The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1918-01-29
PRICE OF FISH IS
TO Be REDUCED
Fish Dealers and Companies
Come TO Agreement With Food
Administration Representative

II D.. . . . al. H .
| 81 Fish dealers and companies have
made an agrtement with the food ad-
! ministration fixing ma&imums for the
price to be charged the consumer for
fish in Honolulu. IA Il IA y
| According TO a statement iss7red yes
terday, IT is agreed that fish in Homo.
luln shall not retail for more than
twenty-five cents per pound, and aku
shah not be sold At higher rate than
fifteen cents per pound. x. III l..
This agreement was reached after a
conference yesterday with k. Hama.
mura, who Is . special representative
Of the food administration. The max.
imum Of twenty-five cents is ~ reduc-
iitioD of twenty-five percent In the
prices that have been charged in the
stalls for certain kinds Of fish, and rep.
resents a distinct concession on the
part Of the fish men which Is a result
of pressure that has been brought TO
bear upon them by Mayor Fern and
members Of the city administration.
The new schedule of prices, while not
making q marked reduction, IL under
stood to be victory for the consumer
in that it forbids the charging of ex-
orbitant prices for fish at the stalls Of
the market. Under this agreement any
purchaser Is justified In insisting on a
maximum price Of twenty-five cents
for fish offered for sale.s .'...s
Only q Beginning E
Mayor Fern SAID last night that the
agreement is still farNfrom satisfactory
in several important respects, and can
be regarded only as beginning in the
regulation of fish prices. srs
''If stall men are going to be per-
mitted to sell aku for fifteen cspts per
+, pound with the backing Of the com.
papies, then the concessions granted in
the terms win be more than offset,
said Mayor Fern last night. 1.-THE
maximum of twenty-five, cents as ap-
piled to mullet is something gained to
the publN, but Tam still convinced
that the price for this fish should be a.
low as twenty-five cents, Aku has been
! selling, even at these times Of high
| prices, as low as eight cents per pound
aud it should not be sold for more than
that" TO- mp - - -..".
Mayor Fern said that no agreement
satisfactory to the city authorities will
| have been reached until some sort Of
ARA ngement has been made for limit
ling the middleman's profit to one more
in accord with his just share. He says
/ that the fish companies still remain
la combination that retains full power
| over both the fisherman and the ulti'
mate purchaser, and that he will con
tinue to fight until this feature of
the high fish pries is eradicated,
Pin Are Scarce ms a,.f - -.
The parties to pthe agreement con,
tend that there is scarcity of fish
in the local market and that the ready
sale for them runs the bidding to high
figures among the stall men who com
pete at the auctions. They say that
after March the situation will be re-
lieved and there will be q greater sup
ply, when prices will fall automatical
ly. 80.
of the United States Food Administra
ton, who effected the agreement with
he fish dealers, said last night he had
advised the. retailers to be chary in
their bidding and not to run the prices
UP NJ auctlon, as otneTWlSe tney $1,000
10 lose money. "'
: 2 The statemept issued by the fish rep
tresentatiye of the, food administration
is as follows: -
! Editor Advertiser-With regard tC
the fish situation now prevailing and
discussed among the people of Homo
lulu, took this matter up as part
of my authorized duty and held a con
ference yesterday with the fishing cor
pOratiOns and retailers, the outcome OF
which was as follows:
Aku or Bonito-to be sold at not over
fifteen cents per pound to. the con
sumner. All other fishes to be sold al
not over twenty five cents to cOnsum
ers. Respectfully,
X. HAMAMURA,
Special Representative United