PROGRESS CONTINUES STEADY.
BISCUIT FACTORY REMODELLED—COVER-PLATE OVENS—COMPLETION OF M‘NEIL
STREET BAKERY—A SERIOUS FIRE—A NEW VENTURE—SUCCESSFUL
CONTRACTORS—BLEACHED FLOUR—A BREAD TEST—ADVERTISING WORK—FRESH
OVERTURES TO C.W.S.—A TESTING DEPARTMENT CONSIDERED—PROPOSED
SUPERANNUATION FUND—THE INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE CONGRESS—THE
HOLIDAY CAMP—THE SOCIETY’S PROGRESS.
The new offices of the Society were ready to be occupied in 1910, and in
March of that year they were formally opened. In the course of the same
year, the remodelling and bringing thoroughly up to date of the biscuit
factory was commenced. This remodelling scheme had its origin in the
fact that the old engine which provided the power for the biscuit-making
machinery was wearing done; and after considering the whole position the
members of the board decided that the interests of the business would be
best served by transferring from steam to electricity as a motive power.
It was therefore agreed that henceforth each machine in the factory
should be motor driven. The cost of installing twelve motors and
controllers was over £500; but it made for ease in working and also in
controlling the machinery.
COVER-PLATE OVENS.
About the same time a new type of bread baking oven was installed. The
ovens in the older part of the bakery were becoming worn out, and that
section of the bakery also required remodelling in order to bring it
into line with the newer ideas of the twentieth century. But the ovens
in the old bakery had been built on the Scotch principle, and there was
not sufficient space available to permit of draw-plate ovens being
installed without a reconstruction of the premises which might have
proved more costly than the provision of an entirely new building. Just
at this time they had submitted to them for their consideration a new
type of oven which seemed specially designed to meet cases of
reconstruction like theirs. This type of oven, which has come to be
known as the “cover-plate oven,” had much the same features, so far as
the actual baking was concerned, as had the draw-plate oven, but it
differed from the latter in that, instead of requiring a large space in
front of the oven to permit of the oven sole being drawn out to receive
the bread before baking and to permit of its removal afterwards, it had
a moveable cover, which was raised to permit of the bread being placed
on and removed from the oven sole, and which was lowered to retain the
heat when the unbaked bread had all been deposited on the sole. The
first of these ovens was installed about the end of 1910, and so
satisfactory did the trial prove that first No. 5 bakehouse and then No.
11 bakehouse were entirely remodelled and ovens of this new type
installed. Before deciding finally on the adoption of the new type of
oven, however, numerous experiments and tests were carried through. The
Bakery engineer (Mr Scott), the chief foreman baker (Mr Richard), and
the master of works (Mr Davidson) were all requested to submit reports.
These reports were eminently satisfactory, particularly that of Mr
Richard, who reported on the saving in fuel and wages which was effected
by the new oven.
At the time when the directors decided to install the first set of six
of the new pattern ovens, they also decided to install one complete set
of automatic baking machinery, manufactured by the same firm of baking
machinery manufacturers, the estimated cost of six ovens and machinery
being £4,000. This automatic machinery has proved so effective in the
various processes of dough making and bread moulding that less than half
the number of bakers are required to perform the work where it is
installed as are required where it is absent. As indicated above, so
effective did the combination of new ovens and new plant prove that in
little more than a year after the first £4,000 had been spent on the
installation it was decided to extend it at an additional cost of
£7,000. Since then, additions have been made which bring the total
number of this type of oven to twenty.
At the same time as this improvement in their baking plant was decided
on, the committee also decided on extensive alterations in connection
with the oatcake factory. These included the removal of the hot-plates
from their former situation to the flat immediately above the biscuit
factory, at a cost, including structural alterations, of over £2,000.
COMPLETION OF M‘NEIL STREET BAKERY.
