The Hawaiian gazette., 1917-08-28
FISH IS TOO HIGH,
COMMITTED Of THE
!, FOOD BOARD SAYS
viii Recommend That II Be Sold
Hereafter On Poundage
@> Basis
EXPENSES SHOULD BE -. - #.
CUT, CHILD THINKS
Regulation Can Be Made Simple
and Equitable So That Com
munity viii Benefit

II no legal difficulty intcrvenes, the
fish committee will recommend to tho
Territorial Food Commission that here.
after fish shnll be sold on n poundage
basis from fisherman to consumer. This
would do away with the basket auction
system now in force at the fish market.
and would be a more equitable and
economical! method of disposing of the
fish, in the opinion of the committee.
This decision was reached at a meet.
ing Of. the fish committee in the Office
of the chairman, C. G. Bockus, yester.
day afternoon. Those present were +.
Z. Blake, A. w. Nicely and J. +. Child.
The California system of apportioning
he consumer 3 dollar, paid for fish, ac-
cording to set percentage for fisher
man, wholesaler and retailer, was also
commended by the committee.
Six hundred thousand dollars worth
Of fish is sold here yearly at wholesale,
II figures submitted to the committee
are correct. The regulation of an in
dustry of that magnitude is a large UNI
dertaking and one to be approached
with care.
The publishing of the wholesale prices
of fish daily would be decided help
in keeping down the price Of fish, in tina
opinion of several members of the com
mittee. 1t was suggested that the
newspapers publish the figures daily, aud
that they be chalked up on black.
board and prominently displayed in the
fish market. 5aE"ay
When sand dabs, one of the most
delicious varieties of California fish,
are sold there at three pounds for a
| quarter, and hardly any variety of Ha-
waiian fshrcan be purchased in Homo
lulu for less than twenty cents pound,
even outsiders can I help thinking
something is wrong @, g. Bockus stat.
| cd. The Legislature made an examina-
tion into the fish situation during the
last session. They found nothing
wrong, according to their report, but
4 recommended that free market be es.
tablished, which would seem to indi-
cate that in their opinion the high cost
of fish arose in some manner from tho
method Of marketing it. "'l~ p
4 J, T. Child said that the only way
TO prevent the cost of marketing being
excessive was to employ the poundage
system and the plan Of allowing so
much. to the fisherman, so much to the
wholesaler, and so much to the retailer
put of every dollar paid by customers.
4 Publicity, he said, would aid greatly in
this. -. -.s.s 49,. s.s-
! Expenses could also be cut, said
Child, and suggested that instead of
two auetioneers paid 5000 year each,
and a sanitary Inspector at 5000, one
man should be employed, who. would be
both inspector and auctioneer.
1 Retail prices could not be dictated
to the sellers, said Bockus, but re9ula,
ton could be made simple and equit'
able so that none would suffer but all
be benefited thereby. IT,. ~
The question of bait came up and
was discussed at some length without
any conclusion being reached. The
bait in question is the nehupehu, which
is the only bait which will attract aku
Walter Macfarlane, whe has started
small fish eannery, is said to have
bought extensive hshing rights as q
means Of controlling the bait supply
for aku, the variety used in canning
+. Il. Blake will take the chairman
ship Of the fish committee during the
absence Of G. @. Bockus, who will leave
Tuesday for a short trip TO the main
land. -.a- - ,-..aa..1. ,..-