Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-16
ICE WAR EXISTS
aAIInC AAICFIEC
IN LUO HlNULLLO
TWO COMPANIES CUT PRICES
TO GET TRADE
RESIDENTS IN SOUTH PART OF
CITY ARE BENEFITED
Old Concern slashes Rates to Retain
Customers Secured by New and
Lower Price of Arctic
Concern

"How would you like to be the ice
man does not sound favorably in the
ears of drivers of wagons of the Los
Angeles Ice and Cold Storage COM
many. especially in the southwestern
residential district of Los Angeles. a
merry warfare is under way in TINS
district between the Los Angeles Ice
and Cold Storage company and the
recently formed Arctic Ice company,
and at latest reports, according to res
idents in the southwest LOCALITY, the
Arctic company is more than holding
Until two months ago the Los An
geles company delivered its ice at It's
regular rates of sixty cents a hun
dred pounds, but when the Arctic
company invaded the field and otfereu
the same amount of ice for forty
cents the warfare, which has contlh-
ued ever since, began.
The Los Angeles company, reaIzlhg
that it could not sell ice at sixty cents
hundred. when the new company was
selling at forty cents per hundred, de-
cided that drastic measures should be
taken and at once scaled its price TO
thirty cents a hundred
The Arctic company did not change
from its regular rate of forty cents
a hundred, and when the Los Angeles
concern began to realize that It's old
customers were rapidly becoming pa
irons of the Arctic concern, it reduced
the price still lower. At present, in
certain localities, the Los Angeles Ice
and Cold Storage company Is selling
ice at the remarkable price of ten
cents a hundred.
LOYAL to New Company
An investigation in the district of
the warfare revealed that patrons OF
the new Arctic company are as rule
standing by the new concern, which
was instrumental in causing the first
reduction from sixty to forty cents.
They explain that even though the
Los Angeles company will put in ice
at ten cents a hundred, they realize
that this is but temporary and that
as soon as the Arctic is driven out OF
business the old price of sixty cents
a hundred will be adopted again.
For this reason most of the former
Los Angeles subscribers have sworn
allegiance to the Arctic company and
have told of the efforts of agents OF
the Los Angeles company to induce
them to give up the Arctic company.
According to several patrons of the
Los Angeles Ice company, who have
recently been buying their ice from
the Arctic company officials of the
old company have appeared at the diff
signs of the Arctic company which
had been placed in the windows to
show that ice is wanted.
The same persons said that drivers
of the Los Angeles Ice company's
wagons who arrived at the residence
first, would fill the ice boxes and say
nothing about the price, and that the
bill would be forwarded later, show
ing a marked reduction in the price
of ice.
The Arctic company has stuck by
its original price of forty cents hun
bred and, according to a statement of
Manager Edward Cove, made yester-
day in connection with the rate war
on ice, the Arctic company will con-
tinue to sell at prices it deems rea-
sonable, despite the efforts of the Los
Angeles company to drive the Arctic
company out of business.
In speaking of the matter yesterday
Manager Cove of the Arctic company
said: "Our concern is an independent
concern. We manufacture ice at the
plant of the Maier Packing company
and sell at what we consider a fair
profit We will stay in business for
many years despite the attempt of
the Los Angeles Ice and Cold Storage
company to drive us out of business.
We ask forty cents hundred, which
is twenty cents a hundred less than
that charged by the Los Angeles com
pany before we entered the field two
months ago.
"Our facilities are such that no eff
fort OF the Los Angeles company could
drive us out of business in a hundred
years. We are pleased that our pa
irons have seen the game that has
been attempted and have remained by
us, and with such encouragement We
will continue the fight and are pleased
that patrons are getting the benefit
of prices"
r. G. Mckinney general manager
of the Los Angeles Ice and Cold Stor-
age company, declared yesterday that
he was not aware of any rate war on
ice. and stated he was not certain aS
to the rates charged. He stated that
as far as he knew there was no uni
form rate charged by his company,
but that the locality and not the mat
ter of competition entered into the
matter of price schedule.