No sooner were these alterations carried through successfully than the
committee turned their attention seriously to another project which had
been receiving consideration at intervals for some time. This was the
completion of the Govan Street, M‘Neil Street, Adelphi Street, South
York Street square by the erection of an entirely new block on the site
of the old buildings at the South York Street and Adelphi Street
corner—the north-west corner of the square; and at the quarterly meeting
held on 20th September 1913 they were granted powers to proceed. The
plans for the new building provided for a workers’ dining room in the
basement flat. The ground floor was to form an extension of the biscuit
factory, which had become congested in recent years and was too small to
enable the Society to meet the demand for biscuits. The first floor was
to be used as an icing room, and the icing room then in use it was
proposed to utilise as a cake factory, building four Scotch ovens for
that purpose. The second flat was to be utilised as an extension of the
biscuit-packing warehouse; while the upper flat it was decided to fit up
as a dressing room for the female workers. The approximate cost was
given as £11,000.
The new building was commenced in the spring of 1914, but before much
had been done the outbreak of war began to hamper building operations
very seriously, and it was not until the summer of 1916 that the
building was completed.
A SERIOUS FIRE.
In November 1913 a fire occurred in the top flat of the stables at South
York Street. In this flat 180 tons of hay were stored, and before the
fire could be subdued the whole of the hay was destroyed and the roof
had fallen in. Fortunately, the damage was covered by insurance, and the
sum of £543 was received from the insurance company. It was exceedingly
fortunate that the fire originated in the upper flat, as otherwise many
valuable horses might have been destroyed.
A NEW VENTURE.
For the Christmas trade of 1910 a new branch of trade was started.
During the preceding two winters unemployment had been rife, and as a
result the trade done in Christmas goods had shown a tendency to fall
off, but by the end of 1910 business was getting back to normal again,
and in order that Co-operators might be able to take full advantage of
the facilities for the production of Christmas luxuries which the Baking
Society possessed, a range of Christmas hampers, containing seasonable
goods produced by both U.C.B.S. and S.C.W.S., was placed on the market.
To popularise these hampers amongst the members of the various
societies, contribution cards, enabling the societies to form “hamper
clubs,” were distributed. This branch of business proved instantly
successful, over 3,000 hampers being sold. Altogether, at the cake show
this year, 102 tons of cakes were disposed of, as well as shortbread to
the value of almost £2,000.
The Society was now almost continuously successful in their tenders for
contracts on a large scale. On several occasions they had supplied the
provisions for the children entertained during the summer months in the
public parks by Glasgow Corporation, and during this winter they were
the successful tenderers for the supplying of five centres for the
feeding of necessitous children; while in 1911 they obtained the
Corporation contract to cater for 67,500 children at the Exhibition of
that year, as well as the contracts for the Coronation dinners in St
Mungo Hall and Maryhill. The year 1911 must also have been a busy year
for weddings, for it is recorded in the minute of 7th July meeting that
already that year 208 bridecakes had been made at M‘Neil Street. Tenders
for supplying a number of industrial schools were also accepted, and the
contracts for supplying a number of military camps with bread were
received. In the following year the contracts for supplying bread to a
number of the Territorial camps in Scotland were also secured, and these
contracts continued to be held by the Society until the outbreak of war.
In the autumn of 1912 a certificate was received from the War Office for
prompt and regular delivery of bread to the camps; and this promptness
and regularity of delivery had doubtless much to do with the fact that
for so many years in succession the contracts for supplying these camps
were held by the Society.
For the Christmas trade of 1912 136 tons of cakes were sold, while
80,000 children were supplied on Glasgow Corporation Children’s Day.
BLEACHED FLOUR.
The validity of the bleaching of flour by chemical process was a
question which engaged the attention of many official Co-operators
during the spring and summer of 1912. Uddingston Society was prosecuted
for a contravention of the Food and Drugs Acts because they had sold to
a Food and Drugs inspector one pound of flour which had been bleached or
oxidised by artificial means. The case was defended by the S.C.W.S.,
from whom the flour had been purchased, and at whose Regent mills it had
been milled. Almost all the chemical and milling experts in the country
gave evidence as witnesses on one side or the other, and the Sheriff
before whom the case was heard was left with a mass of opposing
technical evidence to unravel such as he had seldom had to face.
