The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-15
THE STAFF LIFE KEEPSUP
The Low Price Of Flour Does Not
Make Bread Any Cheaper.

The People Pay the Same for Their
Loaves With Flour 80 or More
Cheaper Than it Was a Year Ago.
The Bakers Say. They do Not Make
Any More Money ThouRh-Home-
made Bread the Popular Thing.
Flour jumped 35 cents barrel last
week, and there is prospect that it will
go still higher.
The increase in price calls attention to
the fact that -four has been cheaper for
the last several months than has ever
been known before in the history of the
trade. 1t has sold all the way from 81 IS
to 81 barrel for the cheaper grades,
81 80 to $3.50 for better grades, and the
very best -four could be bought at $3.50 a
barrel, which is about $3.50 a barrel less
than it sold at year ago. On an average
-four has sold from Sl.50 to 81 a barrel
cheaper than it did at this time last year.
AN INCENTIVE TO HOME BAKING.
The consequence is that people who do
their own baking have enjoyed cheap
bread for some time. The people who
buy their bread from the baker, however,
have paid the same price for it as they
did when -four was higher. Consumers
of bread are beginning to inquire why it
is that with -four so much cheaper the
bakers have not either made their lOaves
larger or sold them cheaper. The price
of bread is exactly the same as it was
wear ago, cents a single loaf, twenty
eight loaves for a dollar, and the loaves
are about the same weight, averaging
fourteen ounces each.
A MORNING News reporter started out
to inquire into this matter yesterday.
Mai John Schwarz, manager of the Sa-
vauuah Steam Bakery, is an authority
upon such matters, having been in the
baking business all his life.
THE MOST LoAvEs FOR DOLLAR.
1T is true that -four has been very
cheap" said Maj. Schwarz. Il do not
think the bakers are making much
money, however. Business has been very
poor with them of late Perhaps the
cheap -four has induced more people to
bake their bread at home. The bakers
do not use the cheaper grades of -four as
d rule To make good white bread they
have to use the finer grades, made from
the inner part of the winter wheat, with
all the shell taken off. This is not the
most nutritious -four, but it makes the
whitest bread, which is what the trade
demands.
at is true" said Mai. Schwarz, "the
price of loaf bread has remained the same
but the trouble is not with the bakers
1t is with their patrons The people will
insist upon buying their bread by the
loaf instead of by the pound. The conse-
quence is, the baker who will give the
most lOaves for dollar gets the trade
without regard to the size of the loaves
The leading bakers have tried for years
to educate the people to the idea of buy
ing by the pound instead of by the loaf
A loaf of bread now sells for cents, but
Is bread tickets can be bought for 81,
which is 80 cents loaf You see the
difference it makes to the poor man who
is only able to buy loaf or two at a
time. The loaves are now made to weigh
IA ounces or less. If baker wants to
sell more than p loaves for 81, he makes
his loaves lighter or uses poorer -four.
OUGHT TO BUY BY THE POUND.
eff, " ADDED Mai. Schwarz, ''the people
would buy their bread by the pound all
loayes would be made to weigh pound
and the baker who makes the best bread
would get the trade. A pound loaf could
be sold at centsOr even 4 cents at profit
The bakers would much prefer to make
pound oayes, as il is easier to make large
ioayes than small ones, and requires less
labor"
Another well-known baker who was
seen spoke on pretty much the same line
as Maj, Schwarz.
The people go where they can get the
most loaves, he said, land not the most
bread The consequence is there is no in
ducement to make a larger loaf, and
all the tendency is to small
loayes. The regulation weight
now is IA ounces to the loaf. The loaves
are slightly larger than they used to be,
on account of cheaper flour. had much
rather make pound loaf and sell it at
fixed price. | now sell one loaf of bread
at cents, four loaves for is cents and
seven for % cents. l sell great deal of
bread from wagons, and it would take a
Philadelphia lawyer to keep up with the
change. Times have been hard with the
bakers, and we have made no money this
year in spite of cheap fourn