VOL 6.
. PALMER,ALASKA.
—'-J-.-=r
AUGUST 27, 1943.
NO. 33
■ CO-OPrs BUY BIG OIL REFINERY.
The Montana Farmers Union News of
Helena Mont, announces that the fiV'
big regioi.il Co-op’s including the
Central Co-op. Wholesale of Superio:
Wis, the 'idland Co-op, of MInnenpo
lis, Farm rs Union °entrnl Exchange
of St. P::iil, Farmers Union Exchange
of CVehn ; nd the Consumers Co-op,
Association of Kanasas City, have
purchased the Globe Oil 6c Kofineing
Co. of b'c Flij|bson Kans. and that it
will be o ' • rjt; - c3 by c Boil’d of Tire
ctors from tSo Co-ops, the cost was
close to live million dollars, the
plant can reflhe 17.000 gallons of
crude o11 per day, practicnly all
standard products will be produced.
A 220 mil pipeline to Council Bluf:
low*: Is included, about 265 employ
ees are * t work In the plant.
for s v ral years now the vrrlous
Co-ops, n-med hare purchased their
oil prod 'cts from the Globe Co. and
the chant Just m< ans that the plan'
will now be owned by the consumers.
Scopes or local oil Co-ops, will
nov be 11 le to participate In the
earnings of the production plant on*
In turn this will be giv°n to the
consumr members of the localls.
James ' . Patten, National Pres, of
the Farm- rs Uni*>n, Issued n strong
statement recently, In regard to the
pr?re control policies now In effo<
and whet would happen If these con
trols v, re removed as demanded by
certain Interests, Includeing the
two lrrg'st farm orginizations in ’ :
the U.3.,Patten scathingly denounce!
certain politicians and farm groups,
calling their attention to what hop
pened after the last war and says
th-t even tho prices incresed 74 %
during the last war, that actual
production did not Increase at all
even with, this Incentive and says
that it would not improve the farmer
lot,any to let prices go sky high
as the things that he has to buy
would ,1 ist go up too and in the end
their wo lid be no gain, then labor
would demand higher wages and this
would reflect In the farmers costs.
Patten says that the present hue
and cry is being promoted by large
farm interests who cant increase
their production any,on oecotint ■ of
labor shortages, therefore it would
just mean more profit for them and
would not Improve production.
CO-OP. MANAGER, CLAIRE L. STOCK
ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION.
The Board of Directors of the M.V.
F,C.A. recieved the resignation of
the present General Manager of the
Co-op. to take effect in 90 days,as
per agreement. Mr. Stocks resigna
tion was accepted and it will nov; be
necessary to secure a new Manager.
Mr. Stock came to the Matanuska
Valley to become Manager of the- Co
op, in March 1939, from h Iso Wash,
where ho had been employed as Managei
of a Co-op. there for several years.
Much to his supriso when he arrivec
in Palmer, the Co-op. that he had
been hired to manage, was being man
aged by a Govt. Agency under an agree
ment that made the elected Board of
Directors only advisory agents of th<
members of the Co-op. and it was
nearly a year before Mr. Stock was
to become the real Manager.
While there has been almost contin
ual trouble ever since the inception
of the Co-op. and under Mr. Stocks
management it did not dimish any, bu
established facts s^ow that the Co-o
has been transformed from a semi
relief agency to a selfsupporting
orginization since Mr. Stock assumed
the job as Manager.
While Mr. Stock was somewhat skept:
cal of the ability of the farms in
Volley to provide a living for their
•operators, for the first two years
that he was here, he is now quite
enthuastic about them and has b;,on
trying to purchase a sutiablc farm
and has considerable equiptment that
he has accumilnted for the purpose
of operating a farm as soon as he
can find one that he wants.
Mr. Stock has been trying to get
relieved from job that he has held
for a long time, but the Board was
unable to find a successor and he hr
remaind on the job for many months
after he asked to be released.
Mr. Stock owns a farm near Kelso
Wash* but has never indicated tha*
he expects to return there in any
event, and will undoubtable bocome
a Matanuska Valley dairyman, as he
has h£d a lot of expieronce in that
line and is still very much interes.
ed in cows and milk production. He
outlined the policies for the estab
lishment of the present favorable
dairy industry, in the Co-up. which
has been so successful.