FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.
STEADY PROGRESS—EXTENSIONS—NEW OFFICES—THE QUALITY OF THE BREAD—THE
TEAROOMS—ORDERS FROM EGYPT—ORGANISATION—A SPECIAL COMMITTEE—MR
ALEXANDER HAMILTON RETIRES—THE SOCIETY JOINS GLASGOW CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE—AUSTRIAN CO-OPERATORS VISIT THE BAKERY—ANOTHER
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS—RAILWAYMEN’S CONGRESS ENTERTAINED—BAND
SUCCESSES—PROPAGANDA WORK—CLYDEBANK BAKERY SECURES FIRST PRIZE FOR
BREAD AT S.C.W.S. BAKING COMPETITION—THE SOCIETY AND ITS
EMPLOYEES—COMPULSORY TRADE UNIONISM—A SHORTER WORKING WEEK—THE
OLDEST SCOTTISH SOCIETY—THE CO-OPERATIVE INSURANCE SOCIETY.
The growth of a great organisation may be likened to that of a river.
Away up in the mountains where the river takes its rise every stone has
weight to turn it aside. It trickles down the hillside with noisy
babble, here almost stagnant, there going forward with a rush; ever
gathering strength as it is joined by other streams. But by and by it
reaches the plain. The strength of its rush down the hillside carries it
forward with gradually diminishing pace until finally it subsides into
an easy forward motion, placid and smooth, yet deep enough and strong
enough to bear on its broad breast the ships of a hundred nations.
So it has been with the U.C.B.S. At first it was like the tiny rivulet,
directed hither and thither by the rocks in its path, with its progress
seemingly altogether arrested for a time, then going forward again with
a rush and gathering impetus as it went. The last great rush may be said
to have been taken when it transferred to M‘Neil Street. Its progress
down to the final placidity of the valley was rapid but gradually
diminishing in speed as it reached the level of the plain, so that
having traversed the hills of difficulty and gathered to itself
tributaries as it flowed onward, it was now settled into a strong but
smooth onward flow. Henceforth the difficulties and dangers were gone;
henceforth also was gone the rapidity of the current of prosperity; to
be replaced by calm, steady progress which swept forward with the
irresistible strength of a mighty river. No longer was there doubling of
output in a year or two; no more was it necessary to add extension to
extension in order to keep pace with a rapidly growing trade; yet an
increase in turnover which averaged 250 sacks per week in a year and
1,000 sacks a week in four years was made. It was a huge increase;
actually it was larger than any which had gone before it; yet it was not
so impressive as the smaller increases which had preceded, for in
relation to the total trade it was much smaller.
EXTENSIONS.
It was not that the work of the Society was not going forward as rapidly
in the years 1905 to 1910 as it had done in preceding years, for the
progress made in those four years was probably greater than ever before;
but that the gradually increasing volume did not call for the same
feverish exertion as formerly. In reality the work done during this
period was probably the greatest in the history of the Federation until
then, and the extensions were also probably the largest. St Mungo Halls
were completed; Belfast Bakery was built and extended; while Clydebank
Bakery was more than doubled in size. Then the new offices of the
Society at the Adelphi Street corner of M‘Neil Street were also erected,
making total additions to the value of the Society’s property of
something like £40,000. There were other minor alterations and additions
also, such as the covering in of Hayfield Street in order to convert it
into a garage. Altogether the additions to the productive departments
alone were such as allowed an additional turnover of over 1,000 sacks
per week.
The new offices were not built before they were required. The old
offices had sufficed indifferently well for the needs of the Society
when they were built, but the continuous and rapid extension of the
business soon made them altogether inadequate, and by the time the new
offices were ready for occupation the old ones were absolutely crowded
out.
