Price of Bread

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 2, 18 January 1937, Page 4

Price of Bread

S. J.

TURNER.

To the Editor). • Sir, — I am sorry if I am taking up so much of your valuable columns, but i£ you have no objection I assure you and your readers that it's quite A pleasure to be of service to both sides mterested. I note now that we have a "Neddy 'a Driver ' ' in the firing line. He sounds mere like a slave- driver to me. Anyhow we may get & dividend out of his knowledge if we put our £1 on the eo operative "Neddy," but I think he ia "running stiff" at present, because he accuses me of saying that bakers wero only making a fartking per loaf out of their bread. I said "if" there was only a farthing in it by getting a new customer or saving an old one; his fall. He then goes on to say bakerr sold bread at 5d and paid £19 10/- for flour. This would be a bread war, J presume, because there would be only £8 10/- in a ton-perweek bakery to pay over £20 p.er week expenses; &o bakers would last a long time if they had long credits. After this letter, will "N.D." please wriie about present-day affiairs and conditions. We learnt at' Sunday School about when Adam was a boy. . "N.D." asks the valuation of existing bakers' office fumiture. I have never been in any of their offices, so J don't know; but I do know the value of an office saf e, typewi'iter, f urniture, stationery, advertising, etc., all of which is absolutely necessary for any business company. I notice "N.D.'' passed all other expenses without comment, so I presume they were neax enough. " Neddy 's Driver" tries to make it appear that the bakers are on a good wiclcet, They are doing well, are they? All right; we will see as this letter proceeds how much he knows about u bakery. He also states that I never in my career sold bread at 6Jd. My first four years, 1922-5, I sold bread from 6d to d, more than three-quarters of the output at 6£d. When flour rose in 1926 I never delivered any more bread. For seven years I sold it over the counter at 7d per 21b. loaf, cash, with an extra id for booking. And " Neddy 's Driver" knows he paid that price when he lived in the same town.. "N.D." asks if I ever heard the story of a baker startiug with v £40 Yes. I know the chap quite well and have heard the old, old story many times. Ho started with £40 and a liability of £235 which he paid off inside twelve months; also, he bought the property for £460 cash, a car £25 J cash, a gramophone £40 cash, built a home £826 cash and furnished to £450 cash, and had a suit of clothes for every day of tho week for cash. Now the devil is retiied with plenty of caBh in the bank. What a robber! But " Neddy *s Driver" knows quite welJ that had that baker chap been pushed toi- more he could have paid £40 fift.v times over, and not one penny came out of a bakery. I inow he made all the above purchases in the course of about 18 months. )f all that was made in that time, how much did he maka in 14 years in the business? "N.D." knows that he himself owned the same business, and after 10 years' hard toil he never had 5/- to call his own until he got a returned soldier to buy it after the War. This

poor chap lasted only a few months and went out to the tune of about £800 Then the baker that made all the tdiis of nioney went in to straighten out tho 'tangle, but he was a Baker, while " Neddy 's Driver" only dreamt he was a baker and a man who should know told me one day that he made a foundation under a bad place on the road with some of " Neddy 's Driver 's" bread, so that will tell you how much "Neddy 's Driver" knows about bakeries. He is too cunning to go back and have aflother try at the trade, so 1 must alSo declare his "Neddy" a dud. And if "N.D." wants to know any more ho must please have enough British eoufase to sign his narne, — YoUrs, etc.,

Hastings, Jan. 6/37.