The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1914-02-17
MOVEsTARTED
To- BUY ON
COAST
Pearl Harbor Employees on Gov
eminent Work Would Follow
Admiral .Moore's Suggestions
Merchants Show Where They
Are Fairly Meeting Mainland
Prices Here in Honolulu.

Employees on the government work
at Pearl Harbor, practically to a man
endorse the statement made at the Ad
Club luncheon last week by Admiral
Moore, according to William II. Dom
nelly, foreman who has been. em-
ployed on the concrete masonry work
at Pearl Harbor for the past two years
or more. According TO Donnelly steps
already are being taken among the
five or six hundred men now employed
at Pearl HafDor toward organizing
with view to making their purchases
in bulk on the Pacific Coast and have
them shipped TO Honolulu.
Donnelly Expresses Views.
''The men feel that the only way
this home buying campaign can be
made successful said Donnelly yes
terday, sis for the Honolulu merchants
to bring their prices within range Of
the men who pay cash for their pur-
ehases. The complaint is that in near
ly every instance prices on all articles
are higher than ON the Coast, even
after the cost of TRANSPORTATION is
paid. i am not man Of expensive
habits, have no hobbies that require a
large amount of money to support and
live very conservatively. l receive
good running wages, yet after being
here more than two years / find my
self with no more money than when /
came. All my earnings have gone in
one way, or another to the merchants
Of Honolulu.
Here are some instances: A few
days ago / had my watch repaired;
broken handspring and some other
fracture. When / paid the bill the
charge was $3.50. / had the same
watch fxed in the same way in San
Francisco few years previously and
the cost was less than half that.
Again, !. recently patroniztd q local
white tailor and paid him forty dol
lars cash for suit of clothes wore
il out Of the store and had proceeded
only a short distance whenJI looked
into, another tailor 5 window and saw
piece Of the same kind of cloth as
the suit I was wearing. Curiosity
cnused me 10 20 into the store, com
pare the goods and ask the Chinese
tailor how much he asked for the suit.
Twenty-Five dollars made in any style
yoh select, replied the merchant Do
you wonder we complaint / want TO
spend my money here, but l would
like it better il / could do so and sue
eeed in saving at least a small portion
of my earnings'' @
Denied by Merchants.
There has been general denial by
Honolulu merchants of the charges
made by Admiral O. d. 4. Moore at
the last AID Club luncheon. that mer-
chandise prices and profits are unrea-
sonably high. The merchants agree
with him in this regard, however, that
few local bidders can,'meet mainland
prices on government supplies SO that
the larger contract items will undoubt-
eddy be lost to them. The government
they all say, can purchase supplies at
lower prices than local merchants can
buy. The government pays no rent,
insurance, interest on capital employed,
taxeg or license fees. It does not ad,
vertise, grants no credit, and is not
engaged in general merchandising for
profit. For these reasons COMPARE
son Of local store prices with commits.
sary prices is unfair, in retail, jobbing
or wholesale lines.
The Advertiser yesterday interview
ed merchants engaged in the drygoods,
drug, boot and shoe, millinery, liquor,
grocery, printing, clothing, cnrio and
hardware. trades, and has, in some in
stances made comparisons between
Honolulu and San Francisco, Chicago
and New York prices for merchandise
of even grade and quality. In many
standard grades of goods Honolulu re-
tail prices are lower than in San Fran
cisco, but local prices on standard
goods average higher than in Chicago
and other Eastern centers,
Differs Prom Mainland Trade.
The Hawaiian trade differs from the
mainland mercantile business funda-
mentally. The local markets are re!
stricted to a, possible total Of not to
exceed 225,000 consumers, whereas the
percentage Of credits TO consumers in
some trades amounts to fifty per cent,
the merchants cannot themselves OBJ.
tain credit from mainland wholesalers !
The universal custom of extended cred.
its to customers and the inability OF |
the merchant to buy on equally long
credits eompels the employment Of
from two TO four times larger capital
than would be nceessary to transact an
equal volume Of business in any
mainland city. Also because Of the
large number Of charge accounts losses |
are higher than in mainland STOKES.
These losses from bad accounts are es
timated by various local merchants as
from one to four per cent. In other
words It is necessary for merchant
who expects to earn eight per cent
net, to charge prices that would yield
him from nine to twelve per cent net
il there were no probability Of one to
four per cent loss from bad debts. If
a merchants credit business is such
that he has TO have 100000 capital TO
transact the same volume of business
that could be carried on cash basis
for $4,000, he must charge prices that
win net him eight per cent ON the