The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE THURSDAY, JULY 27th, 1916. THE PRICE OF BREAD.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 160, 27 July 1916, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

THURSDAY, JULY 27th, 1916. THE PRICE OF BREAD.

(With which io incorporated The Toi bape Post and Waimarino Newa.)

On more tlxafi. two cr three occasions -this journal' has been approached in connection, with the price of bread, and has been more than once reproached for Hot taking up the question in the general public’s interest. Our correspondents must bear in mind, however, that a public journal has to exercise the utmost care that it unwittingly injures no one unjustly. The newly instituted Board of Trade has for some time past been investigating foodstuff prices, including wheat, floux*, bran pollard and bread, and now that their report has been presented to Parliament we can review the subject with some degree of correctness without taking any risks to ourselves of unfairly criticising others from want of definite knowledge. This report states that ordinarily, bread prices move with tbe pi'ice of wheat and flour, but there have been some valuations from this rule during the waxperiod. Bread, early in 1914, was 61d per four pound loaf delivered; it soon went up to 7d and remained at that price till near the end of that year, when it advanced another half-penny. The highest point, reached was lOd from March to July in 1915. In July it dx-opped a half-penny; in August another half-penny, and in September a further half-penny. Since September, 1915, it has by steps reached as low as sixpence in some centres, for over-counter sales. Men giving evidence before the Commission variously stated what amount of bread a ton cf flour would produce, but from a multiplicity of witnesses it was established l-aat 46 bushels of wheat produced a ten of flour, from which 670 four-pound loaves were obtained. Several bakers gave evidence that a ton of flour, neighing two thousand pounds, produced 710 loaves, but we have taken the lower figure. The Commission found that with flour at £l2 13s 6d per ton, bread at Sid per four pound loaf was reasonable. It is set out that in working up a ton of flour the baker has to allow for potatoes Ss, yeast 3r> 6d, salt 2s, improvers ss; firing 12s 6d, lighting Is Gel; power Is; depreciation ss, rent 10s, wages £2 10s v stationery and rates Is 6d; insurance Is Gd; incidental, 2s Gd, delivery, £4 2s 6d, making a total cost per ton of flour, £22, and the Commission expressed the opinion the price Bid delivered under such conditions was reasonable, and we do not think the

public would complain were the findings of the Commission adhered to by bakers. Ixx normal times increase of price has a tendency to economy, but in a country where almost every man performs manual labour the consumption of bread is fairly uniform whether prices are high or low. Investigation shows that when -wheat was 7s 2d per bushel and flour £l7 10s per ton, bread rose to lOd per four pound loaf; when flour was at an average of £l2 bread remained at Bd. The Commision found that in all the towns visited there were associations of bakers who fixed retail prices, but they discovered no compulsion used to ensure the fixed price being adhered to. What the Commission’s report does clearly and emphatically state is: “As flour is considerably lower now- than it waa from February to September-, 1915, a drop in the price of bread should follow-. During our visit to the Thames the bakers voluntarily agreed to bring down their prices into line with prices prevailing in Auckland, and we are or opinion that in the country districts the same price should be charged as in the city, as cheaper rents, norsefeed, etc, would counter-balance railway freights on flour.” It cannot be de-

nied that the Commission went most exhaustively into the question, taking voluminous evidence from one end of the Dominion to the ether, therefore it must be admitted that their findings have all the elements demanding our acceptance. If this position is established, then our various cox-res-pondents who are asking why the price of bread has not gone down with the

price of fleur as in all other parts of the Dominion, have excellent premises on which to base their contentious. The Comnxission’s attention has been draw-n to what is taking place in Taihape, and it is likely that cur bakers w r ill be given an opportunity to show why prices cannot be reduced. It seems to us that the only aspect of the question in the bakers’ favouU-here is that of freight, but as the Cornm*sion has already gone into that aspect in other back-block centres and found that everything considered, there is little or nothing in it, this view- will receive little support when before the Commissioners. The Thames .van quoted as being a place to which Bansit of flour was very costly owing to the several handlings, by. transhipment,

railage and' cartage, which certainly dome very but. the Commission still found that they were as advantageously' situated as Auckland, bakers with respect to the average totalcosts, and therefore bread should not be sold at a higher price. The Thames

bakers realised the instability cf their contentions, and voluntarily , reduced the px-icej'hnakiifg it uniform with that charged in The city. .