New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-08-04
Social Workers Favor Selling
Bread by Weight, Not Loaf.
ITALIANS AFFORD EXAMPLE
Quality, Too, of Great I'm
por:ance, and Inspection of
Weights a Necessity.

Actual tests made by social workers IN
IRE CITY groceries and deIicatessen shops
have demonstrated the wisdom and useful
ness of the ordinance which Clement J.
Driscoll intends to enforce. providing for
the sale Of bread by weight instead OF by
the loaf, as II is now sold
Social workers generally favor the adop-
ton of the new plan, and many OF the
bakers are not opposed TO the principe Oh
the ordinance. Their objection is 10 the
manner in which il is proposed TO carry II
out. they say this would mean aool-
tional expense. which would naturally fall
on the consumer. so that ne Wouio not
benefit by the ordinance
Miss Winifred Gibbs cooking teacher of
tho Association for the Improvement of
The Condition of the Poor. has lately been
conducting investigations on behalf of that
society She has not Yet completed her TASK
but in the groceries and delicatessen shops
on the West Side she has discovered tnat
1, NAYS he,ter 10 buy the cent loaf than
TO buy either the or the 10 cent loaf
Il have conducted the investigation
among the shops where the people l deal
witt. usually buy their supplies, she eK-
r,Iaineo The retailers buy from the big
hakins concerns and the weights are gen
orally uniform. The tests show that the
scent loaf ] pound ounces and the lO-cent
loaf mound s ounces. 1t is TO the ad-
vantage of the purchaser to buy the Scent
loaf at ga ounces for every cent rather
than the or 10 cent loaf at 20 ounces
for a cent
The Poor Get Short Weights.
While I have not verified II, am
under the impression thaH some of the
in he sections
their patrons by cheating them on the
weight of bread. II q standard weight were
fixed and the weight inspected. then pur-
chasers would get just what they wished
10 nay fol- As II is now, the large bakeries
give regular weight but the smaller places
in poorer sections are not always so mucn
10 be depended upon
in the Italian sections bread is already
sold by the pound. so il will be no novelty
there The Italians make bread in large
loayes baked in pots These loaVes are
too big for ordinary families, so the dealer
cuts them UP and sells bread by the pound
In families where | have gone TO teach
cooking l have found them using ten
pounds of flour for two loaves OF bread
The French, on the other hand. make long.
narrow loaves In some places these are
soid by measure
J. Eugene Whitney. secretary of the Peo-
pies University Extension Society. said
the selling OF bread by weight was only an
extension Of the agitation for honest
weights and measures
Materials of Chief Importance.
OF course there are ways Of getting
around an ordinance that merely prescribes
5ha; loaf shall weigh 80 much said Mr..
whitney. A soggy loaf weighs more than
Q good one. Vet il is not SO good The first
step = seems to me. is TO see that the
materials III bread are good. That is not
sociaiistic doctrine. for If government
is good for anything its function IS to pre-
serve life The best way 10 preserve life
Is to get the right food and see that it is
honestly distributed.
4 do not $50 the force Of the objection
tlat bread weighs more fresh than II does
stale In New York most people want
fresh bread and stale bread is always sold
a. reduction BESIDES. the bakers to-day
put a clossv surface on their bread. which
pre-enrs evaporation. But whether the
Tread is fresh or not think it is We'll that
people should know just how much they
are getting for their money Those who
have 10 buy IN small quantities are already
severely handicapped by having to pay rela-
lively higher prices They should he pro-
1eoted b. the city in getting fun weight
Frederick p Hill president Of the Retail
bakers Association. said he had no oh
lection % giving the weight Of his bread.
Il am ready 70 post Up in a prominent
place in my store the weight Of each style
leaf" he said If have TO paste The
weight on each loaf. however. We viii nave
10 get mora for il. Th= retail baker to-day
has so much expense that lie cannot stand
eny more.
As a rule. on the upper West Side. our
trade Is a high class one IS 10 quality. But
We must deliver and we must send around
collector AZ the end Of the week or month
Al this means expense. Then the bread
We sell as q rule is moulded by hand and
that takes more time than common bread.
So that We cannot stand any more expense.
but we are perfectly willing that our Gus
toners should know Just what they are
getting, and We are always ready 10 pUt q
loaf on the scales TO show that i is Up 70
The -.-e=e