Evening star., 1939-09-17
Matanuska Failure
Predicted by Co|onist
Who Made Good
IndividuoIist PippeI,
Who Wurred With U. 5.
Authorities Tells Why

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 10 IMAM.
AD-Walter Pippel, No. individu-
alist who crossed more than $4,000
in four years of farming in the
Matanuska Valley of Alaska, de-
clared here that the Federal Gov
ernment's costly experiment IN plo-
neering is certain to fail.
The Robbinsdale, Mimi, farmer,
who stirred up such thriving
produce growing and marketing
business of his own that it kept him
in continual trouble with the Mat
anuska Cooperative until the col
ony corporation finally bought him
out. asserted that Alaska lacks the
market.
Ten real farmers who got down to
brass tacks and dug for their living
and for their crop outlets" he said,
"could keep the whole of Alaska sup
piled with fresh produce"
Nor is Mr.. Pippels opinion of the
average Matanuska colonist or OF
the Governmental project manage
ment to date exceptionally high.
Too many colonists spent time hunt
ing and fishing when they should
have been clearing land or improv-
ing property, he said. Production
has Jagged and Mr.. Pippel leaves
the mpression-although he doesn't
say so specifically-that the CO.
operative was not particularly ener-
getic in hunting out markets for
produce that had been raised.
Will Return to Alaska.
hn would
return to Alaska in month and
would buy a farm near Anchorage.
He is a real farmer, and maybe
there aren't nine others like him
in the territory. Moreover, he said
he has developed his own markets
and isn't afraid of the competition
that may arise in the future.
On 1885 the New Deal trans
ported 200 destitute families from
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Mich
igan to the Matanuska Valley in
an experiment in modern pio-
neering. The Government hoped
to rehabilitate them in the rich
valley proving both that down.
and-out Americans might be re-
established and that Alaska can
support herself. Almost 100 OF
those families have since left
the colony, but requirements
have brought its present strength
to about ITO families. The feasl-
bility of the colony remains
moot question. The Government
has spent about S5,O0O,000 on it,
Mr.. Pippel asserts he was the
only colonist who produced any
thing at all for the market the
first ear of the eXperiment-1935
That summer he found only three
fourths of an acre of the 33 acres
allotted to him cleared. Four acres
more were easily cleared, and he
managed to dig trees and brush
from another couple of acres. On
that much land he crossed $500.
Others "Took Their Time
Other colonists took their time.
They were receiving drawing &C
counts from the colony, and the
colony at Palmer was one OF Mr..
Pippels best customers. One-fourth
of his produce Mr.. Pippel sold to
the commissary that redistributed
Mr.. Pippels fresh vegetables and
greenstuffs to other colonists. He
found his own markets for the re-
mainder at stores in nearby towns.
at mines and the like. He shipped
to Anchorage, Seward, Cordova,
Valdez and Cook Inlet points, taking
time off from his farming to find
storekeepers who were ready to buy
cn1nr,jctc
In serious competition with Mr.. Pip
pei. He sold most of that year
through the co-operative-the Ma
tanuska Valley Farmers Co-opera-
tive sociation-obligingl turning
over to it his list of customers. But
there friction arose. Since Mr.
Pippel was the only farmer in the
valley growing much produce, the
co-operative's handling charges were
exceptionally high, being charged
mostly against Mr.. Pippel
For example" he said, they ad-
vanced me sl75 per 100 pounds on
potatoes and later sold them for
$3.50. But the SITS was all I got"
That second year he had 10 more
acres in production and crossed
S5,4OO. He had hard luck in 1888
Windstorms blew away seeded fields
two or three times and then ST 900
worth of produce froze in storage
but he still had a gross of S4700.
Found 200 Customers.
Mr.. Pippel had been doing things
that other colonists had not. For
example, he built a greenhouse. He
raised radishes and was selling sew
eral hundred dollars worth while
others we're still watching for green
to appear above ground. In the
greenhouse he also gave other plants
such as tomatoes head start.
He eventually developed list of
200 customers. He sized up the
market and decided dairying wasn't
worth While-not enough profit con-
sidering high cost of feed. He did
try hoks but barley was the only
local fattening crop and there was
only one litter year, instead of two.
So Mr. Pippel stuck to produce.
Merchants we're satisfied with his
prompt deliveries.
But, he says, they were irritated
at irregular service by the cooper
ative Although he was one of the
co-operative's leaders in the begin
ming, his own dissatisfaction in
creased. Once he foresaw that there
would be a surplus of few COM
modities. as far as local markets
were concerned. He wondered if the
cooperative would pay his fare to
Fairbanks, at the northern end OF
the Alaska Railroad, to line up ad-
ditional outlets. The colony man
ager indicated that this might be
satisfactory, he said. He found the
outlets, but the fare wasn't forth
coming So be kept the new CUSTOM