Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-06-07
q ANCLESEA


Protective Association of Five Mile
Beach, on the 9th ult., a resolution
was passed, declaring II to be the sense
of hat body, that the time was ripe
for action In protesting vigorously
against methods now in vogue by the
commission merchants In Philadelphia
and New York, resulting IN the waste
of fish food and In discrimination
against the rights and interests Of the
Five Mile Beach fishermen. The pub
lie may not know how completely the
humble fishermen are at the mercy of
the commission men. II a commits
sion man chooses TO be q crook or a
shark, he can make the poor, patient,
plodding fishermen suffer accordingly.
The Five Mile Beach fishermen have
not been receiving the proper returns
due them for a long time; and now
they are up in arms. Their acting see
rotary, p. L. Peterson, was instructed
at the meeting on May 9th, to draft a
letter setting forth all grievances and
lay this before Herbert g. Hoover,
u. 8. Food Administrator. Washing
ton, DC. MI. Peterson did so prompt
ly, and a response ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ted. The most fragrant complaint is
against the practice of the commission
houses in dumping or discarding bar
rels upon barrels of fish food. This is
done when the market is over supplied.
Rather than sell the fish at a low price
to consumers, the commission men,
many times throw the fish away and
then report to our fishermen that they
could not sell the fish. 1t is a scheme
of the commission jobbers to hold up
the price and squeeze both the consum-
ers and the fishermen. Instances are
on record where fishermen shipped
barrels Of fish to Philadelphia, and not
only received no returnsrbut were
asked to pay money out of their pock-
cts to cover freight and carriage. When
Mr.. Hoover learns about such a thing,
he surely will get after the commission
men. 1t is little short of a crime to
waste fish in these perilous times and
we trust the government will put an
end to the c~onscienceless practice and
proceed at once to take charge of the
fish industries and regulate the price
and the distribution of fish food. With
fish selling in the retail markets at
from Is cents to 25 cents per pound,
does 1t not seem like brazen effrontery
for commission men to give the fisher
men but 8 cents a pound? That is
about what has been handed them for
a long time. Five cents q pound is the
lowest average the fishermen can take
and live decently. A barrel of fish
weighs 200 pounds. At 5 cents per
pound, the gross receipts would be $40
per barrel. From this must &c aedue-
ted the following charges: Commits
sion, 10 per cent. or 81 for the service;
freight, rs cents; platform charges at
point of shipment, including the bar
rel and icing and packing, $I.O5; gaso-
line cost so cents for each barrel of fish
caught. After deducting all these costs
from $40, there remains $3.50. Now,
one-fifth of this net amount is exacted
by the owner of the boat. 20 per cent.
of $6.70 is $1.34. S%ubtracting 81. "a
from Sc. 70 and we have So. SO, repre-
senting the net proceeds per barrel to
the fishermen. Imagine now what he
has left when the commission dealers
grant him only 8 cents a pound or $6
a barrel! 1t is but justice to our fisher
men TO remind Mr.. Hoover and the
public that fishing is an industry that
does not last all the year round at any
one point. 1t is an occupation full of
hazafd and chance and really the men
should receive even some better than
an average of 8 cents per pound. An
drew Hanson (Long Andrew is presi-
dent of the + We Mile Beach Fisher
mems Protective Association, and Julius
Widestrom is secretary. In asking for
ameliorstion of their wrongs, we must
not neglect to speak of the unnecessary
restrictions and regulations with which
the State Of New Jersey has attempted
at various times to embarrass the fish
ermen. We refer to the law passed in
1912 or 1913, prohibiting fishing in Del
aware bay with nets. State game war
deus pounced upon ONE fishermen
who did not know the law had been
passed, arrested them and fined them
$500 each. This practically broke these
men up for that year and spoiled all
their business for the time being. The
next year, a law was passed, permit
ting fishing in the Delaware bay with
nets, provided that same did not ex-
coed so fathoms in length 600 feet.
1t is said this law was passed to ap-
pease an indignant public; but it was