VALLEY SETTLER
Published every Friday at Palmer,
Alaska, by the Yetanuska Valley
Farmer's Cooperating Association
for the purpose of giving news of
the Association's work, problems,
accomplishments, and news of local
and teneral interest.
By-C.R. Rasmussen.
Subscr'ption rates: Yearly,
Local '$1.00
By Veil 1.75
Sincl , copy .10
GOOE YE',VO FOR MATA YUS IiA VALLEY
The people of the Matanuska Vall
ey Project have heard some good
news regarding their Valiev recent
ly. Not only have we received pos
itive ass ranee that the products
of our farms will be purchased at a
good pr1ce and that all we can
raise will be wrnted, but tl at we
are now considered desirable as cit
izens of the Territory because we
have taken our place as an import
ant unit In the supply functions of
the Territory, to our Armed forces
in the Northland.
Gur farmers are preparing to
raise tre largest acreage of crops
that was ever produced in the Vall
ey, and confidence has returned to
the minds of our farmers regarding
the ability of our soil to produce
and our agents to sell, these pro
ducts at v price profitable to the I
farmer.
The earlier years in the history
of this nroject, found conditions
so unfavorable that many became ’
discouraged. In 1937, when the
price of oat-and-pea hay was set
at $8i75 per ton on stakes, butter
fat 34(zf per pound, eggs 30^ per
dozen and meat products at similar
prices, it was impossible to pro
duce at a profit, and the average
former wtc unable to provide the
necessities of life for his family
from his farm. There was also much
discrimination in the attitude of
employers who might have helped by
giving employment to the citizens"
of this Valley. During this time
a constant barrage of unfair crit
icism was hurled at the Colony and
the Colonists as a whole were blam
ed for indiscretions committed by a
few individuals and according to"
most newspaper accounts of the pro
gress of the Valley, it appeared
that the whole cause of it's fnil
^r^wc^th^so^a^^c^misfitsjwho
were" sent here to develope the tract
assigned them, to add to the
general impression it was stated by
Time Magazine in the fall of 1937,
that President Roosevelt had stated
to correspondents at a press con
ference in Washington, that he 11 con
sidered the colony u failure", THE
PRE3IIEHT must have had reliable in
formation before he would make a
statement of this kind. He did not
state the reason for his opinion,
lowever, someone must have failed to
accomplish the expected. Nov; who
was it?
If the Editor hud several months
time and several hundred pages to
place our answer to this question on
paper, then we might bive you the
correct answer. Probably not though
^fter all, what good would it do as
Far as we are concerned'now?
The important thing now is that
nost of our critics are showing a
r.ore tolerant attitude toward us by
their statements. *Ve should try t«
neet thi-e changed attitude more than
laIf way. After all, it is very
Important to not only learn ’how the
ether half lives’, EUT ALSO to ad
just ourselves to the conditions
:hat surround us.
Now that a majority of our farmers
ire making favorable progress in the
’evelopment of the farms and are pro
lucing commodities that are badly
leaded and are providing profitable
jmployment for themselves, it will
lot take lon6 to place ourselves on
i basis where we can become independ
ent of any outside assistance that
is not given citizens of the farm
ing class as a whole. Such as cred
it facilities an^ help of a techni
cal nature that will assist us in
the development of our farms.
In comparison with some of the
other projects started about the
same time and placed in more favor
able- areas, we hove done much better
than they. Lots of them have fold
ed up, a complete loss to the U.S.
Government financially. One, which
received about four million dollars
for its development, and on which
about two-hundred families were
placed, was disposed of after six
years, for the sum of ,'>175,000, no
down payment and thirty years to pay
for it. It was sold to the same
people who had tried, to make a suc
cess of it under supervision from
the Gdvornment. Now these people
will have the responsibility them
selves for its management and the re
payment of the loans. While this
represents a tremendous loss finan
cially, it should be remembered that
these Projects were started to pro
vide homes end employment for people
— I flAai * Bttai_an_nnnn_A \_