SYDNEY “DOLE” BREAD

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 189, 12 August 1931, Page 8

SYDNEY “DOLE” BREAD

SHADLERS CONTRACT OPPOSITION LEADER’S MOVE ROYAL COMMISSION SOUGHT HOUSE DEFEATS THE MOTION [By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright] Received Aug. U, 9-20 pm. SYDNEY, Aug. 11. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr T. K Bavin, moved in the House of As se’mbly for a royal commission to inquire‘into the circumstances under which Shadlers Ltd. were given the Government * 4 dole ’ ’ bread contract. He declared that the arrangement with Shadlers and its sudden unexplained abandonment had created suspicion in the mind of the communitv. The motion evoked great uproar and the discussion is unfinished. Mr Bavin urged the Chief Secretary, Mr Gosling, for the sake of his own reputation, to agree to the inquiry, as the Sha'Hers’ Company consisted of men of straw. The Chief Secretary, in reply, explained tnat the Government had embarked on the contract because the master bakers were charging too high a price for relief bread. The Crown solicitor had drawn up an agreement, but no penal clause had been inserted because the Government had the right to terminate the contract the moment the supply of bread broke down, as had actually occurred. It was quite untrue to say that the caucus had instructed him to cancel the contract.

Mr Bavin’s motion was defeated on a strictly party vote by 45 to 33. Mr Gosling refrained from voting.

STONEY BREAD WAR

FAMILIES WITHOUT SUPPLIES WOMEN GIVE WAY TO TEARS The “bread war” broke out in gydrey last Monday week, when the refusal of members of the Master Bakers' Association to accept dole •oupons dislocated the New South Wales Government’s scheme for the distribution of bread to families in distress. The greatest difficulty was experienced in the western suburbs. Thousands ef people were unable to obtain supplies of bread in exchange for dole eoupons. In many instances, however, the bakers, while rigidly adhering to the Master Bakers’ Association’; decision not to supply bread at the rat> of 3s 8d a dozen loaves —Is 3d being demanded —gave brea L to needy people rath* • than see them go hungry. Thousands of families in the suburbs could not obtain bread from shops or from delivery carts owing to the fact that the dole tickets offered in exch nge for bread were not accepted. Inquiries by people in need wire made at the various relief depots, but no relief by way of bread supplies could be given there. The unemployed found it particularly difficult to obtain bread in exchange for dole tickets in seven of fchc suburbs. Home made Scones and Damper In the western suburbs master bakers refused to supply dole bread. They demanded 5d a loaf at the bakeries and 51d a loaf on the carts or in the shops. Large numbers of people who had no moner went without bread. Other people baked scones and damper by way of substitute for bread, and some made their own bread. The quantity of bread baked by the operatives in several districts decreased by from 20 to 50 per cent, varying according to the amount of dole bread each baker had been selling. Bakers in these industrial areas asserted that their position was an alarming one. They had given credit amounting to substantial sums to old customers who are unemployed and had little hope of collecting this money. In addition to this, they claimed that they had been losing money on all bread baked for customers in receipt of the dole. Many of the unemployed who sought dole bread expressed bitter resentment when supplies were denied them. Some of the women who applied for bread

cried when their requests were refused. In a number of cases'the master bakers supplied substantial quantities of bread to parents who have large families and who had nothing with which to feed their children. Some other bakers gave to the unemployed flour to enable thorn to bake damper or scones. “Loss of a Penny a Loaf.” Mr Grainger, secretary of th» Parramatta branch of the Master Bakers’ Association, stated that all the bakers in that district were determined not to give wav. Ir was a quettion of their living. They did not want to make a profit out of the dole bread, but they wanted to cover actual working expenses, and for months they hrd been losing a penny a loaf on all bread supplied as dole rations. ''essrs Love and Over, the bakers supplying the I.idcombc camp established by the Unemployed Housing Fund, supplied bread to the '•ampers, but informed them that from the following day no tide bread would be supplied under the old conditions. It was stated, however, that to prevent the campers from starving they would give sufficient flour to enable the campers to bake their own bread for at least 24 hours. The position of many persons on the dole in the western suburbs was desperate. bread being the staple article of diet of those people. The dispute regarding bread for the unemployed culminated on Thursday in the Government’s commandeering nearly 1000 tons of flour, which was awaiting shiment to the East. The Government has now agreed to pay 4s 3d per dozen loaves. *• ’Tis not for mortalb always to be blest. ” —Armstrong. At any moment you may catch a bad pold Get Baxter’s Lung Preserver to day and keep it handy. This rich, red warming compound instantly soothes sore throats, stops coughs and banishes influenza, and its valuable tonic proper ties fortify the system against relapse If you are subject to colds, take Bax ter’o Lung Preserver regularly to ware off attacks. Economical family-size bottle, 4/6. Smaller sizes 2/6, 1/6. A new screw cap preserves the contents. Ml chemists and stores. —Advt.