every Friday by the Mutnuska Val
ley I aimer's Cooperating associa
tion at Palmer, Alaska.
Mng. Suitor: Irving Nev.villa
This paper is issued for the pur
pose of giving information and
news of the Fatnuska Valley Far
mers Cooper ..ting associations
work, problems, accomplishments,
also news of local ana general
interest and to foster the Co
operative soirit of the Farmers
of the I.atanuska Valley.
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Mailed anywhere:
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COOPZRaTIVSS IN CONTINENTAL
EUROPE - 1941
What is happening to the co
operative movement in Hitlerizod
Europe? Leaders anci others in
farmers’ cooperatives in the
Unit a States want to know whe
ther the cooperative novels.out in
Europe ana the rest of th world
is going to suffer the “'ate v/hich
Hitler’s i^zis have in mind for
it. Thj 1,500,000 members of far
mers’ cooperatives in Gem any who
have s.. .-n their 22,000 associa
tions liquidated, along with some
30,000 cooperative societies fur
nish i. ate testimony to what has
happen>u.
Writing in ”D?r ungriff,"
official publication of the nat
ional Socialist Party in Germany,
on Larch 1, 1941, Dr. Robert Ley
makes clear what th.- answer is
going to be if the Nazis have
their way in Norway, Denmark, the
Netherlands, and Belgium, as they
have had in Germany. That answer
would mean the end of cooperatives
in all these countries that have
in the past inspired and contri
buted much to cooperative action
in the United States.
In March of tnis year Dr.
Walther Funk, Minister for Nation
al Economy in Germany, issued an
order liquidating the lust of. the
groat cooperative wholes.*! s m
Germany, with more than 1,100 me-rn
bar associations ana soma 11,000
retail stores and work shop, a When
this era or was nut into effect,
"Dor angrifl ' carried an a tide
by Dr. Lay celebrating the ’victory"
over cooperation by Nazism, spying
that "the movement thereby loses
its cooperative character ad its
shops ^re open to every bo a. ....
I wish to make this a great work
for tne National Socialist commun
ity. I wish to reserve th shops
for those of our soldi .rs who show
ability for this kind of .ark.
whoever wants to b scoir.3 a capable
business man will bo give , a shop
by the Bank of German Lab),* Front."
The share capital, co 1 ct
ive capital deposits, sav'ngs, and
shares*ownoa by the coopoc .lives
were ordered transferred to the
Labor front. Thus the co- pera
tive organizations become 1 pri
vate business turned over to Nazi
party faithfuls. ^ 3 so Is inch the
cooperators hav; gathered ■ 1 be
*
0
taken ov.r cy trio b^nor j?ront.
Explaining tlic diffic u.ltios he
had in doing away with coooorat
ives in Germany, Dr. I.oy whites in
•’Dor iUigriff" that jacli m Lor of
the cooperatives.- their’ dviov orient
something ho had created, sono
t/ing in which ho and otht mon
tors had investod many xii 1 * ions
of capital, as well as raii./ ions of
savings. "For this reason ; said
Dr. Lay, "wo could not huv • liq
uidated the cooperatives without
causing groat ciisoui ot am > ?g the
broaa masses." That boin the
ease, the Nazis moved slovliy .
On eve they wore ready to ; trike,
however, they swept away tie entire
basis for the independence a \d de
feated the purpose of the joo na
tives.
Evm the Lazis haa. Lc admit
thatthe Gorman cooperatives •"ors
performing a vital function in the
economic life of the country. This
coula not bo too drastically
changed without harming the normal
work of the nation. Consequently,
(Continued on Pag