French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1917-06-28
AMERICAN WOMEN TO HELP
IN BREAD CONSERVING.
MISS Ida M. IarbeH Shows Them
How They Can Help Win the
War Against Germany.

&ZfSA=s<r OO040AO 4O4
them in every town of any size to get
at any time of the day a loaf of fresh
~ baked bread. We so take this con-
Ven1ence for granted that we do not
exercise even ordinary forethougat
ABOUT the amount of bread that we
order IN the morning. We know that
II we take two loaves in the morning
and md ourself short toward tea time
that an extra fresh loaf is easy to get.
1t is only when our attention is chaI-,
lenged that common sense tells US
tnat this is no mater of course, out the
result of large preparation on some
bodys part. What the machinery and
efforts are have just been made clear
by the Governments Council of Ma
tional Defense.
The fact that this war is to be
fought on wheat as much,.i if not more.
than on guns and men is becoming
clear to US all. The Government is
turning its machinery to study the
practical points of saving wheat with
out too largely disturbing business.
The Council of National Defense has {.
subordinate body called the CONNER
cial Economy Board. 1t is rhe bust
ness of this board to see where we can
make useful economies in the distri-
button of commodities. One OF the
first things to which this Commercial
economy: Board turned it's attention
was wheat products, and quite natur-
ally it seems now, the first thing the,
discovered was the continuous supply
of fresh bread on the retaiIers' shelves.
They saw that he was carrying every
day more than he sold, which meant
that the bakers who supplied him were
making more than they sold.
The Commercial Economy Board %
once undertook an investigation. Il is
n Of the prettiest pieces Of work that
has recently been turned out in Wash
ington. The board sem its agents 70
a number of leading bakers and wrote
to over four hundred others in all
parts of the country in order to find
out what their practice was. e was
discovered that largely FOR competitive
reasons these bakers kept the shelves
of the bread, retailer stocked fully
with fresh bread. In doing this they
did not expect the retailer TO sell all
the bread. Their point was that the
retailer should always have enough Of
their bread on hand so that there would
be no complaint on his part that he
was not Supplied. Any part OF the
bread that remained unsold, the baker
took back When the next days supply
was delivered. The retailer knowinr
that he would have more bread than
he could sell. never required his custo-
mers to order ahead. His customers
were trained, so far as bread was con-
cerned, to toll o neither to spin
nothing to do but order at any hour Of
the day.
1t requires little thinking to see that
this arrangement must mean waste at
some point. AS a matter of fact, the
Commercial Economy Board finds that
it means a considerable waste, one
! which at the present time cannot be
allowed to continue. AS nearlv as the
board can estimate with the help O.
the bakers of the country who have
been taking a hearty interest in the
! investigation, it should be said to
their credit, fully 4 per cent of the
bread delivered to the retailers of this
country is returned to the bakers, t.
bakers themselves going to the ex-
pense to collect it.
Now what is done with this 4 per
| cent of returned loaves. Some Of it is
sold to the poor, who go direct to the
bakers for it. 1t lis perfectly clean.
however,. that if the bakers did not
over-supply the retailers and were not
obliged to bring back the left-o5 er
loaves, they could afford to sell the
bread on the ground at as low a price
as they do now. Of the foul per cent
returned. probably n and one-hal
per cent is fed to pigs, chickens and
other animals. Now make a little cal
cuIatiOn. Suppose in your town the
bakers put out ten Thousand loaves a
day, a small town requires as manv
there was one hundred and fifty loaves.
fed to the pigs and chickens. Extend
this calculation. There are bakers in
our large cities which turn out owe
half "a million loaves a day. That
means 1900 for the pigs.
It needs NO argument to those who
realize what the shortage of wheat
means to convince them that this Leak
age must be stopped. ALI that think
inp people ask is how it a be done.
The bankers themselves are beginning
to take steps. Inquiry among the
bakers show that probably on an
age at least eighty per cent are in fav-I
or OF stopping bread returns, that is
they are in favor OF selling to the re-
tail bread dealer only what he believes
he a dispose of. This plan has all
ready been put into effect by the
bakers Of Washington City and to-
day it is working satisfactorily.
And here the women come in. They
are the bread buyers. and the n%o-return
bread plan means that they must make
their calculations for the days supply
and do it in such a business-1ike fash
ion that they will not be left in the
afternoon without a loaf, that if the
are SO left they will not complain to
their grocer, but that they will accept
the. fact as a proof of their own lack
Of business foresight in ordering.
This really important saving can
only be effected if the women of the
country generally back it up. The
Woman's Committee of the Council Of
Defnnsn 10 today asking the