Fr.ir.er, Ala ska
Dorothy M, Bell, Edito?
Published every vook at Palmer, Alaska, for the Matanuska Valley Fclmers' Cooperating
Association for" the purpose of giving news of tho Associations Work, problems and
Accomplishments,
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CO-OPS IN CONFLICT STAGE
Jerry Voorhis, nationally known cooperative leader, told an audience in~Seattle recent-f
ly that ’’Cooperatives must pass through three stages—pioneering, conflict or persecu
tion, and acceptance—and their job today is to get from the second to tho third stago.”
In the sdcond stago—in which most U.S. co-ops non are, the'former California Congress
man said, "The vested interests and monopolies begin to say,,TTe*d bettor stop this be
fore it gets too big.’ In the third stage the people begin to understand and to think
it's good.”
Successful operation and an informational education program aro necessary to get tho
Cooperatives into the third stage, ho said. "VThy'nxo cooperatives unddr attack? Don’t
be misled; it’s not because they don’t pay taxes. In tho first place, they do,”
Mr. Voorhis beliovos that if Cooperatives did about 15$ of the Nation’s business, thoy
might prevent a depression from coming —or at loast mitigate it so that it wouldn't
amount to much.
As an answer to tho credit problem, Mr. Voorhis suggests a credit union in every co
operative.
Farmer cooperatives, he omphasizod, give tho farmer something to say about what he
sells, and enable him to buy more economically,
Mr. Voorhis also brought out tho noed for m6ro education in cooperatives. Dhcn ho
talked about cooperatives while in Congress, ho said, "there weren’t a dozen members
of the House that knew what I "as talking about or very much what a cooperative was.”
In. speaking of cooperative Health Insuranco Mr. Voorhis commended tho Fuget Sound
Group ilealth Cooperative "as good a development in this field as wo have anywhoro in
the country.”
He pointed out that any national health legislation should provide an opportunity for
people to choose a voluntary plan instead of compulsory health insuranco, if they
desired.
Voorhis stressod the difficulty of getting doctors into tho rural areas whon they had
to work alono—in contrast to serving in a mddical conter which had connections with
a central co-op hospital and clinic.
COOPERATIVES MUST TELL THEIR STGJRY cays F.V. HEH3KEL, Vice President, of the National
Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
The Agricultural population today'is about 19 per cont of the national population. For
mers are definitely in a minority, and that minority seems dostined to narrow down
still more in the years ahead, sinco tho trend is toward larger farms and fewor farm
ers. The influence Of agriculture in Congross and many state legislatures has been
strong and effective, but will it remain so? asks Mr. Heinkcl.
This situation emphasixos thO neod of stepping up tho public relations program; not
alone for cooperatives, but for the whole of agriculture. Unless this is done, fattunors
stand to lose many of the economic'gains thoy have won through their organization^
during the past twenty years or so.
Mr. Hcinkol points out that somQ thirty-five or forty years ago most city people cither
camo directly from tho farm or had close relatives living on farms and naturally under
stood agriculture. Today there are millions of city people who know virtually no A.tug
about farm life. And, when people know little or nothing about a subject, it naturally
follows that thoy are not much interested in it.
There arc some* rocont developments that should make us pauso and contemplate our pre
sent situation, Lot*s first take tho Stoagal] Amendment. It was provided by '-engross
sc that farmers could go ahoad with confidence in an all-out effort to pro h'.cu rend
wfifth wouldwwin the war and wirthe tho Peace1* But jdst as soon as tho war ended, cor
se mors bogan to complain about tho high cost of xv-ou, and this notwithstanding fa..mo us
wore rocoiving much less than.their fair sha'*o of the national imemo-,
Qity people, Mr. Heinkcl says, not understanding tho problems of the farmer, arc nob
isposod support prices at even 90 percent of parity. Cont. on page 3