The new offices were built to meet all emergencies, however, and during
the eight years in which they have been occupied have proved quite
adequate for the growing business needs of the Society and its
ever-increasing staff. Just before building was commenced, lengthy
negotiations which had been proceeding between the Society and the
Corporation of Glasgow for land between the building line and the river
were completed through the purchase by the Corporation of the land for
£1,000; the Corporation agreeing, in addition, to make and maintain the
street. This was a good bargain for the Society, for they had obtained
£700 more for the land than it had cost them; while a good part of that
£700 would have been swallowed up in making the new street. The covering
in of, first, the stable courtyard and, later, of Hayfield Street was
also excellent business, which made for the comfort and convenience of
the men and horses, and was well worth the £670 which the two operations
cost.
THE QUALITY OF THE BREAD.
For a long time little had been heard of complaints about the quality of
the bread, but towards the end of 1905 these became so numerous that the
committee called a conference of the foremen in the various departments
for the purpose of discussing the matter. The case, as put by the
committee, was that they were supplying the best materials, that they
were paying good wages and giving the best conditions of labour, and
that, naturally, they looked for good results. The serious nature of
some of the complaints was emphasised by the convener of the productive
committee; while Mr Young stated that the last six months had been the
worst for ten years, and hoped that a strong effort would be made to
maintain the high reputation of the bakery. The runners, in replying,
one and all complained of the inferior quality of the flour, especially
that which was used in sponging. They also pointed out that the rush to
get ready for the morning deliveries was, to a very large extent,
responsible for the inferior quality, owing to the limited time allowed
for preparing, proving, and firing. A few suggestions were made which it
was thought would make for improvement.
THE TEAROOMS.
During most of these years the tearooms continued to be the “lame dog”
of the Society. Little or no improvement took place, and balance-sheet
after balance-sheet showed a loss in working or an infinitesimal profit.
The question cropped up regularly at the quarterly meetings, and
countless suggestions for improvement were made. Particularly was this
the case with regard to catering for the less wealthy class of the
community. A conference with the respective heads of the tearooms took
place, with the object of going into the whole question, but it does not
seem to have borne much fruit. The suggestions made, as recorded in the
minutes, were of a negative character, and nothing was done. Later, Mr
Towart, purvey department, was put in charge of London Street and
Paisley Road Rooms for a month, with the object of seeing what could be
done to improve the position. On the result of Mr Towart’s experiment
the minutes are silent; but, from the fact that in less than six months
thereafter the Wheatsheaf Rooms were bought over by the manageress, it
would seem that it did not give much hope of success for that branch at
least.
ORDERS FROM EGYPT.
The fame of the U.C.B.S. was by this time extending, with the result
that in August of 1907 an order was received from a merchant in
Alexandria for 500 barrels of biscuits. This was followed in October of
the same year by a similar order. In the beginning of 1908 the Falkirk
depot was closed. The coming of motor transport had made it possible to
supply direct from M‘Neil Street the district which had been supplied
from the depot. An alteration in the rules which was made in March 1908
allowed the directors to serve, in future, for two years without coming
up for re-election. This rule ensured that when a society had been
appointed to send a representative to the board, that society should be
represented on the board for at least two years.
ORGANISATION.
There has always been more or less controversy amongst bakers as to the
respective merits of barm and yeast as an aerating agency for bread, and
as the bread at Belfast was baked by the yeast process, while in M‘Neil
Street barm was used, it was resolved, early in 1907, to have a test in
order to find out which ingredient gave the best results. The nature of
the test or how it was carried through is not given in the minutes, but
it is stated that the Glasgow bread was favoured by the majority of the
directors. On the other hand it was the case that such prizes as were
gained at the Agricultural Hall Exhibitions were gained mostly by
Belfast bakery; but this might be due to any of a variety of causes, and
not affected at all by the variety of aerating agent used.
