Evening star., 1936-02-09

knowledge that there were
but 80 vacancies open in the
colony, 1000 families from all
over the United States have applied
for a chance to live in the Matanuska
Valley, Alaska, and to pay their own
way to this new country almost 1900
miles from the nearest spot of home
land soil
The fact challenges the statement
that "the old pioneer spirit" is dead.
Last May l, the first contingent of
168 families of colonists carefully
chosen from vast horde of Americans
who applied for places, arrived at
Seward. on the Alaska coast, prepara-
tory to their 150-mile train journey
inland to where future home-sites had
been laid out. They represented the
initial steps taken by Alaska Rural
Rehabilitation Corp, an F. E. R. A.
project, to people fertile valley here
tofore known mainly to society only
through imaginative novelists and
stories brought back by hard-bitten
adventurers and gold-seekers.
In six months time, they had drawn
lots as to location and acreage had
moved into completed homes In six
months too they had lived enough in
these strange surroundings to know
whether they we're made of the proper
stuff to survive the 30-year contract
they had signed with the Government.
At the moment of writing 1876 fam
flies remain to face the Winter. OF
those which have returned, 90 quit,
outright. They admitted that, for
one reason or another-health, nostal-
gia, discoura gement-they couldn't
make a go of it. Some were simply
indigent; some were frank failures.
Two families were quarrelsome and
were discharged" The success of
such venture depends much upon
cooperation, mental as we'll as physi-
cal. The head OF one family turned
out to be dishonest.
Each of these 80 families were bum
died up and quietly sent back home
at Government expense. They had to
sign notes, before they left, however,
promising to repay the Government, in
time, the nominal amount spent upon
60. IN the Spring there will be re-
placements sent up to fill this gap.
Perhaps, if the report of this Winters
activities in Palmer las the colony is
named) reads well in the Judgment of
the corporation, another contingent
will be shipped north At any rate,
there are already 1000 families who
want a chance to move into those 80
empty houses in Matanuska Valley.
AS far as the Government Is con-
cerned, the processes of construction
at Palmer are all over Whatever else
is done by way of building and fur
nlshing of new homes will have to be
done by individual contract with Alas
kan labor.
The last of the group of 432 tran
eient laborers imported from the
United States before the colonists ar
rived, to put up their homes, and the
400 more brought up later to rush
construction have returned. AS a
matter of fact, out of this total num-
Der 400 actually were shipped home
before their siX-months' contract time
was up because of troubles of one
kind or another with them, so that
only the ordiginal 432 remained to
build the 1876 out of 1853 homes in the
colony. Alaskan labor had to be
drawn upon, at more than five times
the labor COST to put up the 80 other
homes necessary.
Among those returning with the
transient labor group on November
was William B. Pierce, who had acted
as secretary for the construction divi-
sion of the corporation. In this po-
sition he had almost daily contact
with Washington and the rest of the
Nation through radiograms, and was
thus able to note home reaction to the
project. Also, because through his
Office were cleared all bills and nota-
tions for building materials, labor
costs and supplies, he had excellent
opportunity to observe how things
we're progressing in the remote control
communal experiment in subsistence
homesteading at Palmer
, 1t is his firm conviction that the
project cannot fail; that whatever the
from the colony, they are unjustifled;
that, as the Government plans, Pal
mer some day will be the center of
huge, thriving metropolis in the Mat
anuska Valley.
I'm THREE years." declares Pierce,
1.-The 10 camps in the 62-mile
area around Palmer will be self-sus-
tanning. That is the first step in the
Governments resettlement program
for this project. That will abolish
the ,justifable complaint of high
prices now most heard from the COL
onists.
Thereafter there will begin the pro-
duction Of surplus-foodstuffs and
dairy products mainly. When this
comes the distribution Of their prod
ucts throughout all Alaska will force
down high prices of staples all over
the State and thus bring about the
condition most desired by the Govern
meut"
The MAJOR portion of the Matanuska
colonists come from drought-stricken
areas in We West and Midwest and
are of a sturdy stock who appreciate
the possibilities of a fertile soil. The
valley has that It produces two crops
q year. On the day that Rex Beach,
veteran American novelist, who usually