PALKfFR ALASKA.___ CARL RASMUSggNt. EDITOR.,
ublished every Friday at Palmer, Alaska,' for the Motanuska Vriiey
Fsfimers Cooperating Association,'for the purpose of giving news >f the
Association’s work, problems and accomplishments and news of lnt rest.
Subscription by mall .I 1.75 yearly._Box o 1.00, Single C y.Jr.Qjl*..
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The Matanuska Valley had a very important visitor this week, on. account
of the news of this event is recorder*, on the front pa^e of this, paper,
and the statements' that he made andthe people who greeted him are ment
ioned also. Kis Exellency, Governor Earnest ^reunin?. made a friendly call
and ^ave some sa0e advice for the benefit of the citizens of the Valley.
The writer believes that most of the people of the Valley are friendly
t o the•Governor and to his policies in general, but most of us reserve
an all out endorsement of the man and his policies because of some things
that may be pnrtly our fault,and partly his. It is indeed unfortunate .
that this condition exists, but it does.
At the bepinning of the Governors term of Office he made a visit to the
Valley and about 400 people attended a reception and lunch £iven in his
honor the people were very favorably impressed with him and in the
short talk that he ~ave at that time we found encouragement and. promise
toward our many serious problems. That fall a new Territorial Letlislature
was elected and’ during the winter one cf the most bitter and stormiest
sessions of‘that body/was held. The main cause of the trouble ..os -the
fact that the political'^roup that was then dominant in the Legislature
were opposed to the Govmor’s reccomendations, and the cause of this
epp 3ition was due to the fact that the Governor,a non-resident of Alaska
had been appointed to the.office despite their protests. This was just
nother one of the sore-spots on the political front in Alaska, and a
i art of the resentment against Washington officialdom, who iun re the
wishes of the citizens of Alaska. Then lacking a following of any Oroat
size in Alaska, the Governor started to organize a following that thought
and would act with him, this following usually included persons who were
unattached to the dominant jrrup or who were- new-comers in the political
hattlefront or who were desirin el chance to unseat the dominant ,proup.
And so it has been for entire period that the Governor has be^n in
office, and re0ardless ate whether the Governor’s tax bill, was a t,ood one
or not, when he boosted the Armory proposition, that would have used up
a lar,_e part of these added taxes, and made the statement,-that tjaxes
should be imposed in order to make the citizens of Alaska "tax cencious"
the men who were elected to consider the proposed legislation became
antajonistic and refused to pass the bill. Then to show how the votirt^r
citizens of Alaska felt about this matter, two years later another
Legislature was elected that must have felt about the same way about
the proposed bills, because they too,done nothine about it.
Locally; the people of the. Valley know that Governor Greunlnc, } as been s
a member of the Board of Directors of the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corp. almost from its be^innin^, and just how he has felt about s >me of
its policies is a '’ark secret and no one can> say that an organization
that has changed its policies as often as this one has, could always be
ri0ht. It is to tad that the citizens of' Alaska have not been able to
work with the officials that were appointed to supervise and d’ f'ect them
in formulating policies that will provide for the development f the
Territory of Alaska. A close study, we think will show that this is not
a one sided prop sltion and that some resentment is justified.