In March 1907 a resolution was approved by the quarterly meeting
delegates, the purpose of which was the appointment of a sub-committee
to inquire into and report regarding the duties and emoluments of the
members of committee, and the advisability of adopting fixed rates of
remuneration in place of payment per meeting. It was agreed that the
special committee consist of seven members, two of whom should be
members of the board. Sixteen delegates were nominated, and it was
agreed that the names of these be printed on ballot papers, which should
be sent out to the societies so that they could record their votes. At
the June quarterly meeting the auditors reported on their counting of
the votes on these ballot papers, when it was found that the elected
nominees were Messrs Cadiz, Kinning Park; M‘Pherson, Cowlairs; Gamble,
Glasgow Eastern; Smith, St George; and Pringle, St Rollox. At this
meeting, also, the special committee was given additional work, for the
delegates refused to adopt the report of the committee with regard to
the representation of Irish societies on the directorate, and remitted
the subject to the special committee for their consideration.
The special committee reported to the December quarterly meeting, the
more important of the recommendations being that the board be divided
into three sub-committees—two for M‘Neil Street and one for Clydebank,
and that the supervision of Belfast be continued on the lines adopted by
the board. They recommended, also, that the method of payment per
meeting be adhered to, and that payment be continued at the rates in
vogue. With respect to the representation of the Irish societies on the
board, a deputation of the committee had visited Ireland and had
interviewed representatives of societies and others there able to give
information, and, as a result, they declared it to be impossible to give
the Irish societies representation on the board because of the
geographical position of the branch. They recommended, therefore, the
appointment of an advisory committee, to be appointed by the Irish
societies. These recommendations of the select committee were all
approved and given effect to.
Meantime the Society was continuing its policy of doing as much as
possible of its work by its own employees, and it now began to add to
its work that of completing the building of motor vans, ordering the
chassis from the manufacturers and putting on the bodies themselves.
Incidentally, it was decided that from the month of July 1907 all the
shops west of Govan Town Hall should be supplied in future from
Clydebank factory. In September 1907 Mr Alexander Hamilton, who had been
a member of the directorate for a number of years, resigned, and was
awarded the thanks of the delegates for the services he had rendered to
the Society. In furtherance of the methods of the directors, who
believed in testing every appliance which was likely to be of use in
improving the quality or cheapening the cost of the goods they
manufactured, a “Cook” steam hot-plate was installed early in 1908, and
was found to work very satisfactorily. At this period the minutes record
that the properties and stocks of the Society were insured for £172,000,
divided as follows:—M‘Neil Street, £83,500; stables and workshops,
£14,350; tenements and halls, £31,400; Clydebank, £29,000; Belfast,
£10,500.
In 1908 the board recommended that the Society should become a member of
the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, and this recommendation was unanimously
agreed to by the delegates. During this year one of the most notable
events was the visit of a deputation of Austrian co-operators, including
Dr Karpeles, who were making a tour of British Co-operative
institutions. During one of the days they were in Glasgow the foreign
visitors were the guests of the U.C.B.S., and were enthusiastically
welcomed. One cannot help wondering whether the welcome would be quite
so enthusiastic and unstinted if they were to return to-day. In a speech
which he made during his visit to the bakery, Dr Karpeles pointed out
that in a Parliament of 517 representatives they in Austria had 88
Labour representatives, and contrasted this with the thirty or so in the
British House of Commons. He also referred to Co-operators as all
belonging to one family, and stated that the members of the deputation
left Scotland, not only full of gratitude for the reception given them,
but full also of new ideas for the spread of Co-operation. That was only
ten years ago, but to-day Austria is a dismembered wreck, and
International Co-operation has received a setback from which it may take
a generation to recover.
ANOTHER UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS.
Only three years had elapsed since the last unemployment crisis ended,
but at the September 1908 quarterly meeting the chairman felt under the
necessity of stating that they were in the midst of the worst
unemployment crisis of the last thirty years, and voiced the sympathy of
those present with the sufferers, a sympathy which he had no doubt would
take practical form ere the meeting ended. Later in the meeting it was
agreed that £100 be subscribed to the Lord Provost’s Fund for the
unemployed, and, in the course of the discussion of this proposal, it
was stated that the Baking Society had already given free bread to the
value of £300. It was decided that in order to avoid overlapping the
distribution of free bread in Glasgow should cease, but the directors
were empowered to deal with applications received from outside Glasgow.
