The Hawaiian gazette., 1917-11-06
Commission
WANTS TOKNOWlF
MEAT is TOO HIGH
Present Price of Sixteen Cents
To Producer Yields Good Pro-
fit Says Richard lvers
INFORMATION ABOUT
: RAISES is DEMANDED
Close investigation viii Be Made
Of Sudden Jumps In Price Of
= Steaks and Other Cuts SIC

d
.." .| H~. ----- -gt
There is money in the cattle business
when the wholesaler receives sixteen
cents per pound for beef, stated Rich
ard Ivers at the last meeting of the
food commission, and that price Is be-
ing paid for Hawaiian beef today. The
suspicion that perhaps there is even
more money in il for others than the
cattle raiser, when prices jump every
few weeks, is the cause of the investi.
cation now being conducted by the
commission into the beef situation.
Mr.. .Ivers stated that he knew for a
certainty that there was o large profit
in sixteen-eent beef, as he himself had
an interest in ranehing. There is more
money in the cattle business than there
ever was in the milk business, he said.
Beef Investigation Is quite as neces-
sary as milk Investigation, when the
difference between wholesale and retail
prices is so wide. &.
Pretty Easy .... .&sa
Hawaiian cattle men are receiving
more for their meat delivered in Homo
| lulu than they could possibly get for
meat Of the same grade shipped to San
Francisco. Second quality beef, OF
which large quantity was recently
stipped 70 Honolulu, IS priced at thir-.
| teen cents On account Of the long
! drought much Of the Hawaiian cattle
Is now second grade meat. It sells
Wholesale In Honolulu at sixteen cents.
but IL the growers shipped to San
| Francisco they would have to pay
| transportation and would receive only
thirteen cents. II is possible that the
/ Wholesale price for meat will be low
cred when the commission is in pos
4 session of all the facts.
| Letters were sent out yesterday by
4 the food commission to all retail meat
j dealers of Honolulu and to the Hawa-
Ii Meat Company, requesting data for
4 the investigation Wholesale and retail
prices as at present, and for three and
nine months and q year ago, were ask
i ed for. Reasons for the late raise in
| wholesale prices by the Hawaii Meat
Company, and in retail prices Of some
4 ents iby the metropolitan Meat Market,
are requested from both companies.
the Iron Hand
An intimation that any hesitancy in
furnishing full and correct information
will result in subpoenas being issued
by the commission is made in the let
tiers sent out yesterday. 'Under the
iaw,O the communication states "the
commission has the authority to sub
lpoena witnesses in such cases, but we
believe that you will voluntarily furn-
ish this information to the commits,
sion ~ E33t.
All inquiries are based on prices and
conditions extending back one year. II
1 a gradual and inevitable raise in the
price Of meat during that period ia
shown, the commissions win endeavoy
to find out why OF IL such raise has
been necessary.
Sudden recent jumps in price, IL any
such are discovered, win be the cause
Of close Investigation by the commits
sion as to whether there were any
real reasons for such jumps. If there
is any reason to believe that the war
! situation is being taken advantage Of
, by the butchers TO squeeze the public
on one of the daily necessities of life
drastic action will be taken to make
them see the light.
Licenses At Stake .a
. A. L. Castle stated yesterday that il
it was found that any of the compan-
les were making or were trying tc
= make an undue profit IL was within the
4 power of the federal food administra
h tor for Hawaii TO suspend their licenses
, or refuse to license them at all.
> Importation of beef must cease, II
J. the opinion of the commission, It il
9 directly against all the preeepts and
e requests of Herbert @. Hoover, nation
al food administrator The space TAX
. en- up in steamers by frozen mea
y means Just that much less transporta
q ton space for other necessities Of lif,
> which perhaps are much less easil,
!, produced here. Saving Of transporta
: ton is one of the direct requests o
Z Hoover. '', q
= The use of home products is anothe
/, maxim of the food administration. Tn
= importation of meat TO Hawaii is Ger
Il tainly blow to that maxim. III tn
: cattle raisers received so low pric
Z that they could not make any none,
!, from beef, there might be more caus
q for importation, but il is stated D.
!, man who is himself cattle grove
that there is plenty of money in tn
present price of beef.
Meatless Day
= A meatless day for the Territory may
set by the commission, IL by that mean
u the sending Of meat from the Coast ca
- be stopped, or even reduced. 1t Nigh
"a even come to the point when III
~ markets would be forbidden to Sc
\ any meat whatever on certain da
w weekly, if such action seemed likel
to put an end TO imported meat, =