﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  INDUSTRY 
  OP 
  THE 
  PASSAMAQUODDY 
  REGION. 
  467 
  

  

  measure 
  by 
  increasiug 
  the 
  capacity 
  of 
  the 
  canneries. 
  In 
  these 
  and 
  

   various 
  other 
  ways 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  preparation 
  has 
  been 
  kept 
  below 
  the 
  

   receipts 
  of 
  sales. 
  It 
  is 
  obvious, 
  however, 
  that'the 
  time 
  must 
  come, 
  

   sooner 
  or 
  later, 
  when 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  useless 
  to 
  hope 
  for 
  profits 
  from 
  the 
  

   further 
  cheapening 
  of 
  material 
  and 
  labor, 
  and 
  the 
  only 
  relief 
  possible 
  

   must 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  market. 
  This 
  point 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  reached 
  in 
  1895, 
  when 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  product 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  

   aggregate 
  only 
  a 
  little 
  above 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  production, 
  and 
  both 
  the 
  cost 
  

   and 
  value 
  were 
  lower 
  than 
  ever 
  before 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  industry. 
  

   Some 
  firms 
  derived 
  a 
  small 
  margin 
  of 
  profit 
  on 
  the 
  year's 
  business, 
  

   others 
  came 
  out 
  practically 
  even, 
  while 
  others 
  met 
  with 
  a 
  loss. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  statement 
  was 
  furnished 
  by 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  manufacturers, 
  

   and 
  exhibits 
  in 
  detail 
  the 
  cost 
  per 
  case 
  of 
  manufacturing, 
  shipping, 
  and 
  

   selling 
  quarter-oil 
  sardines 
  in 
  1895. 
  It 
  is 
  presented 
  in 
  substantially 
  the 
  

   form 
  in 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  received, 
  the 
  principal 
  change 
  being 
  that 
  the 
  cost 
  

   of 
  the 
  fish 
  has 
  been 
  placed 
  at 
  $3.14 
  i)er 
  hogshead, 
  which 
  was 
  the 
  aver- 
  

   age 
  for 
  that 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  commission 
  and 
  discount 
  have 
  been 
  com- 
  

   puted 
  on 
  a 
  value 
  of 
  $2.48 
  per 
  case, 
  the 
  average 
  price 
  received 
  for 
  this 
  

   variety 
  of 
  sardines. 
  No 
  allowance 
  lias 
  been 
  made 
  for 
  taxes 
  on 
  property 
  

   or 
  interest 
  on 
  capital, 
  but 
  all 
  other 
  expenses 
  are 
  included. 
  For 
  con- 
  

   venience 
  in 
  manipulating 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  items, 
  the 
  statement 
  is 
  prepared 
  

   on 
  a 
  basis 
  of 
  seven 
  cases. 
  

  

  statement 
  of 
  the 
  cost 
  per 
  case 
  of 
  quarter-oil 
  sardines 
  in 
  1895. 
  

  

  Material: 
  

  

  Tin 
  plate 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  $3.40 
  per 
  box 
  $3. 
  43 
  

  

  Decorating 
  35 
  sheets 
  of 
  tin 
  plate 
  58 
  

  

  Oil 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  30 
  cents 
  per 
  gallon 
  2. 
  10 
  

  

  Solder 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  25 
  cents 
  per 
  case 
  1. 
  75 
  

  

  Fuel 
  for 
  soldering, 
  soldering 
  coppers, 
  and 
  

  

  acid 
  21 
  

  

  Shooks 
  and 
  nails 
  for 
  7 
  cases 
  53 
  

  

  Fish, 
  at 
  $3.14 
  per 
  hogshead 
  1.10 
  

  

  Coal, 
  wood, 
  sawdust, 
  and 
  salt 
  12 
  

  

  Waste 
  of 
  material, 
  1 
  per 
  cent 
  10 
  

  

  Material 
  for 
  7 
  cases 
  9. 
  92 
  

  

