The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1922-01-27
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE BUYING
POUND BREAD FOR FIVE PENNIES?
Albert F. COyle Secretary of All American Cooperative Com
mission Explains Following Article BE Done

wheat gamblers add their graft to
the price the people must pay for
bread
Farmers Sell Wheat at a Loss
Back of all these middlemen stands
the farmer producer. Instead OF
making a profit on his wheat, every
bushel he sells is at a loss. The grain
barons, the big millers and their
banker associates have "deflated'
the farmer until he is receiving for
his grain about half the cost of pro-
duction. The progressive farm organ
izations of the country are demand
ing that the government revive the
u. S. Grain Corporation which eX-
listed during the war, and stabilize
the price of wheat at not less than
50 bushel. In justice to the farm
ers, some such arrangement should
be speedily made. Nor would fair
price for the farmers wheat increase
the cost of the workers bread. With
wheat stabilized at 81 a bushel, the
value of wheat in q pound loaf would
be but 3.3 cents.
How European Workers Get Bread
at Cost
The workers can cut the cost of
bread if they want to. There is no
reason why they should not have at
least one thriving cooperative bak
cry in every city Of the country,
which would insure them bread at
cost of production. Bakeries are one
of the commonest and most success
full forms of cooperation all over
Europe. The late George Hawkins,
one of the English cooperative pio-
neers, declared that the bread trade
was the foundation of their great
cooperative success. The London
society is now turning out over
100000 loaves a week for its men,
bers. The United Cooperative Bak-
cry of Glasgow has recently COM
PEELED all the bakers of the Scotch
metropolis to cut the price of bread
to meet its competition. Similar ac-
ton has been taken by the work
mems cooperatives throughout Italy,
where private bakers have had to
meet cooperative prices or go out of
business. In Germany almost every
town has its cooperative bakery, in
tent on supplying the people with
bread at cost. The great bakery of
the Berlin cooperatives produces
100000 loaves a day, while in other
/ large German cities nearly the en-
tire bread trade is in the hands of
the cooperative societies. The Bel
gian cooperators, following the re-
markable success of Edouard An
seele in Client, have built up a whole
system of POLITICAL fraternal, social
welfare and cooperative activities
Christiana, Norway, own the largest
bakery in the Scandinavian countries
capable of supplying the needs Of
10000 people. The state-owned
bakeries established by the Labor
government of New South Wales
Australia, supplied bread during the
past year at 21a cents a loaf cheaper
than private bakeries, and in add.
ton returned a profit of $4,000 to
the government.
Successful Cooperative Bakeries in
America
Cooperative bakeries have beer
equally successful in this country
Up in Utica, New York, 92 workmen
started a cooperative bakery in 1926
with a capital of less than SIS each
The bakery is now the second largest
in the city, turning out about 5000
loaves a week, and doing a business
of S150,000 a year. In Greater New
York there are now three wholesale
cooperative bakeries, with a number
of branch distributing points. Oh
these the Brownsville and East New
York bakery is the largest, serving
through it's four branches $500 co
operators with over 100000 wortl
of goods a year, and all on the no
profit basis. Starting with small
business in Worcester in 1917, thu
Jewish workmen of Massachusetts
now have ten large cooperative bak
cries in as many cities several O
which are doing business in excess
of 100000 a year.
The cost of bread can be cut b,
cooperation. While the farmers ar,
cooperating to slice down the iuic!
profits of the wheat spectators ant
the milling trust, the city worker
should cooperative to take the sake
out of their bakery bills by estab
fishing their own cooperative baker
les.
Child .ahnr faV