Price of Bread.

Southern Cross, Volume 24, Issue 2, 15 April 1916, Page 6

Price of Bread.

PRICES "'GUTTER';' EXAMIMID.v CARTERS SUPPORT EMPLOYERS. (From Melbourne Argus).. The Commonwealth Prices Adjustment Board, which has been appointed to fix rates for .the sale for the sale erf bread and flour.' continued its investigations as to the cost of production at the Federal Parliament DBCouse.on March 31st. , Evidence was first taken from a baker who sold bread at * law pilice than other master bakers. Witness said that he did not specialise in bread. His ■ turnover was 1,500 large loaves ; a week. He employed a foreman, a man, and a boy, -the man being employed for two thirds of his time in the bakery. A. few weeks ago several of his men enlisted, and he worked i n the bakehouse. It was only then that he realised what an easy job bakers had. They worked only six hours a day. A fair average was 155 to 160 large loaves for one .baker in a night. The Chairman (Mr Catts, Mj H. R.) ' Are you selling j-our bread at a, loss or a profit ?—I; cannot say, font I hope I am not sellling ,it at - a loss. What is the cost of delivering bread ? —About Id a loaf. Therefore, if I can sell bread at id a loaf below the bakers' delivery price, I think I am, making more than the bakers. I do not sell' a loaf outside of my shops, of which I have ten. My price is 6-Jd a loaf. I specialise in pastry, and there are no expenses connected with the;sale of my bread, because if I did not sell it I would still have to keep the same number of hands for the sale of pastry. If you. could sell 10,000 loaves over the counter a week, that is 1000 in each shop, could you cut the price below 6-5 dS T o, ■' because although the price is 6Jd most of the people buy small loaves, for which '3-£d is charged, and therefore for two-thirds of the bread 11 receive 7d. If you sold 1000 loaves a over the counter, could you sell it for 3d, the small loaf ?—I do not think it would pay expenses. Then you think your'profit is id a loaf ?—lf I received that profit I -would be satisfled. I hope I am re- , ceiving fd, because most of the bread' is sold at 7d. Of course I take the view that a) muriber of customers who come into my shops for bread also buy pa's try. Senator Barnes :Do you regard bread as a "cut", line in your business ?.—Practically it is '. The Chairman : If we put,bread down to 6d a ,loaf would yoti ; "stop baking bread ? —lf I received nothing out of it I would. I do not see why it > could not be done if : you, allowed us to .buy flour, at £9 or £lO a ton. Flour, I think, will be down in a couple of months, even if a price be not fixed. Mr r Yates. M.H.R. : You regard bread as a "cut" line, and do not care so long- as you lose nothing by it ? —Practically so. Why do you think flour will come down ?—Because there is so much wheat that they do not know what to do with it now. Mr Sinclair : If flour were fixed at £lO a ton, would 6d be a fair price for a large loaif ?—For the over-the-counter • trade it would be. An extra Id.would have to be added for 'delivery. I would be satisfied jvith. that price, but of course it is a side . line with me. I employ 30 pastrycooks, but only three bakers. Mr Yates :■ Do you consider that your evidence this morning should be taken as a basis for the price for ordinary bakers ?—No. I specialise more as a < pastry cook. I would not put my prices against those of the men who devote their time solely to baking bread. The, figures already given by master bakers as to., their costs, I should say, are very accurate. " . Henry James Maynard, secretary of the Bread Carters' Union, said that if an over-the-counter' and a delivery price were fixed for bread it would be very detrimental from the bread carters' standpoint. A lot of men would be displaced. There were 600 bread carters in the metropolitan, area. '. The Chairman : If the two prices were fixed, would many people go to the shops for their bread ?—Yes, and the services of many carters would be dispensed with. ' ' ■ ' Do you consider any difference in J price, say id a loaf, would have that J effect ?—Yes, • customers will riot give J more than the cart than from the j shop. I

Suppose the over-the-counter price were fixed at less, how .many men would be displaced ? —About a quarter of the men. ■ What about the public? Approximately 30,000 customers are served by bread carters in the metropolis.; Do you think they should be asked to pay id extra to keep the- carters in work ?—lf we have to go to the wall, it is but fair that we should protect ourselves. Senator Barnes : It is not in the interests of the consumer of bread to fix as cheap a price as possible, and therefore to have an over-the-counter and delivery price ? —lf the Government did that, it woulid be. doing an unfair thing. It is |the business of the Government to create employment, not unemployment. If 200 carters were thrown out of work they would not be the only j ones affected. The stablemen, horse-shoers, harness repairers, and coachbuilders would all suffer. Henry Robert Day, foreman bread carter, employed by,a baker at Middle Park,"said that a carter should serve 200 customers a day. In a thickly-populated area like Port Melbourne, where families were large, a fair, average delivery was ~3fb of' bread for each customer. The average over the whole of, the suburbs would be less. Approximately, onehalf of the carters would lose .their situations if two prices were fixed for bread. Willi-am< Bellam, another bread carter, gave evidence similar to that of the previous two witnesses. The sittings of the board were adjourned until a date to be fixed.