Published once a week at Palmer, Alaska, for the Natanuska Valley Farm
ers' Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the
Associations work, problems and Accomplishments. "
SUBSCRIPTION KATE vl.75 per year $1.00 for six months 10tf copy
COOPERATIVES AND PEOPLE
Senator George D. ^iken in a broadcast last October had this to say in
regard to Cooperatives and the People.
I consider it a privilege to start off the campaign to better acquaint
the people of our nation with the purposes and operations of our co-op
organisations.
I am glad to do this because I know firsthand the great benefits which
our people--both of country and of city-have derived from cooperative
efforts.
By the first of November, millions of Americans should become better in
formed as to what cooperatives are and how well they fit into the Ameri
can plan of life.
Although the cooperative movement is well over a hundred years old, it
is mainly within the last thirty years that it has borne to play an im
portant part in the American social and economic system. Today,millions
of farm and city people enjoy better living as a result of this movement.
khile the farm cooperative does the greatest volume of business, yet we
find cooperatives in many other fields such as banking, home owning and
insurance.
The CONSIDER cooperative, which is the oldest type of cooperative, is
now becoming increasingly important in the economic field.
There are cases v-here doubt has been planted in the minds of seme not
familiar with the work of cooperatives as to whether they should be per
mitted to enter the competitive field of business. I hope that what I
am going to say will help to clear away that doubt.
As a matter of fact, any cooperative which invades a field v-here it is
not'needed stands'little chance of success. No cooperative should be
established just for the sake of h;aving one, unless there is a definite
need for it.
VJhen the producers or consumers of commodities are unable to secure goods
of the proper quality at reasonable prices, or when services are inade
quate, then a cooperative generally fills this need.
Farm cooperatives enable the family farm to survive in this age when the
trend is toward big business and mechanized farming. Few fermers are in
a position to purchase the facilities and equipment necessary for the
proper grading, handling and marketing of their produce.
Through cooperation, a thousand farmers can provide themselves with such
facilities as milk plants, grain elevators, cotton gins, egg handling
plants, packing, houses’ .nd-cold storage. By pooling their production,
they are able to put upon the market evenly graded commodities which
will return to them full market value and at the same time assure the
consumer of farm produce of dependable quality.
Farm cooperatives also enable farmers to join together in the purchase
of fertilizers, feed, seeds and other things which they have to buy.
It is not only the matter of price which prompts farm people to <3ffigago
in cooperative purchasing. Even more important than price is the neces
sity for getting goods of the best quality.
The consumer cooperative, as I have siad, is now playing an increasingly
important role in our economic system. Hero again, the objective is to
secure goods and services at the lowest price consistent with quality.
The establishment of a consumeg^cgope^aljive a town frecluently results