o'
Via fan uS
61° 30' N• Latitude
/- loneet
149° 15'T-T. Longitude
Vol. I
M
Palmer. Alaska. October 10, 1955
Jfi- f
DIFFICULTIES IRONED OUT
AT TWO COLONIST MEETINGS
At a colonist meeting held last
Friday evening in one of the unfin
ished bunkhouses, a committee of 3;
William Bennett, Walter Huntley and
Roy Wilkes, were chosen to nut be
fore Mr. Don L. Irwin three issues
upon which they felt they should
have some voice.
Hearing that Mr. Rex A. C. At
wood was to be returned oast, they
were to ask for his retention in
his present job as Chief Clerk.
They were to orotest the "fram
ing" and "railroading" of Howard
McEendrie back to the States, feel
^ ing that he hadn’t had a proper
chance to defend himself, and that
none would be secure if such action
was to be the rule.
The third issue was a nrotest
against keening Mr. Ed Cronin in
his position as Fiscal Agent.
The committee reported at the
meeting held Tuesday evening in the
trading post.
IRWIN’S ANSWERS REPORTED
At this meeting Mrs. Eino Wirta
nen was elected Secretaryof the por^
inanent colonist organization -which
was set up.’ She promptly took her
seat on a carpenter’s horse before
the steel table of a framing saw
and the committee reported.
* Mr, Irwin had informed them that
there would be no place in the oro
oosed administrative set-up for one
of Mr. Atwrood ’ s talents, that there
was nothing against him, and that
his former position was waiting for
him.
He also told them what had been
fairly common knowledge around the
camp; that is that McEendrie had
freely admitted the charges against
him. And in the matter of Mr, Cro
nin, Mr. Irwin said that Mr. Cronin
was a very valuable man in his pres*
ent place and that it would be al
most impossible to replace him.
HUNT GIVES TALK
After the reports were iQF.de Lt.
Col. LeRoy Hunt" addressed the group
and. told them: "I know you people.
I haven’t driven you home, visited
with you and even helped hang up
the laundry without learning that
you are fine people, hut*..credit
has gone to the heads of some of
you, and the only way to keep that
situation from growing out of hand
is to clamp down hard,
'’The presents are all gone,” he
continued. nThe Christmas tree has
been thrown out onto the brush
pile, and from now on you must
manage to live within your budge
tary allowance.”
Col. Hunt explained that many
would have to suffer for the ac
tions of a few, and cited the case
of the family of four who had run
their bill up $267.00 in one
month. To illustrate what could be
done he told of the family of five
whose total since arriving here in
May is only $258.00. He called at
tention to the unreasonable demand
that is sometimes made by telling
of the single trip of the delivery
truck with another brand substitu
ted for Hills Brothers coffee, be
cause they were out of the latter,
And he told how thirteen families
had sent their coffee back, de
manding what they had ordered.
"This,” said Col. Hunt, ”Is an
attitude that has to change, "Im
agine a man with four new, credit
purchased firearms in his home
cursing the corporation up one
side and down the other because.
Mr. Cronin wouldn’t OK his requi
sition for another,
"Get in, pull together in har
mony, and you have the chance of
a lifetime,” he told them.
SNODGRASS ALSO SPEAKS
M. D. Snodgrass who has lived
many years in the valley followed
Col. Hunt with a fine talk on the
bright future for a wonderful com
munity the colonists faced.
"No one will make a fortune,”
he said, "But we will live, and
live well, and I’d much rather
have my home where all have a lit
tle, than where a few have it all.
After Mr. Snodgrass finished Mr.
William Bennett was elected oerman
ent chairman. Regular meetings fo'
the purpose of discussing their
problems is the aim of the organi
zation.
ROMAN L1GIONS IN 3TKIOPIA
Thursday dispatches from Geneva
state that Mussolini’s soldiers
are in possession of 3600 miles of
disputed area.
A dispatch from Rome: MT"Te mowed
thorn down Vith modern weapons