Palmar, Alaska
Dorothy M. Boll, Editor
Published onco a rook at Palmar, Alaska, for the Matanu$ka Valley ^armors* Cooperating
Association far’tho purpose of giving ners of the Assoclations’ uork, problems and
accomplishments* - •
SUBSCRIPTION RATE $1.7S per year $1.00 for six months 1<V a copy
A MEMBER'S VIEWPOINT.
8HIIX VB KILL SHE CO - (IP?
By tho rofcont aotiflU of scbj» Sf the dairymen^ it bogins to look as if 1uhey aro going
in for the kjll, Whilo « ®?oup of momborq are rrorking hard bo pay up tho court’s do- y
o is ion to mate tho Cs-»ep pay the cl alma of the first suit—and had not tho demand—
and are rrorking hard to rebuild tho plant, horo canos anothar blor.
The Board has done all any fionrd could do to provoht nasto and to pay higher pricos
far milk, keop tho vegetable market open to all co-op members, and koep up the pay
ments on interest and tho loan from the J5IA. But, those rho dot out to break tho Co
op continue their fight to dostroy, What they cannot control, thoy rant to destroy,
Tho market value of your property in the Vdloy has sufforoct far more-yes, far more
than your payments roceived by terms of tho Courts ordor,
Tho Co-op's nothod of marketing is’a tray of life, Xt looks after tho interest of tho
many, instead of a for individuals. Had the Co-op boon sold to a priTato corporation
a for; years ago as it come very near being, do you think stdek holders of that Corpor
ation rould have gone to the courts to havo onjoinod thoir Board of Directors to drop
every department in tho establishment that failed to shpr a profit? Certainly not,De
partments able to carry the load rould carry them along as part of the business, until
each ras thoroughly established. In our Co-op some dairymen havo dooondod that they
be given that department and be cut loose from the otfcers as quickly as possible—ok
to take over that unit or tro at best, and leave tro-fhirds of the Co-op holding the
bag. Can this be a true picture?
Will the agents of the y,H.A*and the ZHRC take over a»fl rork out our problem? Or rill
thoy put it back in oar hands rith instructions to rofk out our om problems? Who can
guess?- Alaskans seem to rant to take over their or^ affairs as indicated by thp ?iah
Tkap vote. Yet they vote to keep long distance Bunoaucratie controls in poroy, A
fer years more can take all private enterprise army from Alapkans and give us IJbdnral
Control in all things pertaining to Alaska,
M.D. Snodgrass
SUPPOSE THEY WOULDN'T
COOPERATE?
Suppose thesetwo liddj.es didn’t vork together Op the lx teeter
totter? TfeUt thpy just wouldn’t bo tp oter-tettering , waild
they? This is a simple little illustration of what happens in
all walks of lifte when individuals work together or decide not
to work together,
Down through the decades farmers have bSen the most independent
of all business venturers, iindf-they ,'iave also had the smallest
* end ef the deal—imtil they wore practically forced to
>) worK TiOgeTincr ur Biitu’va, jjruuj,ciao u: uc
* can farmer have always been among the most prese
«- ing problems of the nation, regardless of whether
9 they have received their share of consideration.
During the past 50 years farmers have realized that
if they are to receive thP ir share of the consumer's
\ dollar for what they contribute to the nation’s
/goods, they must do something about it themselves*
/ The answer to this has beon the formation of Furri
ers' Cooperatives. The growth of cooperatives since
• the close of the first Wor^d War has bean tremenlous.
Many of the nation's bigge$t cooperatives camo 'Lite
; being since 1920. Have they uorkea? Their rap-io grouts. sp-aivs
1 for itself. TbB fare oh s do seem to be in better circumstances
jhan they rrere 25 and 30 years ago, Honavet, the fact that the govurn^ibat must still
buy up surpluses in order to support prices, indicates that cooperatives haw not
reached the top in solving their problems. Cont, on page 3