Evening star., 1916-09-25
Bread Weight and Price.
To the Editor of The Star.


| In most, if not ALL of the articles which
| you have published regarding the price
| of bread the idea seems to prevail thar
| it requires a pound of flour to produce
pound of bread. This is very far from
the truth. An article which apneared
| In your columns-an advertisement Of
a well known brand of four-claimed
that a barrel G96 pounds) had pro-
duced about 300 pounds of finished
bread. Again the vender of a bread
mixing machine claims, or did claim.
that by reason of it's mode of operation
an atom of yeast was put alongside of
each atom of flour, which increased it's
absorption of water so that a barrel of
flour would yield about 900 pounds.
L believe, however, that 25O to 260
pounds of bread from 1856 pounds of
flour is fair average. Take for calcu-
lation $50 pounds. This, at 5 cents. is
$3.50 per barrel, or, if we figure on the
eleven-ounce loaf. we get 363 which
at 5 cents, gives US $1S.15 for the bread
made from 1876 pounds of flour, an in
crease out of all proportion to the ad-
vance in flour above normal prices
Mr.. T. T. Moran suggests that we
should treat both the public and the
bakers fairly. and l fully agree with
him. l am not prepared to agree that
We should by law make the scent loaf
to weigh sixteen ounces, for at the
present time that hardly gives a fair
profit.
When We had, or thought we had. a
law requiring sixteen-ounce or thirty
two-ounce loaf. the bakers wanted it
repealed. They stated at times they
could not furnish a full pound of bread
for cents and the increased cost did
not warrant a full cent advance in the
retail price: that if the weight were
not fixed they could maintain the quail
ity and the price and divide fairly with
the public by reducing the weight.
That sounded reasonable, but how has
it worked in practice? AS l see it, very
much to the detriment of the consumer.
Had the old standard of weight been
maintained and the price been ad-
vanced the consumer would have known
the facts and could have paid it or
baked his own bread As it is, the size
of the loaf has been gradually re-
duced until some of the best known
brands weigh eleven, instead of sixteen
IN cents per pound. Is the public get
ting fair deal?
Under the food and drug act all pack
aged goods must have the net weight
pound block of butter is marked sixteen
ounces. Even comb honey has it's
weight on the frame.
In the absence of a law to the con-
trary the bakers (possibly) have a right
to make the weight of the scent loaf
anything they please, but the public has
the unquestionable right to know what
they are getting, and this without hav-
ing to weigh each loaf of bread.
Most of the bakers-I think all the
large ones-now label their bread and
1 suggest. If it can be so done, that the
Commissioners issue an order requir-
ing every loaf of bread sold in the Dis
trict of Columbia shall have clearly
printed on its label the weight of the
loaf If the Commissioners have not
authority to issue such an order, then
such a law should be passed by Con-
gress. With the weight on the label
the buyers could tell more easily who
offered most for the money-and, in the
absence of collusion, competition would
make for fairer prices. If this does not
help matters then we'll go to Congress
for law to regulate the weight.
JOHN T. SCHAAFF.