^Salmon brokers and Packers
Adopt Stabilization Program
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For the first time in many
years the various elements mak
ing up the great canned salmon
industry are closely knit into a
fabric of stabilization. All the
canners of fruit and vegetables
in the United States have their
eyes focused on Seattle, the
headquarters of the new deal in
canned salmon distribution. It
is common knowledge that
chaos has prevailed in the salm
on trade for several years. Pro
ducers have united in the past
only to fly apart under pressure
of sales necessities. This time,
however, there is hope among
the many units of this great
Northwest industry that a code
of ethics recently adopted will
restore orderly marketing and
abolish many of the abuses
heretofore prevailing. The Pa
cific Salmon Sales Corporation,
embracing nearly all of the
packers, has joined with the
Pacific Canned Salmon Brokers
Association in an agreement to
observe the code of ethics that
is designed to eliminate secret
rebates, commission splitting,
indiscriminate consignment ship
ments and the payment of per
centages to persons and organ
izations that are alleged not en
titled to any kind of brokerage
from this trade.
And, believe it or not, Jack
Salmon is president of the Paci
fic Canned Salmon Brokers As
sociation. H. H. Mamlin is vice
president; George C. Teal is
secretary, and E. B. McGovern
is chairman of the executive
committee. Prior to the promul
gation of the pew rules of con
duct, said rules were submitted
to executives of the National
Food Brokers Association, who
recently came to Seattle for the
purpose of inquiring into the
abuses that formerly disrupted
the canned salmon trade and to
pass upon the means by which
order was sought to be restored.
The National Food Brokers As
sociation will assist in settling
disputes as to whether certain
individuals or organizations are
entitled to claim brokerage.
So long as the packers and
brokers were not tightly bound
tc observe rules of conduct de
signed to stabilize the trade,
buyers played one against an
other, sometimes exacting fees
that were used merely to cheap
en the product to certain retail
ers, and this to the disadvant
age of dealers who did not re
sort to such tactics, McGovern
said.
A regular schedule of broker
age has been agreed on, with
provisions for splitting such
commissions with Eastern afhli
ates recognized as devoting
themselves to the trade and ac
tually assisting in distribution.
In this respect, the brokers in
salmon attempt to do what the
New York Stock Exchange has
long done in curing the abuses
of commission cutting. It is hop
ed to check, McGovern said, the
advantages obtained by groups
of distributors who maintain a
buying organization that claim
ed brokerage, but rebated to the
members who thereby obtained
a price advantage over mer
chants not in the particular
group.
Canners of fruit and vege
tables all over the country are
watching the new effort of
salmon brokers and packers be
cause those trades also have
been subject to similar practices.
Libby, McNeil and Libby's
physical volume of trade was
well maintained in 1931, and
the company ended the fiscal
year in strong financial position,
according to the annual report
made public recently by E. G.
McDougall, president. The re
port covers the fiscal year ended
February 27, 1932. The world
wide depression that marked
1930 continued through the 1931
fiscal year and price declines
brought unavoidable inventory
losses, McDougall told stock
holders. Net loss, after depre
ciation, taxes, interest and
foreign exchange losses, and
after taking credit for $1,200,000
inventory reserve carried over
from the previous year, amount
ed to $2,130,357. Dividends total
ing $703,400 were paid in the
first half of the year on first
and second preferred stock
issues.
All plants were well main
tained during the year, and
Libby’s financial statement
shows current assets of $34,736,
307 against current liabilities of
$14,699,442, indicating net work
ing capital of $20,036,864 and an
asset ratio of $2.36 to $1. The
balance sheet shows resources
of $56,956,213. Inventories at
cost or market amounted to
$24,119,131.—Seattle P-I.
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FISH ‘ELEVATOR’
IS UNSUCCESSFUL
O’MALLEY STATES
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Henry O’Malley, commission
er of fisheries, in a statement
takes sharp issue with the In
terior Department, which re
cently claimed that the fishway
problem for high dams has been
solved by a combination ladder
and “elevator” at Baker River
dam in Washington.
Without mentioning the In
terior Department by name, O’
Malley says:
“It is hoped that the optim
istic tone of some comments on
the subject will not bring about
cessation of further investiga
tion into the problem of devel