VALLEY SETTLER
Publis^-ed every Friday at Palmer
Alaska, by the I/Intanuska Valley
Farmer’s C ■'operating Association
for the purpose of giving news of
the Association’s work, problems,
accomplishments, a nr1 news of local
and general interest.
BY'-C* Ri RASMUSSEE.
Subscription rotes: Yearly.
Local $1.00
By Mail 1.75
Sin^l' copy .10
COOPERATION IN WAR AND PEACE.
The Ms • ry rf - ur nation shows
that in the pi'nnor days, n very
g,o:d spirit rf cooperation between
the vari'-us pe pie existed. This
was necess-ry because the po pie
largely depended upon each other
f°r help in various f-'rms, Settlor:
in outlaying districts ha.3 to w >rk
together b. cause f the lack f
tools an'5 equipment. It was much
easier to assemble a laree group of
"’en rnt c nstruct a log cabin by
their unit d effort than f r each
ne to w rk by himself. Money was
scarce f.nJ sr‘ each family had to
subsist n what they could afford
to buy or raise, rather tha.n n
what they desired t on things rec
commended l;y futurities, f r the
rrminteaance of health and c-mfirt.
There wr s no A.P.A., to provide
jobs f r unfortunate persons who
were unabl> to secure the necess
ities cf life. However, friendly
neighbors usually shared whatever
they hc-r' \. 1th their neighbors. This
was the Pi neor Spirit in America.
Though the average individual was
not often aware f it, our Nation
as a who It were ind ividualists of a
decided ty,e. When border ruffians
and savage Indis ns threatened set
tlers banded together t repel In
vasion and cooperated in defense
measures, but as s ' 'n as the
trouble was taken care of, they
returned to their homes and became
Industrious builders, each one do
ing the thing that he desire*3 to do
If p-ssibl , and the oldest traits
-'f human nf ture assumed entr 1 cf
"heir lives. Some wore selfish,
self-center :d end even greedy,
thers were more s -cir. 1 minded but
not usually to excess. In each in
dividual, the main thought was tc
look after himself first. As time
went on, many became wealthy because
)f their industry and ability to ac
quire rmt’ retain wealth. The nat
ural resources of ur country were
probably greater than any nation
ever hah before, and ns soon as
processing and marketing was de
veloped, we became cne cf the great
est producers f agricultural and
industrial products that the World
has ever kn ,wn. But with the de
vol pment of our res urces, there
alsr' came concentration of wealth
in the hands of n small portion of
our citizens.
As tine went n, certain large
sections of -ur population disc ver
ed, that even with - ur immense
wealth, that they as individuals
were n^t able to secure en -u^h by
their efforts in their respective
lines ;f endeavor to provide the
actual necessities < f live. This
problem seejns to have gr wn up''n
us without our understanding or
knowledge cf its effects. Farmers
and industrial w.rkers were the
main sufferers and for fifty years
nothing c nstructive was su0gosted
r d ne that alleviated the pains
.caused by the ailment. Finally,
in desperati n, industrial wtrkers
began to organize Uni ns that were
really Cooperative movements that
have helper1 to remedy their pains.
Farmers aro helping themselves
thr ugh organizations mo stly Coop
eratives. The thing that we are
trying to show is, that when re
verse conditions afflict a Nation
or a large gr-up rf its citizens,
then it is tire t ; organize far re
medial and constructive actin.
The biggest thing that faces rur
pe pie at the present time is the
threats and h rro-rs of the Great
World War. Every, ne of us is vi
tally affected by this h 1.crust
and again we must unite in a greet
Cooperative effort to win the War
a.nd then perhaps organize to se
cure a fair and equitable peace.
Co- rdination must be maintained
between the vari us War Agencies
and the Civilian gr ups that fight
and provide the supplies for War.
The Citizens of <ur Valley are in
full accord with this plan and the
meetings and c nferences held in
the last few weeks, show their eag
erness to co-perate with the Army
in any way that they can, t > insure
co-ordination of effort to win the
War.
Many constructive plans have been
made for this m.vement, and its
success will depend upon the atti
tude of the individuals who make up
the cross section rf our population.
Our problem as citizens of the
Community, is to help where we can.
This seems to us to be thr-ugh the
(continued on puge 4)