The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-19
MILK MEN
IN A MERGER
Dairy Association
Controls the
Market.
STAR AND LOPEZ
IN COMBINATION
Milk Advanced to Large Con:u=:.
ers But no Change Made
in Retail Price.

A milk merger IS the latest product of
Honolulu combinations. The Honolulu
Dairyrnen's Association has now practi-
caIly secured control Of the milk busi-
ness in the city, having absorbed its
strongest and largest competitor, the Star
Dairy Co, and if is nov fixing the price
of the tactical fluid to consumers
So far there has been no advance in
price Of milk to the individual consumer
though there has been an increase to the
larger users of the fluid, because of this
recent merger Not only was the Star
Dairy taken into the association, but the
Lopez dairy and quite a number OF the
| smaller milk dealers now form part OF
| the organization. The principal reason
for the combination is given in. the rum
Gus prices which competition forced In
the selling of milk to the restaurants,
hotels, bakeries and other large consum-
| ers. The milk dealers who did not belong
to the Honolulu Dairymen's Association
forced the price to wholesale users down
| to six cents per quart by reason OF cuts
and counter reductions IN order to secure
the business. 1t was only after long
negotiations that the competition was
stopped by consolidation of the warrng
interests On the first of this month
the Star Dairy went out of existence as
far as the delivery of milk to consumers
is concerned, and became part Of the
Honolulu Dairymen's Association me
| Star Dairy Co. owns the largest dairy and
greatest number of cows outside of the
Honolulu Dairynen's Association ana
while the competition did not extend to
| a cut in the price to Individual consumers,
I the fierce fight for the wholesale trade
made rather wide slash in the prohts
of the Association. Anton Lopez at ka-
| nhi was the next largest competitor, he
having herd OF about one hundred cows
Both concerns az well number of much
smaller ones were taken in by the Assoc
citation, thus cutting off competition in the
sale Of milk to the hotels bakers, ice
cream dealers. etc. These have already
| felt the effect of this consolidation in the
increase in the price of the milk furnish
ed them. An advance of Two and three
cents quarts has been made. and the IN
crease makes a considerable difference in
tho course of a year. No change has been
made so far in the price of milk fur.
i nished to the resident portion of the city
the milk still retailing at twelve cents
4 per quart. 1t is hardly likely that there
/ will be much change in this connection
because of the great number of dealers
who own but a few cows, supplying only
Itbeir immediate neighborhood, and whom
the Association would not find it profit
able to buy out There is a fixed price
T,N1s,- 20 A
ton TO its members, the Association only
delivering the milk to customers, at the
regular rate, and paying eight cents per
jnuart for delivery in cans at the Shen-
t dan street depot The recent consohda-
|. ltion effected will probably result in the
springing up of a number of smaller dear
ers again There are nearly nifty dealers
in the city at present, though some OF
them really belong to the Association
while a large majority simply own Re"
cows and sell the product to neighoors
The Star Dairy still retains it's dairy
interests selling only its routes, horses
! harness, delivery wagons, etc, to the AS
sociatfon BY the terms OF the sale Tx
Honolulu Dairymens Association pays
fixed price per quart to the old company
= the Star Dairy agreeing not to retal IL
nroduct. AS result of the merger th'
stockholders in the Star Dairy Co &C
c,ire one-fourth interest in the 40
nolulu Dairymen's Association The sta
Dairv retailed milk at ten cents Pc
quart. but according to one stoekhoiue
under the new deal the price VIII o.
twelve cents per quart.