  Material 
  for 
  1 
  case 
  1. 
  42 
  

  

  Labor: 
  

  

  Cutting, 
  rimming, 
  and 
  bending 
  tin 
  20 
  

  

  Cutting 
  two-thirds 
  of 
  1 
  box 
  of 
  tin 
  on 
  dies. 
  .14 
  

   Seaming 
  cans 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  5 
  cents 
  per 
  

  

  case 
  35 
  

  

  Making 
  cans 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  12 
  cents 
  per 
  

  

  ca.se 
  84 
  

  

  Sealing 
  cans 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  30 
  cents 
  per 
  

  

  case 
  2.10 
  

  

  Cutting 
  and 
  flaking 
  fish 
  for 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  10 
  

  

  cents 
  per 
  case 
  70 
  

  

  Packing 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  10 
  cents 
  per 
  case 
  70 
  

  

  Making 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  1 
  cent 
  per 
  case 
  07 
  

  

  Labor 
  — 
  Continued. 
  

   General 
  labor 
  on 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  18 
  cents 
  per 
  

  

  case 
  $1.26 
  

  

  Trucking 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  1 
  cent 
  per 
  case 
  07 
  

  

  Labor 
  for 
  7 
  cases 
  6.43 
  

  

  Labor 
  for 
  1 
  case 
  92 
  

  

  Expenses 
  of 
  shipping 
  and 
  telling: 
  

   Freight 
  on 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  10 
  cents 
  per 
  case. 
  . 
  . 
  .70 
  

  

  Commission 
  on 
  7 
  cases, 
  at 
  5 
  per 
  cent 
  87 
  

  

  Discount 
  of 
  1 
  per 
  cent 
  for 
  cash 
  pajment.. 
  .17 
  

   Fire 
  and 
  marine 
  insurance 
  06 
  

  

  Expenses 
  on 
  7 
  cases 
  1.80 
  

  

  Expenses 
  on 
  I 
  case 
  25 
  

  

  Total 
  cost 
  of 
  7 
  cases 
  18.15 
  

  

  Totalcost 
  of 
  1 
  case 
  2.59 
  

  

  Summary 
  of 
  the 
  cost 
  per 
  case: 
  

  

  Material 
  1.42 
  

  

  Labor 
  92 
  

  

  Cost 
  at 
  cannery 
  2. 
  34 
  

  

  Expenses 
  of 
  shipping 
  and 
  selling 
  25 
  

  

  Total 
  cost 
  per 
  case 
  2. 
  59 
  

  

  An 
  estimate 
  similar 
  to 
  the 
  above, 
  made 
  in 
  1886, 
  showed 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  

   quarter-oils 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  to 
  be 
  $4 
  per 
  case 
  at 
  the 
  factory. 
  The 
  material 
  

   tben 
  cost 
  $2.83 
  and 
  the 
  labor 
  $1.17, 
  whereas 
  the 
  material 
  now 
  costs 
  

   $1.42 
  and 
  the 
  labor 
  92 
  cents, 
  a 
  total 
  of 
  $2.34 
  per 
  case. 
  The 
  cost 
  per 
  

   case 
  was 
  therefore 
  $1.66, 
  or 
  41 
  J 
  per 
  cent 
  less 
  in 
  1895 
  than 
  in 
  1886. 
  In 
  

   the 
  estimate 
  for 
  1886 
  the 
  fish 
  were 
  reckoned 
  at 
  $6 
  per 
  hogshead, 
  but 
  

   the 
  average 
  for 
  that 
  year 
  was 
  about 
  $9; 
  hence 
  it 
  is 
  i)robable 
  that 
  the 
  

   actual 
  difference 
  in 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  production 
  was 
  even 
  greater 
  than 
  these 
  

   figures 
  show. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  noticed 
  that 
  the 
  reduction 
  in 
  cost 
  since 
  1886 
  

  

  