The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-20
BAKERS SIDE OF
 CASE PRESENTED
Weatherly Still Unconvinced
 by Their Arguments
LETTER FROM FISCH
Declares There Is Precedent for Re- duction of Size of Lotf-Suggests Sliding Scale of Prices Accord
 ing to Flour Quotations

The bakers side Of the bread con troversy was placed before City Com
 missioner Weatherly yesterday after noon by a delegation of bakers head
 ed by John Stone. their attorney After considerable argument MT. Weatherly informed the bakers his position was
 unchanged on the matter but that pc titions and data they had presented would be placed on file and carefully considered.
 The bakers claim they intend to put into force higher prices on bread with in the next few days unless the com mlssioners permit them to make less
 than 14-ounce loaf as Is now required
 by law. The suggestion that the re- tailers pay the bakers more for bread but sell it at tho same retail price as now Is being done on the grounds that the retailer at present is making too large profit on this article was op-
 posed before MT. Weatherly by Lige Chandler.
 The board of eommi ssioners yester- day received letter signed by Will l liam Fisch, vice president of the Amer ican Bakeries Candy company, setting out that there is precedent upon which to base the reduction in weight l of loaf asked for by the bakers and stating that the inspector of weights and measures, A. ]. Hall. has made the | bakers the goat in his efforts to hold his job.
 l While MT. Weatherly states he is open to argument and Is willing and l glad to consider every bit of data the | bakers wish to present, 1t is probable he will not change his mind i'll regard to there being standard size of n | ounces for a loaf of bread and as he l holds the balance of power on this l question by reason of MT. Ward not 1 voting, if would appear the bakers will have to carry out their threat to raise | the price.
 Letter From Fisch | The letter of Mir. lsisch is as follows "ro the Honorable Board of City Com missioners.
 "Gentlemen--In reviewing the bread weight laws of this city l find that in | the early history of the commission l form of government law was passed requiring a loaf of bread to weigh I6 | ounces.
 "The bakers protested against this law to the city commissioner. The ba-
 kers were told that if tho law was l not practical or unjust that the law | would be either abolished or not en- l forced. For them to go ahead ana run | their business as they had been do- | ing.
 l The law was not changed and not enforced for year more until year or more later when the city com | mission considered abolishing the of | flee of weights and measure. Then II l was that the occupant of the office go, | busy to do something to hold his job l and it was the baker that was made
 the goat, by enforcing the bread weight | ordinance. Then followed the long l hard fight on the part of the bakers
 to have this law abolished or the stan 1 dard of the weight of the 5-eent stan dard loaf lowered so that the baker might make a living and that the scent
 standard of value might be maintsined ''The city commission at that time rec
 ognized the 5-cent standard of value of
 a loaf of bread. and they based all their
 calculations on that basis. They were very thorough fin their investigation as I to the cost of making and selling bread They finally agreed with the bakers that
 a 16-ounce loaf could not be made to | sell for cents, and that IA ounces would
 be about the right weight for scent | loaf.
 "The figures were based on an average | (Continued on Page Elght.)