Evening star., 1924-12-30
SENATOR CHARGES
HUGE BREAD GOUGE
Capper Declares $500, 900 a
Day Taken From Consum-
ers in Short Weight.

Declaring that consumers of bakers
bread in this country pay in excess
OF $500 900 a day, or more than
s1oo.o0o,ooo year, for bread they do
not get" Senator Capper OF Kansas
today introduced a bill to establish
standard weights for ioaves and to
prevent deception as TO weights and
TO prevent contamination of the
product by the use of ingredients or
adulterants deleterious to the public
health.
Senator Capper's bill would apply
in the District of Columbia as well
as throughout the country
Senator Capper said that the short
weight loaf" is responsible for the
consumer being done" out OF this
large amount OF money each year
While not all bakers practice short
weight selling. charging full price
for a. short-weight loat-a 12-ounce
for a 1s and a 20-ounre for 24-
evidence is that the practice Is gen.
eral among the large baking corpora
tions whore State LAYS do not pro-
hibit." said Senator Capper.
short Weight ssoo, 600 a Day.
bakeries now produce approx
mately 60,o0o.o00 ioaves a day. At
an average price OF 8 cents a loaf
this production is sold to the con-
sumer for s4.soo,ooo a day. II all
bakers sold short weight the total
gouge would be 100000 day, but
several States have regulatory laws
fixing ful-weight standard loaf,
and practically all the small inde-
pendent bakers sell full weight. So 1t
Is estimated the amount the con-
sumner pays for what he doesn't get
is about cut In half This fxes the
total daily gouge at approximately
$500, 900.
New York City affords a striking
example OF the cost to the consumer
has no State law fixing weights and
standards. AS a result. bread sold
the millions of New York City con-
sumers is practically all short
weight. The loss TO the New York
City consumer is estimated to be not
less than s10,0o0.0o0 a year.
During recent years the baking
industry has grown to a degree that
bakers bread Is now the reliance of
pie, and bakers bread has become an
Item OF interstate commerce
spbdect for Regulation.
"As such It Is q proper subject for
Federal regulation, prescribing uni
form standards protecting the con-
sumer against short weight profiteer-
ing. Moreover, baking has become a
great national industry, too largely
perhaps. In the control of great cor
porations operating plants in various
States.
"a huge merger of baking inter
ests involving an investment OF $15,-
100000 has recently been effected.
WI l. - A.
of the Department of Justice and the
Federal Trade Commission. These in
vestigations are undertaken to deter
mine the probable effect of such a
merger upon the small, independent
baker, and to discover whether such
q combination will tend to result in a
monopoly control Of the consumers
bread supply by crushing the small
Independent baker.
1T is not to be wondered that man
ufacturing millers, farmers, small
bakers and, indeed, the consumer
should view with concern such a po-
ufacture and marketing of SO great
an item in the Nations essential food
as that involved In these combinations
in the baking industry.
Charges Short Weight Selling.
Whatever may be the outcome of
these investigations, there can be no
doubt that short weight selling as
now practiced by the big fellows is
decidedly unfair competition against
the small Independent baker, who
sells his full 16 and "a ounce loaves
for the same price the big fellow
sells his short 12 and 20 ounce loaves.
'If this Is to be corrected Federal
action Is necessary, for but IL States
have laws fixing bread weights and
standards.
such uniform regulation as the
proposed legislation contemplates can
scarcely work hardship upon legiti-
mate profits of the industry. This is
rather clearly brought into evidence
in the case of the District of Column
bia, where bread weights and STAN
dards have been fixed by act of Con-
gress. The legislation resulted in a
full 16-ounce loaf, at equal or less
money cost to the bread consumers
of the Capital. Prior to the enact
ment of the law a 12-ounce loaf sold
in the District for 10 cents. Now the
consumer gets 16-ounce loaf for the
same or less money.
ut was shown at the House hearing
that a Washington baker sold his prod
uct to the public at 8 cents a loaf and
furnished the Navy bread at sass the
hundredweight The proposed legisla-
ton. therefore, cannot furnish q de-
fensible reason for an increased price Of
bread to the consumer"
A bill similar to that introduced by
Senator Capper has been favorably re-
ported to the House by the committee on
agriculture This bill was introduced by
Representative Brand of Ohio