The unemployment epidemic continued right through 1909 and well into
1910, and had not quite disappeared in 1911. It was the most serious in
its results which had ever been experienced by Britain since it became
an industrial nation.
RAILWAYMEN’S CONGRESS ENTERTAINED.
In October of 1908 the annual Congress of the Amalgamated Society of
Railway servants was held in Glasgow, and, on the Monday night of the
week in which the Congress was held, the delegates were the guests of
the U.C.B.S., the whole suite of the St Mungo Halls being placed at
their disposal. The guests were welcomed by Mr Gerrard in name of the
Society. He said the railwaymen all over the country were a tower of
strength to the Co-operative movement, and in every town which was a
railway centre there also they would find a strong, well-managed
Co-operative society.
In 1909 the price of flour took an upward tendency, but at the time the
movement began the U.C.B.S. were well prepared to meet it as they had a
stock of 75,000 sacks in hand; sufficient to carry them on for four
months. Later in that year the directors had a conference with the
directors of the Wholesale Society, as they were dissatisfied with the
quality of the flour they were getting from Regent mill. The result of
the conference was that they agreed to try Chancelot flour for a time.
New trading terms were also arranged with the S.C.W.S. for the sale of
biscuits. This year’s sales of cakes and other Christmas and New Year
goods were considered very satisfactory, 68¼ tons of large cakes being
sold. During the period of cake distribution what was considered a
record run was made by one of the Society’s motors; 140 miles being
covered in fifteen hours, and goods delivered on the route.
THE BAND.
During the years since its formation, the U.C.B.S. silver band had been
gradually increasing in efficiency. At first, when it entered
competitions, it was only occasionally in the list of prize winners, and
its engagements in the course of a year were not many in number, but as
the members gained in knowledge of their instruments and experience as a
musical combination, this position gradually bettered, until in 1906
they were winners of three first prizes and several others of lesser
value. These successes were followed in the ensuing years by others, so
that by the end of the season of 1908 the Iles cup had become their own
property, having been won for three successive years, and the prizes
were formally presented at a social meeting, which was held on 3rd
December of that year. Mr William Miller, who was president of the band,
and who had taken a keen interest in its development from the beginning,
presided, and stated that the season had been the best on record, as
they had had thirty-five engagements during the season. One of the chief
aims of the band, he said, was to spread a greater love for brass band
music. During the evening Mr Lawson, chairman of the Scottish Central
Brass Band Association, presented the prizes which had been won during
the season. These included the challenge cup, the Iles cup, and the
second-class championship cup. Mr Miller was presented by the bandsmen
during the evening with a clock and ornaments in recognition of the
services he had rendered to the band during the eleven years it had been
in existence. Mr Miller, in returning thanks, hoped that the U.C.B.S.
band would be the nucleus of a Co-operative band which would represent
the whole movement, and which would be able in time to take its place
alongside even the “Besses of the Barns.” Unfortunately, Mr Miller’s
hopes have not yet been realised, and now there are two bands in the
movement instead of one.
PROPAGANDA WORK.
The Society was continuously devising new forms of propaganda, and
extending and developing old forms. Much of this propaganda and
advertising work was philanthropic in its nature, and took the form of
entertaining various Co-operative and other organisations, but some of
it was also utilitarian. For instance, it was usually arranged that the
heads of the departments, or some of them, should attend the annual
exhibitions of bakery productions in London, and frequently specimens of
the Society’s productions were shown there. Then the annual cake show
grew to be the most sought after function of the whole year in the
Co-operative movement, and committeemen and Co-operative employees from
all over the country came to inspect and select, while the departments
of the three bakeries vied with each other in devising new dainties with
which to please the eye and tempt the palate of Co-operators.
Unfortunately, amongst other evils which the war brought in its train
was the cessation of this annual Co-operative show.