Ultimately he found the case not proven and, contrary to expectation,
the decision was not appealed from. The U.C.B.S., like most of the other
Co-operative societies in Scotland, had been using a proportion of this
chemically whitened flour, but in November of 1911, shortly after the
seizure of the sample at Uddingston, they decided to write to the
S.C.W.S. and inform them that no further deliveries of bleached flour
could be accepted. Nothing further was heard of the controversy which
had raged so fiercely in Hamilton Sheriff Court, however, and so it may
be taken for granted that, whatever virtues or failings flour so treated
may have had, injury to health could not be proved.
A BREAD TEST.
Although the committee of the Baking Society and their experts took
every precaution and themselves made every test possible, so as to
ensure that only products of the highest quality were sent out from the
bakery, they did not always rest content with having done that, and one
of the occasions when they took steps to get the unbiassed opinions of
the customer societies arose shortly after the introduction of the
cover-plate ovens into the bakery. They sent out samples of the bread
produced by Scotch, draw-plate, and cover-plate ovens to every society
customer, with a request that the societies should test the three
different loaves and indicate their preference. Altogether 634 samples
were sent out and 439 replies were received. Of these 47 per cent.
favoured the bread baked in the cover-plate oven, 34 per cent. favoured
the draw-plate bread, and 19 per cent. the bread baked in the Scotch
oven. At the same time fourteen samples had been sent to a private firm
at the request of the firm, and the results there were somewhat similar.
This test seemed to establish the superiority of the cover-plate oven
over either of the other two forms.
ADVERTISING WORK.
When preparations were being made for the 1911 Glasgow Exhibition, the
Baking Society’s committee decided to approach the boards of the
S.C.W.S. and the P.C.M.S., with the object of having a joint
Co-operative stand. Later, a sub-committee of the S.C.W.S. was
interviewed, and an agreement was reached that a portion of the space
reserved for that federation should be placed at the disposal of the
Baking Society for the purpose of erecting a working exhibit. On
interviewing the manager of the Exhibition, however, it was found that
that gentleman would not sanction a working exhibit in that section of
the Exhibition, with the result that the Baking Society’s committee
decided to drop the proposal and thanked the S.C.W.S. for their
kindness. Meantime, however, advantage was taken of the exhibition of
Co-operative productions which was got up by the S.C.W.S. in connection
with the jubilee celebrations of St Rollox Society, and there an exhibit
which took the form of oatcake baking by a number of alert and smartly
dressed girls, together with showcases filled with a tempting collection
of the most toothsome dainties produced by the Society, was shown. At
the same time, a similar exhibit was shown at Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Meantime, the engineering department of the Society undertook a very
important piece of work. This was the making of several “Unitas”
moulding machines for use in the bakery. The making of these machines
was placed in the hands of a Scottish firm on what were deemed
satisfactory terms.
About this time Enniskillen Society in Ireland was having a bad time of
it because of the unfair competition of the master bakers of the town,
and assistance in the form of an increased percentage on bread was given
by the Belfast Branch. The directors also lodged a protest with the
Irish Master Bakers’ Association. In the early weeks of 1911, the
Society carried out a test at Clydebank for the purpose of ascertaining
the comparative costs of gas and electricity for lighting purposes. This
test showed that the Society would save 9/ per week by using
electricity.
FRESH OVERTURES TO C.W.S.
At the beginning of 1911, a deputation from the board was visiting
Newcastle on business, and it was decided that advantage should be taken
of the opportunity to interview the Newcastle section of the C.W.S.
board again, with the object of having U.C.B.S. invoices to English
societies recognised by that federation. The interview was of a most
friendly nature, and the members of the Newcastle section of the board
promised to bring the suggestions made before the full board of the
C.W.S., and give them full consideration and an early decision. This was
done, but, unfortunately, with the same result as on previous occasions;
the C.W.S. refused to recognise U.C.B.S. invoices.
