The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-05-10
N CANDlEsS.
FOOD
Commission
Sells Rice At Two Dollars a ,Bap
Over Price Set BY Body and
. Says lie Has a Right TO DO
CRiMfNAL ACTION IS ..f;l
Ir~t THREATENED BY DOLE
Offender Given Until Tomorrow
TO Refund - Il He Doesn't,
. Court Proceedings WRl Re-

suit +
In direct defiance to the laws
Of the territorial food cominis-
sion, L. l.. McCandless, million
aire Landowner and rice planter
OF Hwaii, raised the price of
rice two dollars a bag here yes
terday, when he sold twenty bags
of rice at ten dollars a bag
to Libby, Mcneil and Libby. In
setting at defiance the laws OF THE
Territory, the legality of the act
under which tie food commission
derives it's powers will be tested
in the. event that Mr.. McCandless
is prosecuted by the attorney gen
erals department for this and 9TH
er violations of a like nature that
he may continue in. This will settle
for all time the powers that the
food commission have in regulating
prices in this Territory.
GIVEN CHANCE Il
James ID. Dole, chairman of the
territorial food commission, is cog
INFANT Of the facts in the case and
has given McCandiess until Satur.
day morning 10 prepare any de,
Tense he may have to offer and il
the event that ,McCandless admit.
his wrongdoing and refunds thu
amount in excess of eight dollars
a bag which he charged for thu
rice, and agrees to conform to the
regulations of the food commits
sion in the future, no further &C
ton will be taken. In the even
that McCandless persists in defy.
ing the rulings Of the, food com
mission the facts will be laid be.
fore Attorney General Arthur C
Smith and criminal proceeding.
will be instituted Immediately.
"The current question OF the price
of Hawaiian rice divides itself into tive
parts" said Chairman James b. Dole
Of the Hawaiian Food commission las
night. .s@@
1.-The first is, what fixed price, i.
any, should be made BY the suthori
tics on the Hawaiian. rice crop which
win soon be harvested. III b price II
made, it clearly must be high enough
to encourage the growers to eontinul
in business, but there are many factor
to be considered on which the fooG
commission would like suggestions.
Questions Raised
"Should the Hawaiian rice be fixet
on basis of cost plus a Reasonable
profit or by the lowest cost Of Japanes;
rice landed here or the highest landed
| COST
"If some ptffteSring shipownert
exact sixty dollars Q ton freight from
Japan, should the resulting .eSorbitan'
price of Imported rice be used to tn,
Full extent to bleed the pockets of GU
consumers Of Hawaiian ricef
"Should the local producer be fore
ed TO sell his rice cheaper than Ca1ifor
mia or Japanese rice can be laid dow
hereH
"The above matters are capable O.
much argument and study.
"The second part relates to the pric,
1 on the few thousand bags Of unsolc
Hawaiian rice remaining from the las
crop, most of which is the property o
| two men-oue of whom is L. l.. Nc
Candless. Until within couple o
| weeks, the rice price was fairly wei
| In hand with prices ranging In tn,
most part around seven dollars ant
I Fifty cents.
Action Taken
HFo0d Administrator Child, antici
pating the present acute stringency
which IL not regulated, would doubles
have sent the price of Hawaiian ric,
to fifteen cents OF more per pound, en-
deavored to arrange a voluntary agree
ment among the rice millefs and own
ers Emitting the price. EkatT'
The fl ureshe decided on, eight cent
was approximately the current COS
W Japanese rice laid do~n in Homo
lulr, when correctly SnfShased anc
! shipped by the subsidiZed steamers I
has been complained of as a high price
but no one has yet claimed that it doe
not Weld good profit to2the grower
1.-THE rice people seem satified wit
the exception Of L. l.. Meoandlsss, an
| to hasten matters, the federai food ad
miuistration, not having power TO a
| prices, though with fun power to regt
late the profits of mitfers aud dealer,
requested the territorial food comm,