The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-11-01
surprise rrsH To THE EAST.


lie frcpaEsfed Here.
r. Il De Volt, traffic manager Of the A.
Booth Packing Company. Of Chicago. one
OF the largest fish dealing houses in the
United States. IL on the Sound on Dnsi-
ness trip and Was ina this city yesterday.
~ Was here fifteen years ago" said be.
@when there was hardly anything here
and am surprised 20 ind such q handsome
city here nov. Our principal business is
dealing IA fish and oysters and IT extends
all over the country. Oar house was
started in ISIS II Baltimore but Chicago Is
now the headquarters for other fish than
oysters aud we have houses az tbs other
principal eities Of the West. We are run
ming salmon eannery At Astoria and hayo
also been buying both salmon and halibut
from your dealers here. While the colam-
bia river salmon are larger you have some
good iash OF which the meat 10 as good as
that Of chinook salmon, and you also have
longer open season. The variety of fish
you catch here--haIibut. cod, etc.--also
makes this good point and the fact that
you have three competing railroads has
brought rates down so that the cost OF
transportation no longer cuts any figure.
We have bought several car loads of fish
here during the iast month and your SAL
mon meets ready market in the East.
while your halibut Is the best l have seen
In this country.
while your oysters are good. they are
small. and with large population the
supply would soon be exhausted. You
need Eastern oysters here at such prices
that they will be within the reach Of all
the people. | believe they can be propa-
gated on the Sound and in the waters Of
Grays harbor and shoaiwater bay, II
proper care and skill are exercised. The
difficulty has been that the water OF the
Pacific ocean from the British possessions
down to Mexico 10 uniformly cold all the
year round. while on the Atlantic the
temperature varies with the seasons. But
we ha7s proved that oysters can be propa-
gate5 Oh this Coast. for eighteen or twenty
years ago We shipped about 1000 car loads
to California. aud planted them in Sausa-
Tito and Mission bays. where they would
get plenty OF warm, fresh water from the
rivers By continual experimenting for
seven o. eight years. We succeeded in pro-
psgasing them until nov the spawn grows
90 maturity, and most OF the supply of the
Coast comes from those points. There is
no reason Why the same thing should not
w &1-sN 1u tht toAst Ol TINS state where
the conditions are favorable. This would
bring about lower prices aud greatly in
crease the consumption. What we want
Is 10 bring fish within the reach Of every
body, and with low prices this can be
done. | remember when oysters at Chi
cage cost " gallon, bat now they can be
bought for 60 TO 20 cents. In the same
way We ought to bniid up = trade in your
salmon in England. where that fish is a
lasasy costing about 30 cents a pound.
''The fish business Of the whole country
centsrs At Chicago. for fsh Is shipped there
from Lake Winnipeg, the Lake of the
Woods. ali along the Great Lakes and from
the Gulf Red snapper. turtle and terrapin
are now canned on the Florida aud Texas
eosst and sold in Chicago for t To cents a
pound. while IL used TO cost 10 cents 10
catch them. They are shipped % Chicago.
because IL Is nearer than 10 carry them
around by sea TO New York. and Chicago
Is now the distributing point Tor the whole
Middle Nest "