HELPING HANDS
According to reports being circula
ted in the Valley, wo understand
that the markets for farm products
in Alaska have reached the satura
tion point. This information comes
from the report of an official from
the U.3.Department of ^.griculture
who has spent nine months making an
investigation for the Department in
Alaska.
Dell.' Well'. How familiar this all
sounds. It is just like 1940 when
Dr. Hansen came to the conclusion
that there was only room for fifty
farmers in the Matanuska Valley, end
that it would be to the best inter
ests of the Valley to send the ad
ditional families back to the States
and combine their farms,with the
improvements that they had made,with
the sleeted few who were to remain.
Then we had that great farm expert,
Senator Thomas of Oklahoma, who sur
veyed the Matanuska Valley from the
platform of the Alaska Railroad in
1 aimer for about two hours in 1936
and solemnly announced on his return
to Washington that the Territory was
a wilderness and that farming would
be impossible.
Even President Roosevelt v/as con
vinced that the best thing to do
for people who came to the Valley
to farm was to send thorn back to
the States and place them on relief
Government Bureaucrats and politi
cians in rJ.aska were quoted as say
ing that the Latanuska Valley pro
ject was a big flop. Then when the
Co-op was formed and turned over to
the farmers in 1940, their prede
cessors were so sure that they woulc
fail that they drew up a tentative
budget to show them how soon they
would bo broke and out of business.
This budget indicated that the Co
op would be in the red by at least
seventy-five thousand dollars with
in three years. However, much to
their surprise the Association had
over a hundred thousand dollars in
cash and had all their bills paid
by the end of the alloted time.
respite tile dean age done by cutworms
frost and wind to bur crops during
the last twelve years, and the pro-,
judico of merchants to Alaska pro
ducts, we have progressed beyond the!
point thought possible by the Ex- 7
ports; the Doctors and Dentists of
agriculture who are looking down
the throat of Agriculture in Alaska^,
If the farmers themselves had as <j
little faith in the future in farm- p
ing in Alaska as the experts, there
_Cont. in the next column
'• mRTflnuSK a valleej
6 ARDEHS
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HYACINTHS and DAFFODILS all.-!
in Full Blossom
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tea, n, e id
I- ry V.'itt
ill t
1 f
Taking a trip ?
be sure your
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PICK-UP L DELI VERY
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y$
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^ OPEN
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>nhavs thru Fridays
HELPING-— „
Cont. from col.l
;ouldn’t have been much progress be
iause faith must go with works and
vhen faith fails, then th6 end is
iear.
jur<jf it wouldn’t be o. good idea to
promote the idee that farming in A
Laska is the easiest way and that
pverything -ill come out all right
-f one just starts in and works hard,
;yen if they don't have any capital
>r equipment end no experience.Farm
.ng in Alaska is a real test of char
acter and intestinal fortitude. Pros
pective settlers should be told about
he disadvantages as well as the ad
ant ages .
don’t have the statistics to show
ow much produce is being shipped in
o Alaska tha.t could be raised here
hich would be profitable to the pro
ucer with average means and exneri
ince, but it is no secret that Alas
:an farmers are producing only a smal!
ercentage of that actually consumed
in ALaska. If the members end the
anagement oi the Co-op are willdug
o set back end not keep trying to
ell more and better produce to re
lace that brought in from-the out
ide, Cont. on page 4, col. 1