In another direction, also, the propaganda work of the Society was
utilitarian as well as philanthropic. A considerable sum was spent every
year on educational work, and much of this money was devoted to the
promotion of education and recreation amongst the employees. Then, too,
when new instruments became necessary for the band, a grant of £200 was
made from the Society’s funds, while uniforms were also provided. Every
opportunity of exhibiting the Society’s productions was also seized with
avidity, and at the 1906 Congress sufficient space was secured to enable
an oatcake baking plant to be set up, thus advertising still further the
Society’s products amongst the Co-operators of the South. In 1907 a
conference was held with representatives of society members and their
employees for the purpose of stimulating the pastry trade. Toward the
end of the same year, a society in Amsterdam was granted the use of
lantern slides of the bakery for propaganda purposes. Twenty vehicles
were sent out to take part in the Co-operative demonstration held in
connection with the Co-operative Festival in the beginning of 1908,
while every year for a time an inspection of the Society’s horses took
place in Glasgow Green on an evening in the summer, and prizes were
given to the employees for the best groomed horses and best kept and
cleaned harness. During a bakers’ strike at Lanark in the early autumn
of 1908, the Bakers’ Union applied to the Baking Society for bread,
which they purposed to sell in opposition to the local bakers. This
request was complied with on the condition that the Union did not sell
in competition with the local society.
Late in 1908, the bakery of Kilbirnie Society was burned down, and that
society was supplied with bread until their own bakery was reconstructed
again. At an exhibition and test of motor vehicles, which took place
towards the end of 1908, an Albion car which was the property of the
Society was awarded first prize and a Halley car, also their property,
second prize. The prizes, £4 and £2, were given to the drivers.
Pie-heaters had been supplied to one society in the Glasgow area by the
Baking Society, and these having been found exceedingly useful in
stimulating the sales of this variety of the Society’s productions, it
was agreed by the directors that any other society which was desirous of
using them should have similar facilities. Toward the end of 1909 it was
agreed to hold a competition amongst the squads of bread bakers in
M‘Neil Street and Clydebank, and to enter bread baked by the winners for
the S.C.W.S. bread baking competition. Clydebank branch secured first
prize at the bread baking competition of the S.C.W.S., and the
championship shield was presented to the U.C.B.S. at a social meeting of
the Bakery employees, which was held at Clydebank shortly afterwards.
The M‘Neil Street squad foremen who had won prizes also had these
presented to them at a social meeting which was held in Glasgow about
the same time. Hopes were expressed at the meeting in Clydebank that,
having gained the shield, Clydebank would remain possessors of it, but
this was probably too much to expect. At all events, no society
succeeded in winning it twice while the competition was in being.
In 1910 the miners of Leadhills, who had since become more closely
associated with the U.C.B.S., were on strike against the very bad
conditions of their employment, and £20 was granted by the Bakery to the
strike funds. In March 1910 “Puffing Billy,” the first steam motor owned
by the U.C.B.S., was disposed of for £70, after having given some eight
years of faithful service.
THE SOCIETY AND ITS EMPLOYEES.
The good terms which existed between the Society and its employees
continued during the period with which we are dealing. In great measure
this was due to the kindly consideration with which they were treated by
the directors and managers generally. In addition to the bonus—and the
facilities given, not only to invest it in the Society’s funds through
the investment society, and the opportunities which that society’s
membership of the Federation gave for bringing grievances before the
general body of the members—facilities, by the way, which during the
long history of the Society have never had to be used—the directors were
continuously thinking out plans for interesting the employees in their
work, and as opportunity offered were bettering the conditions under
which work was carried on. It is scarcely possible to conceive
conditions under which the work of bread bakers will be other than
laborious, but the strong efforts made by the directors to inaugurate a
natural working day for the bakers—efforts which failed because the
general body of the public were more concerned about suiting their own
convenience than they were about making a baker’s working life more
bearable—showed that the directors had the interests of their employees
at heart and desired to make working conditions as tolerable as
possible.
