The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1918-03-01
DEMAND FOR PRICE
REVISION ON MEAT
STARTSNEWPROBE
After Nine Months Delay BY Food
Commission and Governor,
Action, Is To Be Taken
BEEF IS ENTIRELY roo
HIGH, ASSERTS LOW
Unless Steps Are Taken To In
crease and Conserve Supply
Danger viii Threaten

70. 80 >. -g.LL--'
With the available supply Of mea
q matter Of conjecture and the terri
torial government at last prodded int
apparent recognition of the urgent nee
essity of action which will permit o
additional facilities for fattening cat
tie and enlarging herds, an insisten
demand has come into the Office Of tn,
local United States food administrato
that meat prices be investigated anC
revived. =
After the facts concerning the mea
situation have been in the hands Of tn,
territorial government nine months, tn,
attention Of the Governor and of tn,
board Of agriculture and forestry har
been called to the report Of a specia
committee Of the food commission will
requests that action be taken.
BisqmetinE revelations that hav'
been made by Eben Low of the Vigil
ance Corps concerning the alleged con
troll Of the cattle and meat bushes!
have. possessed the public with alarm
for. the future.
Report Collects Dust
The question is being pettinently
asked, what was the use of the terri
torial food commission having q com
prehensive investigation made of the
meat situation and recommendation
made by the investigating committee
il the report was mefely to be filed
Away in q pigeonhole to collect dust
II IL known that while DR.. A. l.
Dean was executive officer of the food
commission, Albert Horner, chairman
OF the committee that made the investi
CATION called to see the report and IL
took. Doctor Dean two days to find it.
After j. T. Child succeeded Doctor
Dean, Mr.. Homer called again to OK
anime the report-and it took Mr.
Child q week to find it.
And in the meantime, according to
Eben Low, the meat situation has been
going from bad to worse and prices
have been awaiting steadily, while the
important report of the meat invest.
eating committee has been mildewing
inIthe Office Of the food commission.
ons Step Taken
wv As 4 beginning to campaign against
the high prices of meat the food ad
riinistration took steps yesterday to
hare the prices Of salt and picked fish
for sale in the meat markets be made
by the pound as fresh fish are now be.
ing sold.
In oil Of the stalls of the city market
picked salmon, which is sent here from
California, is on sale by the piece. The
food administration will issue orders
that this be changed to conform to
methods at the fish counters.
= G. a
the purpose Of tabulating figures for
the. food administration, Mr.. Low dis
covered that the sale of meat is not
so subject to trading on the part of
the vendors and is much more uniform
than the fish prices were before the
vision Of the government
Prices Too High
Meat prices, although uniform, Mr..
Low says, appear to be much higher
than Ii justified and not in keeping
with the general scales that have been
fixed elsewhere under the price super.
vinon Of the govrnmnt.
Full statistics as to the number of
cattle slaughtered, prices and commits
sions all through expenses, and above
all the available supply of beef will
be compiled and standard prices ap.
proximated. The investigation will
involve 4 complete probe of the meat
situation throughout the Islands.
Mysterious As Usual
Food Administrator J. =. Child said
yesterday that there have been rev
developments in the meat situation
which cannot at the present time be
made public.
A strenuous effort will be made to
have action taken by the territorial
authorities upon the report of the com.
mittee of the Territorial Food Com
mission which pointed out needed
remedies. Persons who are interested
In the problem said yesterday that in.
efficient methods of cattle raising in
Hawaii, as regards utilization of land
Tor grazing purposes, are sure sooner
or later to place Hawaii in an uncom-
Portable predicament. The question of
breeds Of cattle that will bring proper
food returns is one that still remains
unsolyed, although the matter hav
been much improved.
New Stock Needed
With the exception of the Parker
Ranch on Hawaii, little attention has
In the past been paid to develoDinp
good meat cattle. Part of this sitna.
tion. b due TO the fact that the first
cattle brought in were designed for
both dairy and beef cattle and were
small in stature and frame. On many
ranches where dRirying was conducted
along with the meat business it was
found that the mortality among calves
Offset the revenue that could be OBJ,
tained from the milk of the mother
COWS, and, the result was that the dairy
Feature was dropped.
The importation of new stock that
would bring this dairy stock up to the
requirements of beef herds was prac,
tised very sparingly so that the average
cow that is slaughtered for beef in
Honolulu today has inferior meat quail,
ities. II 10 said
This contributes somewhat to the
pfice Of meat here, but Mr.. Low be,
lievep that the margins of profit are
out Of all proportion to the cost Of put
ting meat on the market and to war
time regulations. Many of these small