The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-09-01

LOSS ON BOTTLE
BREAkAGE HEAVY
Soda Water Manufacturers
Form Combine to Secure
Protection.

Eighty-six thousand four hundred
dollars is being lost every year by the
soda water manufacturers of Honolulu.
This does not mean that the manufac-
turers are running behind that much
each twelvemonth, but it does mean
that $1,000 which should be going out
to stockholders in the shape OF dlVl-
dends is being wasted. And the secret
of the waste is lost bottles.
The state of affairs has been going
from bad to worse until the manufae-
turers have combined to protect them
selves. Every manufacturer of soda
water. with the exception of the Wal
alua works and some of the plantations
which do not cater to the general trade,
has entered into compact, and the
Oahu Bottlers' Association is the re-
suit. The officers of the association are:
Wade Warren Thayer, representing the
Consolidated Soda Water Works Com
pany, chairman; Walter Rycroft of the
Fountain Soda Works, secretary; and
r. A. Woodward OF the Eva Bottling
Works, treasurer.
One thousand copies have been print
ed of card which makes the following
announcements:
"The soda water manufacturers or
the City and County of Honolulu have
organized under the name of Oahu Bot
tiers Association. On and after Sep
TENDER l, 1909, the following rules will
go into effect:
can sales to retail dealers will be
for cash only.
"a deposit will be required from all
retail dealers, to. insure the return of
empty bottles. This deposit will be
fifteen cents per dozen, and it will be
refunded upon redelivery of the empty
bottles. Five cents will be deducted
from the amount refunded for each
bottle not returned"
This notice, printed in English, Ha-
waiian, Portuguese, japanese and Chi
nese, will be posted conspicuously, and
the concerns forming the association
| will live up to the letter of the notice.
The concerns forming the association
are: Consolidated Soda Water Works
Company. Ltd, Hawaiian Soda Works,
Arctic Soda Works, Enterprise Soda
Works, Eva Bottling Works, Fountain
! Soda Works, K. l. Soda Works, Sunrise
Soda Works, Dragon Soda Works.
The cost of each soda water bottle,
including the stopper, is about FIVE
cents. Thus every dozen bottles of
soda water which leaves the factory
represents sixty cents paid out for bot
| tiles alone. The retail price of the
/ soda is five cents per bottle, the price
| to the retailer being considerably less
Thus the returns which the manufacture
| er receives are less than the actual
| cost of the bottles alone.
| With all of the bottles returned, or
even with an allowance made for acct
| dental breakage, the manufacturers
would reap a handsome profit, but the
i unreturned bottles eat into the profits
at an alarming rate
| According to an official of the Con-
/ Solidated Soda Water Works Company,
more than so per cent of the bottles
sent out are a total loss. This has to be
deducted from the profits, and cuts the
balance down to place where MANY
of the companies find themselves strug-
| Cling for existence.
! There are three concerns at least
which sell in the neighborhood of 1000
| dozen bottles of saltwater a month.
| This means that each of these three
concerns send out $2400 worth of bot
/ ties each and every month. This makes
$1,000 in bottles from three concerns.
| Estimating the combined output of the
other eight concerns as equal to the
three largest ones. the monthly output
of sodawater bottles is about $14, 600.
| Thus, in twelve months, the eleven con
Germs composing the new association
send out annually $172,S00 worth of
bottles.
Of these bottles sent out, the associa-
ton estimates that so per cent. or more
never come back. Taking the minimum
| figure, the annual loss from bottles not
returned reaches the total of $s6,4oO.
The association does not intend to
| work a hoid-up game on the retail deal
ers, but the members claim that a state
of affairs has been reached where some
of the concerns must institute reforms