The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 94

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1967
ian. Unfortunately for him, these gave
credit too freely and were poor col-
lectors. Einarsson himself had the same
weakness. “I have had a great many
opportunities to become rich, but I
have been too conscious of the other
fellow’s difficulties”, he .said. “How-
ever, I have no regrets.”
His turnover was impressive and he
was thought to be wealthy, but such
was far front being the case.
In 1912 Einarsson had a large sup-
ply of fish on hand but the market was
dull. Frozen fish was selling at two
cents a pound by the carload. He then
initiated a way of marketing fish hith-
erto untried in his part of the country,
that of shipping unfrozen fish by ex-
press to New York. Shipping charges
for unfrozen fish were fourteen cents
a pound. At first Einarsson was laugh-
ed at but when the time came that he
was able to outbid his competitors,
Armstrong and others followed suit.
Shortly only unfrozen fish was being
shipped from Western Canada to the
large American markets.
*W»
Another innovation, this time in
material for net-making, was initiated
by Einarsson. With the outbreak of the
First World War hemp came to be in
short supply and available only at a
high price. Einarsson harked back to
his first year of fishing, when lacking
funds he had used No. 10 cotton thread
to make his own. These had stood up
as well as the hemp nets, if not better.
He now decided to try cotton thread
again.
After extensive travel and investiga-
tion, embracing Chicago, Philadelphia,
New York and Toronto, and inter-
views with -many people who had no
faith in cotton nets, he was able to
place orders in Chicago, through the
backing of the firm of Diersen and
Johnson in that city, with whom Ein-
arsson had previously dealt.
On this occasion Einarsson also visit-
ed Cincinnati, Pittsburg, New York
and other places to promote the sale of
fish. He was courteously received and
shown marked hospitality by promin-
ent company officials with whom he
had dealt for many years.
Icelanders engaged in the fishing
industry in Manitoba have been instru-
mental in bringing about changes in
regulations to benefit fishermen. Ein-
arsson brought about several such im-
provements, notably the advancement
of the opening date of the fishing
season from December 15 to November
10. When the delegation which bad
been organized by him had made their
presentation, 'the minister’s private sec-
retary was asked if he knew Einarsson.
He said, yes, he knew him; he bad
-caused him more trouble than any
other man in the whole country.
“When I write this”, said Einarsson
in 1952, “it lacks but a month until I
have been here sixty years. I have
traded here nearly every year and I
have a small store this winter. I make
enough to break even and for food.
After sixty years of trading the out-
come is this: I have loaned on the
average $800 a year which I have -been
unable to collect, and carry on my
books uncollectable debts amounting
to $40,000.
“But I am very well satisfied with
life as it has been. I have, to quote
-the Bible, seen the riches of the world
and their glory. I have known the poor-
est Indians in their log cabins in the