The Washington herald., 1916-10-26
COSTLIER LOAF Forced
ON BAKERS, SAYSLEARY
Former Head of National Association
Calls Rise Imperative.

The increase Of 1 cent a loaf in
the price of bread will barely cover the
increase in the cost Of flour to the bak-
ers," declared H. B. Leary, ST., when In
teryiewed last night. Mr.. Leary Is
former president OF the National Asso-
ciation Of Bakers and was one OF the
founders Of the Boston Baking Com
pany, which he conducted with R. J.
Earnshaw until four years ago. The
bakers will have to carry the increased
cost Of the other ingredients Of bread
as a total loss"
Mr.. Leary presented the following state
ment in substantiation of his declara-
ton:
"A tabuIation Of the cost Of produc-
ton OF bread in seventeen OF the most
efficient bakeries in the country shows
that the average cost of 1000 loaves Of
bread in these efficient establishments
was S37. . when -four was sold for $3.50
a barrel, lard s cents a pound, and sugar
8 cents a pound.
Flour now costs from $3.50 to SO. .
a barrel, lard l6 cents a pound, and
sugar 7 cents a pound. AS 1t takes three
barrels Of -four to produce 1000 ioaves
Of bread, the minimum increase in the
cost OF 1000 loaves on the account of
nour alone Is 81 This increased cost
consumes the original profit Of $2.75 on
1000 lOaves and leaves a deficit of $9z0
on 1000 lOaves through the advance in
cost of flour alone, without taking INTO
consideration the increased cost OF lard
sugar, paper bags, hOrseshoes, repairs,
or any Of the other necessities Of the
bakery The 1-cent increase in the
price Of bread merely removes the loss
and allows of no profit.
The statement that the bakers are
not affected by the increase in the cost
Of -four by reason of having large
amount in stock bought before the high
prices prevailed Is untrue, for prices nave
been so high for the last three or four
months that the bakers have only bought
what they absolutely had to. hoping all
the time that something Ike normal
prices would be restored.
The prevailing high prices are ac-
counted for by the shortage OF the wheat
crop in this country, Canada and Europe
The production OF wheat in the United
States in 1915 plus the surplus from 1914
was Loss, 600 bushels.
The production in the United States
in 1915 plus the surplus from 1915 was
100000 bushels. or the 7O0,OooOooo
bushels, .OJU bushels were left from
1915. Thus the consumption and export
in 1915 totaIed go, 600 bushels. For this
year our crop is short 266, 10000 bushels Of
last years crop, and to make matters
worse the production OF Canada dropped
from 600 bushels in 1915 to 175,OO0,oC0
bushels in 1915. thus cutting in half
Canada's export possibilities. The crops
in Europe are smaller than last year )
crops. so the need there is greater than
last year. So, although We could con-
sumo every bushel of wheat in the coun-
try new for flour and seed, We are facing
a shortage on this hemisphere and in
Europe The high cost Of flour is con-
sequence Of the law Of supply and de-
mand, and the bakers should not be cen
sured for raising the price OF bread.
"WashingtOn has been particularly for
tunate in the matter OF the retail cost
Of bread. Although it costs more to pro-
duce bread here because labor is so well
paid. the local bakers have delayed ad-
vancing the price Of bread more than
month longer than bakers in other cities
have. In some parts Of the country the
price was Increased Hearly year ago.