Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-06
BREAD LAW IS INVALID
Court of Appeals Sustains
Lower Tribunal.
BAKERS WIN OLD FIGHT
Washington Corporations Regula-
ton Never Applied in District.
DECISION OF JUSTICE SHEPARD
Repealed by Amalgamation Of 1871.
Otherwise Different Justice for
Different Parts Of Community.

There is no bread law in the District
Of Columbia
The local authorities have no right to
compel the bakers to make loaves OF
bread of not less than sixteen nor more
than eighteen ounces in weight. The
bakers may make an Individual loaf to
serve each hotel guest. or a mammoth
one to last a family all day
This Is the purport Of the decision OF
the District Court Of Appeals in an
opinion by Chief Justice Shepard. rem
dered today. TIC court holds that the
old bread regulation as to weight, enacted
by the old corporation Of Washington.
never became a law Of the District OF
Columbia, when in 1871 the corporations
of Washington and Georgetown and the
old Levy Court for the county were
merged into the municipality of the Dis
trict Of Columbia.
Each of these old governing bodies had
bread law-no two of them were alike.
Repealed by Amalgamation.
The chief justice said that to hold the
law unrepealed by the amalgamation OF
1871 would leave a law holding bakers
south of the boundary line to one regu-
lation and leaving those located beyond
that line free to disregard the rule.
The district bakers having received a
number of offers to make contracts for
bread Of different weight from that es-
tablished by the old bread regulation
last summer employed Attorney Alex
ander III. Bell OF test the validity Of the
regulation. George Hauf was chosen as
the baker to violate the provision of the
law In order to make test case.
Case Tried in Lower Court.
Hauf notified the District authorities
that on q certain day he would bake
bread weighing only fifteen ounces
inspectors were sent to his bakery, and
the bread, failing to make the required
weight, was seized and an information
filed in the Police Court against Mr..
Hauf
Attorney Bell moved to quash the in
the tn. "a appellate I ~ court IN foday:s Decision
and on the question OF violation OF right
Of contract. as he claimed the law abridged
the right OF the baker to enter into GER
tain contracts.
Judge Kimball agreed with Mr.. Bell and
ordered the information quashed. The
District sued out q writ of error to the
District Court OF Appeals.
Views Of Bakers.
Speaking of the courts decision. the
manager of one of the larger bakeries In
the city said:
II am glad to see this thing turn out
the way 1t has because the bread law
was antiquated and had long ago out
lived its usefulness. 1t was originally
framed to meet some conditions In
GEORGETOWN. 1t has been winked at SO
often that 1t seems foolish to try to pro-
duce q sixteen-ounce loaf by law
"And the price Of -four is such just now
that were bakers absolutely required to
furnish sixteen-ounce loaves they would
have to charge another cent for the
bread. Every one is furnishing fifteen
ounce loaf at present.
with the law abolished there will be
no change In the size Of loaves or their
price. Competition is always going to
establish that
..If the price of -four decreases the
size of the loaves will increase. If it
should go up. bakers can chop a little
out Of the dough and sell lighter loaf
for cents.
"Of course bakers have been making
loaves Of all sizes. The bread law. so
called, has never bothered them. They
have made small. individual loaves or
sandwich loaves. and there has been no
requirement as to size"
member OF the firm of Corby
Brothers said he deplored too much
agitation Of the matter. as 1t is so easy
to make some people believe they are
being robbed. He added:
There IL no more reason the author
tiles should prescribe a loaf of bread of
a certain weight than there is that
newspaper company should be compelled
10 issue a paper of stated number OF
pages or columns.
THE decision Of the court is welcomed
by the master bakers. 1t will give us IN
opportunity when flour goes up In the
air in price to make profit. But to COM
pel US to make bread Of a full pound loaf
is to prevent US under present conditions
from making a cent Of profit
journeyTnan baker who was recently
in business for himself declared that in
view of the decision Of the Court Of APP
peais many proprietors Of bakeries who
have been heavily fined for selling short
weight bread in the past have good
ground for action against the District au-
thorities for recovery of fines. which. In
the aggregate will amount to much
money.