A MEMBER SPEAKS'.: HlS lMINU. Palmer, Alaska
* . ‘ ' ' J !.».*«> ^ : September 17 ,• 1947
Editor, VALLEY SEJTTLER It., f ! *
, i» ; } ■ : ’
It was indeed interesting to read'in the nbw katanuska Valley newspaper about tho
Dairymen's suit against the Co-op. The article was very well written, both sides were'
given and the nemos of the people who are feuing themselves, given and amounts claimed.
It is indeed pecular that we'members of the Co-op had to wait several months, to get
this information and also to learn that thpee of the dairymen named are now members
of the Board of Directors of the Co-op. i • •
We wonder- whether these three directors wopld have been'elected if t he members ip
as a whole had known that they wore parties to tho suit, but the puzzling thing about
the whole thing isthat we have to loam abput it in'an independent paper when wo havo
the VALLEY SETTLER, owned and operated by the Co-op. In fairness to the Editof of tho
SETTLER we will say that it wasn't her fault that it wasn't printed before now,whether
she would have desired to print it or not, she 'would Mve done bo if it had beon re
quested by the Board of Directors of the Co-op‘Manager, however, we doubt that they
would have been ploased if it had been printed.
TThile it'is true that actions taken by members of a Co-op, like this lawsuit, are
harmful to the Co-op as a whole, yet the members who filed the suit must have known
this and there was nothing that the Board or members of the Co-op could do except to
defend t hems elves, An sinco actions of this kind are publicized by the Anchorage'
papers anyway, it seems to the writer that it was foolish to try'to keep it quiet,and
to keep this"information from the members . This could have been, and probably was,
very harmful.
The writer also wanders why no information, is given to the members by the Board of
Directors any more except at the quarterly meeting. Then, if we can judge the future
by the last meeting, we will be requred to sit and listen to voluminous reports of
different units of the Association up.til most of the members become tired and go home.
Then about 11 o'clock we will learn about what the Board wTants and it will be too
late to study the proposals and the’Board will became the Winner of'about any thing
they desire to put over, by default* -
Since the Association has a Secretary v.'ho is pa id. ?100.0Q a month to record the pro
ceedings of the Board and the action of the members at the meetings, rould it bo'ask
ing too much to request that he arrange for a mimeograph letter at least ten days'be
fore meetings, stating vhat proposals the Board is: g^ing to put to the membership,
(as required by the by-lavs). This vould £-lvo the membership a chance to investigate
and leam vhethor the proposed'actions ore ■ desirable or not.'
Cont. on page 11 .....
pjr l m e r flno
flnCHO'RflGE
COAL FUEL OIL
& OTHER
^MISCELLANEOUS FREIGHT
PfiLITlEfl flLHSKfl
BOX 1/45
PH ODE 23JII