The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-12-14
THE MEAT SUPPLY
Manager Walters Views
Obtained.
Cause Of Shortage - High Prices
RuIing-ShiEmen Now on
the Way.

When interviewed yesterday after
noon or the subject Of the local meat
supply, Air Waller Of the Metropolitan
Meat Company expressed himself as
follows
For some months past It has been
very difficult TO keep the N arket fully
supplied with beef the demand for
which has been greatly Increased by
tbs influx OF white families from the
Mainland, and also by tbs heavy calls
mRae .hv transports and other vessels
coming here. To meet this extra de-
mand, beef has been imported from
Ssfn Francisco and also from Australia
About nine months age arran gements
were made to bring monthly supplies
from San Francisco, IN each trip OF
TIE steamship Australia, the preference
being given TO San Francisco because
az that time it was expected that the
American tariff rates 4-ould shortly be
ENtenied to These Islands, and it was
not expected then that prizes in the
States would reach tEeir present high
Hgur@- Had we felt assured that the
present duty wUald not pe interfered
withHiuring the present year, we would
a. that time have made arrangements
with Australia, from whence beef can
bs imported al present alta much lower
re te- than from San Francisco. To meet
tf1e IL creasing demand III addition to
what could be imported in the capac-
f{y al our disposal on the Australia,
We have also drawn d supply from
Queensland, Australia and of late have
ordered heavily from there, but have
required, on account OF TIE cold-storage
space on the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES line
of steamers being almost entirely taken
UP with Vancouver freight, and the
Otg9anic line steamers have no cold
storage accommodation TO offer Not
beng able to get all we ordered in
tftgt Fdls ectiOn. IT has been necessary
for us % draw YnUre heavily upon the
Iocs sr6ziers, who at this season of the
year, especially on this Island, prefer
to mold their cattle untfl they are III
beEser condition. About a year ago
the price. paid the grazrsrs was spd-
'va1teed from 6 10 Z cents per pound;
few months ago a further advance was
rnaItr TO ~ cents per pound, and a few
days ago, for about d hundred head
That mad 30 be purchased TO keep the
market gong, the high price of SH
cents per pound was paid.
There Is feeling amongst some Of
the graziers that they ought 10 be paid
something near the price that CalifoT
MIA beef COSTS landed here and if they
persist in a demand of this kind the
company VIII have to pay IT, and in
that case an advance to the consumer
would follow Were it not probable
that the American tariff of cents per
poetnd tiGty would soon be imposed on
Australian meats, this advance might
be prevented, but when that goes into
effect the price of meat landed here
from Australia and San Francisco viii
be the same, and such that consumers
could not be supplied profitab1y at
present retail rates: so the prospects
are, with The present attitude Of the
graziers, the high prices ruling in the
States and the probable charge Of
cents per pound duty on Australian
meats, that IN the near future the price
of meat To consumers will be in
creased; how soon depends upon how
long local. graziers viii be content with
present prices.
Another unfortunate complication
Is brought abGut in the present plague
trouble. Communication between the
Islands having been seriously inter-
fered with, makes it all the more diff
cult TO procure meat in order to keep
the market supplied: but this latter
difficulty Will soon be overcome on
next Wednesday, when the Aorangi,
with 225 ,carcasses of beef and also
mutton from Queensland, and the Aus
tralia from San Francisco with about
80 carcasses of beef, $50 hogs and a
heavy consignment o. poultry for the
Christmas trade, will arrive in port.
The question Of which beef is superior
cannot be fairly answered, as Austrai-
ian beef IS frozen and Californian is
refri geraIed.