AFPR.ORCHIflG the CROSSROADS
Editor, VALLEY- SYTTLLR
The Thtanuska Valley Colony is heading in
to another storm, In the ten years that
the author of this letter has been a mem
ber of the Eatanuska Co-op; he has seBn anc
weathered many such storms, but this one
rill be different because so much is in
volved due to the accumulation of problems
brought on the Co-op through the mismanage
ment during the period from 1944 to 1946.
However, much of the trouble dates further
back than that—some from the beginning of
the Colony Project.
From the start of the project there has
been a spirit of disunity that jeopardised
the success of the Co-op. Mo cooperative
rinded person can help but know that a
Co-op has a small chance for success when
this spirit prevails, but ir. spite of this
the Eatanuska Co-op has been a partial suc
cess and its members have prospered, even
if the Co-op has hot Tieen too successful in
many of its endeavors.
Co-ops everywhere have trouble. Selfish in
dividuals, including members, business men,
and politicians are working all the time to
destroy the Cooperative movement. ~,'e have
had more'than.our sh are of this in this
vicinity. Some of our own members, who
have prospered as individuals and some of
whom started a few years ago from'scratch
but are now relatively well-to-do., are
trying to destroy the vehicle that enabled
them to accomplish the development of suc
cessful farms. This is the most dangerous
action of all and alert Co-ops rust do
something before they succeed, in breaking
the organization through sabatoge and
slanderous whispering campaigns to discred
it the officials in charge of the Co-op.
Eventually this can sausc desmemberment
through"the breaddown of the morale of its
members.
The writer a1.so feels that the members' of
cur Co-op, who have benefited from it s a
activities have a moral obligation to meet
to the United States Government,, Uegardless
of th.o fact that all the projects attempted
have not been successful and that over
three million of the four million dollars
that was granted to the Colony was lost' in
its first three years of operation through
grafters forced on the management of the'
Colony Corporation- by political schemers,
greedy bankers and business men; re still
must admit that when the U/G, Government
sold the facilities of tic Co-op to the
people of the Matanuska Valley at half its
original cost with no down payment re
quired along with hn additional loan of
three Hundred thousand dollars'on long
term at a low rate of interest, that wo
did have the good'will of the men who re
presented the U„S. Government(Cont. abovef
Continued from Coi. 1 on this page •
and v;e do havo a moral obligation which we
should moot to the best of our ability.
"’ersonally, we believe that the people of
the Valley are honorable that they
Till render the right decision at the meet
ing this coming Saturday evening.
fCATURt'.
THE FinEST
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