VALLEY SETTLER
Published once a week in Palmer, 1
Alaska for the Matanuska Valley
Farmers’ Cooperating Association,
for the purposo of aiving news of
the Association's work, problems
and accomplishments.
By--- Lucille Le Due
$1*75- per year
10^- per copy
SdME OF OUR MEMBERS think the co
operative is o’jmed by the manager.
Why? I don't know. We have cer- 1
tificatos of ownership, annual moet-|
ings, elections, reports, dividendsJ
-still some of us fail to real
ize that WE are owners of the bus
iness.
A sense of ownership is highly
important to us and to the co-opersb!
tive. WE ARE, IN LEGAL FACT, OWN
ERS; and nobody is more affected by
the co-operative's success or fail
ure than v/e are. Without good bus-,
iness policies, a capable and trust
worthy manager, a business-v/ise and
representative board of directors
and quality products--our co-opera
tive investment is lost. Unless
each of us feels responsibility as
an owner there is no insurance that
v/e will have good policies, direct
ors and managers.
As owners, naturally, it is not
wise for each of us to tell co-op
erative employees what they are to
do; or even tell the manager the
things he is to do each day. V/e e
lect our directors to make broad
policy decisions. The manager carr
ies these dicisions out in detail,
through his staff of employees.
It Is true, however, that the man
ager and his staff are working for
us. They are our "off-the-farm" ex
perts. They carry out jobs for all
of us, In processing and marketing
milk or cream. They know their
work just as we.know ours on the
farm end of the production line. It
is to our advantage to attract the
best possible managers and employ
ees into our Industry. In many
cases they will fight better and
harder for our cause than we do our-'
selves•
But always remember; we are the
sole owners of our co-operative. In
the end, the responsibility for its
succoos or failure is ours alono.
YOU
"AT OUR MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS.
SEE REAL DEMOCRACY AT YORK."
You take an ordinary corporation
...it’s owned by hundrods or thous
ands of stockholders, but the bigg
est voting strength may be hold by
a few persons with sizeable blocks
of stocks. In a caso like that,
many owners may share in dividends
distributed by those in control of
the corporation, but thoy have
little, voice in how the company is
run.
Our farmers' marketing co-opera
tive is sot up a little different.
Each member has the same amount of
common or voting stock—-one share
only. "One man, one vote", they
call it, and it has definite advan
tage’s for our type of business. We
all have farms and herds of differ
ent sizes. We're spread all over,
and we want equally good return for
milk or cream of liko weight and
quality.
Naturally, anything set up as
democratic as wc arc,may somotimos
be slow or awkward or difficult.
But it's given us a lot of strength
we never had before...and its the
nature of a farmer to want to have
a say in a business that ho is pay
ing for anyway.
U.S. DEMOCRACY HAS LASTED, In
spite of all criticism, longer than
any other government in the world'3
history. Co-operative businesses,
owned and operated along tho same
democratic principles as our govern
ment, havo AND WILL last just as
long. Anyone attending cur annual
meetings will find tho reason for
this. We actually do a pretty good
job of "self-government." Nc small
clique of men runs tho show. Mem
bers reserve the right to commont
and hear other members commont on
the business, its directorship and
management. After full discussion
a majority rule is accepted.
Almost invariably tho best men a
vailable are elected as directors.
If a board member has been doing
well, members are wiso enough to re
elect him, once he has learned tho
many details of business. On tho
other hand, retired or inactive di
rectors have been defoatod in elec
tions where it was folt a younger
man would be more capable or repre
sentative. Board mombors got no
salaries. Too often the time and
effort they devoto on behalf of
neighbors goes unappreciated.