Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-10-05
THE HIGH PRICE OF FISH.

E-ullCE f1OnOlL.u star bulIt w.
Sir: On behalf ut III" lovers
Of fish OF Honolulu. especially the
poor Hawaiians. Who arc the greatest
consumers thereof, hope you will pub
lish this protest against the barefaced
robbery of the poor workers by the
!igh dealers. am much addicted 10
Ia use Of fish myself. and almost
G:fly go 10 the market 10 purchase
some for my sell and family. but OffCn
80 home without il, buEing something
else, which don't care half as much
for, owing to the outrageous prices
charged-25 or SO cents a pound. and
% cents for iced fish. more or less
stale, with the quintessencC OF nOur'
iShment eyapOrated from il.
A good healthy hard-working labor
ing man will readily eat a pound OF
fish at a meal, and when you consider
that very many of the poor men have
large families, YOU Will see how great
is the priyation forced upon them by
such prices; and With the HaWaiianS
fish is an absolute necessity in their
diet so that the self denial. the poor
creatures must perfOrCe practise is
readily seen. You have but to visit
the fish market Of an evening to see
how sad the people look about buying
a bit of fish for their dinner many
of the poor laborers, dirty with toll,
going from stall to stall trying to set
piece of fish TO match the sEmness
of their pockets.
| have talked to dozens Of them,
men with large families among them
and only receiving two dollars day
the highest being about three. and one
of them, a Hawaiian, receiving even
this big salary for common labor. had
ten children and a wife: | would ask
them why the HaWaiians did not get
together and do something practical
about getting cheaper fish, but the
poor men generally are like children
in that respect, and just say, whats
the use: we no can do nothing, and
nobody help Us"
One young fellow, half white, pro-
tested loudly against the lmpo: --lon'
pulling out a 25-cert piece from his
pocket, saying: This is all the money
I've got, and a wife and five children.
Suppose | buy a pound Of fish with
this | can eat it all myself, and what
will my wife and my babies have to
eato" And he was getting the mag
nficent salary Of three dollars a. day
to keep big family.
You haoles getting even four or
five dollars a day can imagine what
Injuries they are having in that house
hold in these days Of wholesale rob-
berry. | too have a family of five to
support, and am very conscious of it.;
but the people with the big salaries
and the rich people with few excep-
lions are not conscious Of it, nor DO
they wish to be reminded of it, either,
from the way in which they sidestep
when the fact is preached. | have
asked many of the fish sellers what
is the matter with them that they are
charging poor people such prices, but
they just shift the blame onto the peo-
pie who sell to them. Though the
Advertiser the other day stated that
perhaps the people who buy are res
ponsible for the high cost of fish,
paying so much for it. | think that,
however, is a very good suggestion.
Let the people combine, as the women
did in Chicago and New York some
time ago about reducing the price OF
eggs, and see if it will not induce
these insolent eXploiters to sell their
goods to the people at a fair profit.
One of the sellers recently said to
me, Suppose people no like pay the
price, all right; they go hungry"
told him if he kept on like that bye
and bye the government would bun
die him out of that and sell the fish
for him. | was glad ! told him that
so forcibly, for he actually gave me
two pounds of mahimahi TO- quar-
ter, when he wanted twenty cents a
pound a few minutes before.
Scarcity of fish usually puts up the
price, but in the evenings | have often
seen many of the stalls loaded with
fish, at prices from 20 to. 80 cents a
pound, and they would not sell them
bit cheaper, though many of them
would be spoiled by the next day, as
the eyes and the gills we're very dull
in color; just letting it rot rather than
give the hungry-eyed crowd any re-
QuCllOu III price, tuOuSu III JuoIICC L
must say ! have known instances
where it has been reduced consider
ably. 1t makes ones blood boil with
Indignation to look upon such cold
blooded tactics as that to keep up
prices! But the highest pinnacle-for
the present-was reached last even
ing when | was asked sixty cents for
very small aku, the commonest and
cheapest of fish, which you could buy
week ago for 20 or Is cents. l asked
the Chinaman if he was crazy or did
he think | was to pay such price,
that I would buy beef instead and that
others should do the same. He just
grinned and looked as Indifferent as
only a Chinaman can look when he
desires.
We have a food commission, Of
course; but what is the good of it if
it doesn't take action in reducing
prices of this commodity as we'll as