With many of the representatives of the societies this idea was also
foremost, and doubtless it was because that they recognised that trade
unionism was the surest safeguard of the welfare of the employees that,
in 1907, they adopted a resolution which made it imperative that where
there were trade unions with which it was possible for the employees to
become associated they must be members of these unions. Another step
which was taken by the directors spontaneously had for its object the
wellbeing of the workers. This was the inauguration in September 1907 of
a 44–hour week for the oatcake bakers. In later years the number of
hours worked by the female employees in all departments was also
gradually reduced.
The Society also bore a share of the expenses of the employees’ picnics
and social meetings, usually contributing a sum sufficient to clear all
or almost all the expenses of the juniors. In 1909 the top flat of the
biscuit warehouse was fitted up as an employees’ dining room. In the
middle of 1910 the board were called on to arbitrate in a case where
three of the blacksmiths employed by the Society had failed to maintain
themselves in membership of their trade union and had been dismissed by
the manager as a result. After considering the case, the directors
upheld the decision of the manager.
THE OLDEST SCOTTISH SOCIETY GOES UNDER.
Until the year 1908 the oldest Co-operative society in Scotland and
probably in the world was located in Govan. Govan Old Victualling
Society kept painted over its doors while in business the statement:
“established 1777.” Doubtless, this statement was legendary and would be
difficult to prove, but it is certainly worthy of acceptance in view of
the fact that other Scottish societies are known to have existed at a
very early date. However, the society had fallen on evil days, and in
the beginning of 1907 sent a request to the directors of the U.C.B.S.
that its shares should be placed on the transfer list. Towards the end
of 1908 it was forced to go into liquidation, but an unsuccessful
attempt was made to carry on the business, in order that the deficit of
some £900 which the accounts showed might be cleared off. Thus the last
remaining link with the Co-operators of the eighteenth century
disappeared, after what was doubtless a very useful career of one
hundred and thirty years.
THE CO-OPERATIVE INSURANCE SOCIETY.
For many years after the formation of the Co-operative Insurance Society
the Baking Society had held aloof from it and refused to become a
member, but in later years more Co-operative councils prevailed, and it
had become affiliated. On the death of Mr Andrew Miller, secretary of
the S.C.W.S., who had been for many years a Scottish representative on
the C.I.S. board, Mr James H. Forsyth, cashier of the Baking Society,
was nominated and secured election, retaining his office until the
taking over of the C.I.S. by the two Wholesale societies.
[Illustration:
DEPARTMENTAL MANAGERS
1. WILLIAM MILLER,
Distributive Manager, Glasgow.
2. JOHN DAVIDSON,
Master of Works, Glasgow.
3. JOHN M‘PHAIL,
Delivery Manager, Glasgow.
4. JOHN TOWART,
Purveying Manager, Glasgow.
5. WILLIAM NINIAN,
Biscuit Production Manager, Glasgow.
6. MURDOCH RICHARD,
Bread and Pastry Production Manager, Glasgow.
]
[Illustration:
DEPARTMENTAL MANAGERS
1. JOHN REID,
Productive Manager, Clydebank.
2. ALLAN STEWART,
Distributive Manager, Clydebank.
3. MALCOLM M‘FARLANE,
Delivery Manager, Clydebank.
4. DUNCAN M‘INNES,
Branch Manager, Belfast.
5. WILLIAM BELL,
Productive Manager, Belfast.
6. DUNCAN GRAHAM,
Branch Cashier, Belfast.
]
THE SOCIETY’S PROGRESS.
Notwithstanding the difficulties which the depression of 1908–09–10 had
placed in the way of increased trade for the Society the progress made
was substantial, and the yearly turnover, which was £480,000 at the
beginning of 1906, had risen by the end of 1910 to £564,000, while the
membership had increased from 143 to 171. At the beginning of the period
the weekly turnover in sacks averaged 3,405, while by the end of the
period it was 3,795. This was a much smaller increase than in the
preceding period, and it was also a decrease of 125 sacks from the trade
which was being done in 1907–08, but in view of the labour conditions
which prevailed in Glasgow during the later years of the period it was
very good indeed, representing as it did an increase in turnover of
10,000 sacks a year.