CALMER, ALA SKA
Dorothy M, Bell, Editor
Published every Thursday at Palmer, Alaska, for the Matanuska Valley Farmers* »
Cooperating Association for-the purpose of’giving news of the Associations V7ork,
Problems and Accomplishments;
SUBSCRIPTION BY FAIL $1.75 BOX $1.00 SINGLE COPY 10<f
UHAT DOES YOUR CO-OP OUE THE PUBLIC?
Vie have talked so much about what you owe your'do-op and what your co-op owes you,but
very little about what a co-op owes the public. True—your co-op was established for
the benefit of the members, but it does nevertheless owe some responsibility to the.
public at large. If Co-ops are to continue to exist and do business in the world,they
must also be understood by the public. If they are not, they become vulnerable to
attacks by opposing interests.such as has recently been made for instance, by
the NTEA.
Mr, C-.v7. Hedlund, of the Denartment of Agriculture Economics, Pennsylvania, has sum
marised uiuyVbout six headings. They are—
1, Cooperatives have a responsibility'to meet—in not becoming monopolistic dictator
ial, or asking for special'provileges. If Cooperatives cannot render services without
seeking special privileges, then there is not much excuse for their existence,
2, Cooperatives have a definite responsibility in not implying that all business
should be cooperative. Cooperatives believe, in .fre© enterprise—and that means that
individuals and corporations have the sane right to operate as a cooperative.
3, It is up to the Cooperatives to see to it that their organizations comply with
Cooperative laws and principles and are truly Cooperative,
4, Cooperatives have another responsibility in remaining democratic. , Farmers* Co
ops are justified only if they remain Firmer-owned and farmer-controlled. There is
not much gained and much is lost if a Cooperative is owned or controlled by manage
ment, by ti permanent Board of Directors or by people outside the Cooperative, One
of the practical benefits that cooperatives provide is the opportunity for the prac
tice of democracy,
5, Cooperatives should make some attempt to educate the public in the theory and
practice of cooperation. The cooperatives themselves are in the best position to do
this.
we say—
First: Terms used'in cooperatives neip to explain tne position 01 a oo-op.
"patrons, services, and savings," rather than
"customers, calcs, and profits,"
Second: Too many people look at a co-operative ..as Socialistic or Communistic. If the
set-up or organization is explained to the public, it can readily be -seen that Co-ops
can'be classed as neither socialistic nor communistic,
a. Socialism is government ownership and controlled.
• A Co-op is patron owned and patron controlled. In other words the people who use
it are the owners and also control the organization.
b. In Communism the instruments of production are held in common, whereas in your
cooperative the producor remains independent. Savings made in the operation of
a Cooperative are distributed on the basis of patronage whether it bo tho
' Consumer or Producer type. This gives tho ambitious person the chaneo to forgo
ahead and tho lazy man can stay in his rut if ho chooses. Therefore, a co-opcrL
ativo encourages individual initiative—just as much as privato enterpriso doos.
6. Finally cooperatives have a responsibility in living in peace and harmony with ono
another. The word cooperative moans "working to-gether" - So means with and the word
as a whole ( operating with), 'That must the public think when they witness cooper
atives fighting each other or fighting within their own ranks. Differences of opin
ion arc certain to r.riso. If wo believe in Democracy, we must recognize individual
differences in opinions and beliefs, but that does not moan that we still cannot have
mutual respect and'coopcrr.tior. Cooperatives can never expect to educate tho public
if they talk‘co-op, and then tear at each others throats at homo.
Had tho Army, Navy and Marines spent their time arguing with each other— wo would now
bo under totalitarian government,
"In the final analysis farmers can do the most to contribute to thoir security in tho
post-war days through cooperative action. Little can be made effectivo by the individ
ual farmer working alone—he is liko a lost lamb bloating in the wilderness—but much
era be accomplished where numbers of farmers pool their strength rad givo the effort
at Land united support. Such an effort is cooperation. By this means farmers have'
already done much to improve the quality of thoir products, stabilizo their markets,
and increase their net returns," ' * •'
A. H. Klcbesadlo, President, ' '
Consolidated Badger Cooperative, Shawano, Wisconsin,