Pnlrror, Alaska
Dorothy II. Boll—Editor
Published once a reek at Palnor, “laska, for the Itit .riuslca Volley Farrars' Coororatinc
Association for the purpose of giving ners of the Associations rork, problor.s and
Ac cor.pl i shnont s.
SUBSCRIPTION RATE Ol.^o Ol.no for six r.onths
10<tf a copy
> ' WhlAl CO I OWE MY ASSOCIATION?
t
Uhy sotno farmers, rho are co-op members,continue ijo work-against their own organization
is a puzzle. Perhaps it is because these members have never had to learn the hard ^ay
without1 the Cooperative. Cooperatives usually grow out of a deep sense of need_and
we do knotf that the need for a Cooperative here has grown with the Cooperative and
therefore, we do not all sense its need. To have been on the inside all the time and
have used the Cooperative when it was convenient.
The Cooperative Movement in the United States has a long history back of it. Uhile it
did seem to pop up and grow like a mushroom from 1920 on, it has actually been in tie
making for more than a hundred years,
let us take a backward look, at the development of agriculture in the United States for
just a moment. r,h, t kind of problems did these early fanners face? How did they’solve
them—or at least try to solve them?
Folio- ing the Revolutionary Uar settlers began pushing west beyond the mountains for
more reasons than just the spirit of adventure. Conditions on the coast must have been
such that tliore was some need for this westward movement, because these farmers rent
into a country that was really rugged. They had no markets expept on the coast and
transportation to that market was practically nil. Fortunat &iyifrying conditions were
simpler in those days and people were better trained in the art of self-sufficiency
^an ar?„£2SlQy* They could produce practically everything they needed in the way
of food, oiothing and shelter.
History books give us just a glimpse of what these early farmers must have endured, but
there are some deductions we can mako regarding problems that they faced. During those
early years there were times when the- enmity between the coast and the interior was so
strong^ that it came near breaking into two separate nations. TThy? History tells us
that the center of population was on the .Atlantic coast, and we can deduct from that
that political control would also be there. The west whs neglocted and laws passed by
Congress favorable for the Industrial area of the coast, worked hardships on the farmer:
of the frontier. Eventually some very powerful and forceful' leaders from the west found
their way into Congress, but even then changes come slowly.
-After the Civil Uar the unrest of the ^est .gncvBteadily worse due to the collapse of
Prices, and. the increaso of agricultural production as more people pushed into this new
country. Farmers lost t-heir farms because thoy could not meet mortgage paymonts. Thoy
became tenants and the future -of-agriculture'presented a sad picture. In addition to
this the farmer was at the mercy of efieryone. The railroads woto careless in handling
his products, discriminations, were shown in favor of industries, freight ratos seemed
needlessly high. Something had to be done—and it was done. T’icso farmors sought
relief through—
1. Pressure upon the government through an organization founded by Oliver H. Kelly in
1868 known as tho "Patrons of Husbandry" or better known to us today as tho "Grange;"
The fact that within seve'n 'years thero woro 19,000 grangos with a membership of 758,
767 members gives ohe an idea of tho nood of such an organization.
2. Cooperative buying and soiling ,
3. Politically there were several parties formed during those years down to 1916. Thoy
were: the Greenbacks, tho Fanners’ Alliances, the Ponulist Party and the Non-P-rtisan
League.
Through these groups such laws as the Interstate Corr.orcc Act of 1887; Land Grant let
of 1862., Hatch Act of 1887, Creation of tho Deunrtmeht of Agricuituro, Bland-Allison
Act of 1878, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and
the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 cane into being,
T e uso of better machinery during these years made the life of the fanner much easier
It also increased his output, but did not increase the price he received for hir pro
ducts. He was still at tho merejr of the buyer.
One of the earliest groups to organize to obtain fairer prices for That they produced
woro tho grain farmers. Through their united efforts thoy soon came to control t,
grain elevators and today this cooperative is one of tho strongest in the country.
Following tho First 7orld 7ar, everybody clso soemod to prosper but the farmer. Again
farmers were in debt and mortgage foreclosures hung heavy over the heads of all toe
many farmers. The things thoy had to buy wore far too high in comparison to the p. ic ■
they could get for what they had to sell. It was during these years that the Coon **
ative movement really dug its toes in. You will find that nearly all of tho big Co
ops arc around 25-30 years old. Most of them started from scratch. If— those .Co-ops
nad not boon nooded, do you think thoy would havo experienced this almost mushroom
like growth? : f
T7o say-"thoy dug their toos in"during tho 20’s, but actually the cooperative movement
dates back ovon as early as 1810* The idea didnft really spring up like a mushroom
Cent* on tho next page.