Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-12-29
mi
DENY A5UCg
Declare That Sea Food Is
Destroyed in Order to Mali
tain Prices. 4
NEW YORK. Dec. 2s.-Fish des

NEW YORK, Dec. 29.-Fish dea
here are indignant over the + &c
from Washington to the effect
Representative BENJAMIN I. Tay3
of New York, has told Secretary On
Agriculture Houston that fishermen]
In the vicinity of New York are
throwing fish overheard to keep up
the price.
THAT is a common Practise, Mr..
Taylor is quoted as saying. Fisher
men up around New York have to
throw the fish overheard because the
market men there, in order to MAIN
tain prices, will not buy them. .
Members of the Fulton Market Fish
Mongers' Association, comprising
thirty-five or forty of the largest firms
in tho city, declared that the state
ment attributed to Representative
Taylor was absurd, and that, mas
much as 1t was impossible to supply
the demand, it was ridiculous to as
sert that fish are being thrown away
for any purpose other than 10 get
rid of fish unfit for human consun1p-
ton.
'I have never heard of an instance
where fish were dumped back into the
bayH said George w. Lynch, n COM
mission fish dealer in Fulton Market
and a leading member of the cxccu-
tive committee of the Fulton Market
Fish Mongers' Association. Repre-
sentative Taylor is quoted as saying
that the fishermen throw away parts
of their catches in order that the
nfiaae mn ha a faI 49, -.
ment of this kind is manifest1y un-
founded, for such a practise h un-
heard of in this section.
What we are in reality anxious to
learn Is how to increase rather than
eurtail our supply The fact is that
we cannot satisfy the demand Sup
pose the fishermen could not dispose
of their catches in open market, could
they not sell them privately ashore?
There is no doubt of that, but thus
far the necessity for such action has
not arisen, as there is keen compete
ton among fish dealers In the pur-
chase of catches all along the coast,
and the entire supplies of the fisher
men are disposed of before they reach
the market
Mr. Lynch added that the demand
here was so great that the associa-
ton arranged to bring fish from Flor
IDA In refrigerator cars, and that tbs
prices of fish in many instances have
been reduced so per cent within the
last year or two. He cited Spanish
mackerel and bluefish, for example,
the former costing Is and IS cents a
pound wholesale a year ago, while
the price today is cents In the case
of bluefsh the prices a year ago We're
Is and 16 cents, while today they are
Z and cents.
There Is no combination here which
regulates the prices of salt water
fish," said Mr.. Lynch. "9'he members
of our association compete with each
other keenly, and the charge that good
fish are destroyed so that prices may
be maintained displays ignorance Of
the facts by the persons making the
statement. We are constantly aiming
to increase our supply, and we would
deprecate the wanton destruction Or
| fish in the circumstances as being
harmful not only 70 tile public, put to
| our business as WE'LL
| Similar views were expressed bv
other fish dealers. all asserting that
the market Is frequently handica pptd
| by shortage of supply AS a result,
efforts are now being made to extend
the zone from which the fish supply
is obtained, the Florida refrigerator
car experiment having proved entirely
| successful.