?
That tho National Grrcico movement did a
groat deal toward fostering tho growth of
Cocpcr.ativcs in the United States?
That nay bo considered the first period in
. the history of American cooperation crane
to a close with the rise of the Grange
movement in the late sixties and early
sevontics. Most of the cooperation up to
this tine had been informal mod largely in
the field of joint production. Tith thd
founding in 1867 of the -ntional Grango,
Patrons of Husbandry, tho organized farmer
became a potent influence in American bus
iness and politics,
Oliver Hudson Kelley, a Minnesota x'amcr,
who had been sent to tlic Southern States
to obtain information cn the status of
agriculture at tho close of‘the Civil Tar,
returned' to Tashington, P. C. , with a vis
ion of a great fraternal order for farmers
After reporting to tho Government, he
turned his attention to the elaboration of
plans for an organization, that mould bo
nation mi do if not morld vide. The'non
•order mas to consist of local units, cnllei
granges, mhich mould unite to farm. Stato
organizations, and the heads of the State
Granges mould constitute tho‘National
Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
In 1871, 133'charters wore Issued; the
next year, 1,130;'in 1873 8,634; and 1874
the peak year, 11,927.
To fairiers complaining'cf burdensome ex
penses and high prices, the Grange furnish
ed a standard under which, it was believed
their scattered forces might unite for the
march to prosperity.
Cooperative marketing became the objective
of the'.Granges in'3ome of the States and
cooperative -buying in others, and in most
of the remaining- states a combination'of
both-.cooperative buying and marketing.
A representative was sent to Euroxe to
gather first-hand information about co
operation.
An early writer of cooperation says;
"The great contribution of the National
Grange, however, was the formulation ".nd
distribution by its executive committee,
in 1875, of a set of rules for the organ
ization of cooperative stores. These
rules were based on those of the 28 weavers
of ^ochdale.They prescribed buying and
selling for cash, limiting interest on *
cauitnl to the ’going rate' and distribut
ing other net gains among member patrons."
The significance of the founding of the
Patrons of Husbandry lies in the fact that
farmers were provided with■a plan for band
ing together in large numbers and were
given an opportunity to demonstrate that
I by so doing much could be accomplished
jv/hich was impossible under "rugged individ
ualism. "
|The push given farm cooperation by tho
first generation of grangers lasted well
into the twentieth century.
I Prom "Tho Story of Cooperatives" published
by the Jbrm Credit Administration,
!—
PALMER ALASKA
CARRIES A GOOD SELECTION OF
TOSK'S READ Y—TO—W EAR
IK
» DRESSES SUITS
SLACK SUITS
SLACKS
BLOUSES COATS
WOMEN*S LINGERIE
NIGHT GOWNS
come in and look around—our prices
are right—and our styles are good.
THE CHURCH—wenier har.vey~“ 1»i s t * »
WASH 1.A PAI MFR
S U N D A'*Y 10:30 A.M, SUNDAY 0:00 P.M.
WEDNESDAY 8:00 P.M. • TUESDAY 8:00 P.M.
WHERE THE BIBLE SPEAK S---7/ E SPEAK.
WHERE THE BIBLE IS SILEN T-7/ E ARE SILENT.