Published once a week at Palmer, Alaska for the Matnnuska Valley Farmers’
Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the Associations
work, problems and accomplishments*
HO SUBSTITUTE FOl? CO'OPERfiTl V ES
We are living in an age of change, old and accepted ideas are no longer considered
infallible, the greatest changes in the entire course of history have taken place in
the last two hundred years, especially in the Caucasian countries, the divine right
of Kings was not even questioned in most countries of the globe, the individual was
not considered important, just the Kings, Emperors and their Nobles were eligible for
the luxuries and the better things of life. The lower classes were just a few degrees
above the animals, his place in the scene was that of the burden bearer, he was told
what to do and expected little in return for his hard and arduous labor.
It seems queer that they were usually so submissive in the light of present events.
However, when you consider his limited means of absorbing knowledge that is provided
by the ability to read and learn from the scholars who dominated the educational
field, it is not so hard to understand why he was so long learning of his powers.
Strange as it seems the earlier feudal lords were perhaps more humane and tolerant
than the later ones were, for when several generations of aristocrats are allowed to
dominate the whole government of the country for a long period of time they become
intolerant to the needs of their serfs and finally cease to remember where their
riches came from. This was the thing that happened in most European countries that
our ancestors came from. Finally the English and then the French rebelled and the
order of things were changed. Gradually at first, common people were allowed to hold
property and vote for their heads of government, certain restrictions were placed on
the rulers by written constitutions and methods were provided so that unliked laws
and offensive governmental officials could be removed and new and better ones could
be put in their places. - •*
Then came the deluge of individualism, everyone now had a voice in the government and
had many opportunities that they had never enjoyed before,.and to use the vulgar
vernacular, a lot of them "went hog wild” many selfish individuals who had never been
conscious of any ones interest but their own now started to establish the present
capitalist system, and while this system was a great and good change from its pred
ecessor the absolute monarchical system it still had a lot of faults.
Anyone who has studied the development of the labor union and who knows how hard it
was to convince their employers that they were men and not just numbers knows some
thing of the continuation of the struggle for economic as well as political freedom.
Then too the farmers have had the same conditions to overcome, and gradually a great
deal of progress has been made but there is still a lot of kinks that must be ironed
out. But the important fact is that the common people have become conscious of their
power by exercising their right to vote and control of their money.
Now we are entering another phase of the change that is taking place, the cooperative
idea, progressively minded people are learning that by pooling their purchases and
pooling their sales from the products that they have to sell, they can secure a much
larger share of the wealth that they produce, which in turn provides a higher standard
of living, which all acknowledge is desirable.
One of the most important features of cooperative marketing is in the fact that the
purchaser of farm products is unable to play one producer against the other and fin
ally even reduce the price of products below the actual cost of production. We are
having a good example of this kind of thing in the Anchorage market this year. In
dependent producers are taking large loads of produce to the Anchorage market, with
out having a definite sales outlet, Anchorage merchants are quick to take advantage
of the situation and in many instances Valley farm produce is selling retail at
prices somewhat below the ordinary wholesale price, for when a Valley farmer takes
a big load of produce to Anchorage and is unable tb sell it at a fair price he usually
dumps it to some crafty merchant at a low price, then the merchant sells it at a
lower retail price and then the other merchants are forced to cut their prices to
meet competition and in the long run the whole price structure is lowered and the
farmers suffer.
Think it over brother.
CRR