The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-07-12
OUR DAILY BREAD

July Z, 1888.
Editor, Tribune:
Give us this day, our daily bread"
despite the fact that this dear old
prayer has come ringing to our ears
down the corridors Of time, SO long
ago, that the memory Of man runneth
not to the contrary, it seems that its
influence has not as yet percolated
through the wool OF the members of
the Bakers association of this state,
and, that instead Of obeying this
christian edict, they have combined
so as to prevent us from even buying
our daily bread.
When the writer was a mere boy
he used to carry q grist to good
water mill and each bushel of wheat
ground would provide for us AZ pounds
Of good flour, together with shorts,
bran and middlings. If we consider
the by-products Of wheat as flour,
this bushel of wheat would get us As
pounds of flour. It will do so today,
as we'll as them. Now out Of this As
pounds of flour the baker will make
at least thirty loaves of bread. He
will sell that today at the price 1t IS
bringing in Steele, North Dakota $3.50,
or IL cents per loaf. The wheat that
went into that bread brought the
farmer from % to 26 cents per bushel.
Now If this IS not highway robbery
without the inconvenience of carrying
gun then we will admit that we do
not know legitimate trade when we
meet it.
The greed Of this bakers associa-
ton is so Unsuitable that they cannot
wait until people really get more
money with which to buy its products;
but we'll knowing that all must eat,
they hold us up on more prospects OF
better conditions.
About a year ago when bread was
selling here at 15c per loaf, and I am
speaking of IL pound loaves the
writer took issue with this holdup, and
! was told that flour had but little to
! do with making the price OF bread,
Public opinion got so hot for them
that they did come down to SC per
loaf, at which price it sold until last
Monday, when it took q climb Of Is
per cent, or Sc per loaf, all at one
hike. Now Of course it Is the price
of wheat they say that has caused
this big boom; and. yet, the wheat
! that goes into this bread was bought
from the farmer for not to exceed SOC
per bushel. When some OF these
grafters are where the rich man was
you no doubt recall the Biblical story
they will hear this dear old prayer
come ringing down through the corri-
doris of HadeS "Give us this day our
daily bread" And there may be call
for some one to wet the tips Of their
fingers and cool their parching ton
CUES. We hope so anyway.
In justification of this sudden rise
in the price Of bread, they say it is be-
cause Of this new processing plan
that has recently been provided for
the farmer by the government, de-
spite the fact that that plan has not
as yet gone into operation. Don't it
beat all how their knack of PERCEPTION
is developed? They can anticipate
profits for the other fellow to such q
nicely that they grab them on the
way in.
Just who. recently, has realized
such a profit on anything, they have
done or sold, that will justify that
rise in the price Of the staff Of life?
Ten million people yet out Of work,
and along comes the bakers, associa-
ton and says I'VE must have more
for our bread. We cannot live on q
measley so per cent profit. We haul
your bread to you in nice covered
wagon and soon, II you will allow us
to take all you make for bread, we
will be able to bring 1t in chariots,
one loaf at q time"
There Is no use to try to appeal to