An interesting sidelight on the enormous trade done by the Federation in
pastries, teabread, cakes, etc., is given in a report which was prepared
by the Federation at the instance of the Co-operative Union. The Union
was collecting information with the object of having the tax on sugar
repealed or reduced, and the information supplied by the U.C.B.S. showed
that the amount of sugar consumed by that Federation in its various
products during the past year had been 837 tons; while the taxation
which had been paid on this article was £1,500.
Various items of business were engaging attention, all of which had a
bearing on the success of the Society. The Continental Tyre Company
offered a prize of 5/ to the vanmen for every tyre of theirs which was
run more than the guaranteed 10,000 miles, and the directors agreed to
accept this; as not only was it good for the tyre manufacturers, but it
also made for the saving of outlay on tyres. A test of flour for
shrinkage was carried out for thirty-three days, with the result that it
was decided to call the attention of the S.C.W.S. to the excessive
shrinkage shown. This was explained later as being due to the great
demand for flour, which necessitated its being sent out from the mill
too soon after being milled, and an amicable settlement was reached. In
November 1911, it was agreed to insure the members of the board against
accident when engaged on the business of the Society. The only
surprising thing about this step is that it had not been taken before.
TESTING DEPARTMENT CONSIDERED.
In November 1911, a special report by Mr Murdoch, principal of the
Baking Section of the Glasgow Technical College, was received, the
subject of which was the standardisation of flour, so far as proportions
of moisture and gluten contained were concerned. Mr Murdoch suggested
that the flour should be tested at the beginning of the season and a
standard of moisture for each brand fixed; he also suggested that baking
tests should be made with the object of comparing the relative values of
the various brands. After this report had been considered for some time
by the members of committee, it was again discussed, but decision was
delayed, and it was not until May 1913 that mention of it again appeared
in the minutes. It was then decided that a chemical analysis of the
various ingredients in a laboratory was not necessary, but it was
thought that an experienced baker might be engaged who would devote his
time to making experiments with the various brands of flour, checking
costs and testing new recipes; and the whole question was remitted to
the productive committee to make further arrangements. The coming of the
war put a stop to definite steps being taken, however, and it was not
until the end of the fiftieth year of the Society’s history that it was
finally decided to establish a testing department. For this purpose, the
services of Mr Murdoch, the Technical College expert, were secured for
the exclusive use of the U.C.B.S.
PROPOSED SUPERANNUATION FUND.
By a coincidence it came about that the two big federations in the
Scottish Co-operative movement were called upon to consider the question
of the superannuation of their employees about the same time. It was in
the month of August 1912 that the question was raised in the U.C.B.S.
boardroom. Mr Miller, the Shettleston representative on the board, who
had given notice some time earlier, moved at the committee meeting held
on 2nd August “That we consider the possibility of forming a compulsory
contributory superannuation fund for all employees, with a compulsory
retiral at sixty-five years of age.” This motion, which was seconded by
Mr M‘Lean, was agreed to, and it was remitted to the finance committee,
manager, and cashier to prepare a scheme for submission to the board.
It is difficult to say whether the two things had any relation, but at
anyrate it is remarkable that at the quarterly meeting of the S.C.W.S.
which took place in September of the same year a motion for the
appointment of a committee to consider the superannuation of directors
and employees and to prepare a scheme was given notice of by Kinning
Park Society.
At the quarterly meeting of the Baking Society which was held in June
1913 a draft scheme was submitted by the directors for the consideration
and provisional approval of the delegates, the chairman stating that if
this was done the scheme would be submitted to an actuary for his report
on the financial proposals.
Delay was moved on behalf of Kinning Park Society, in order that the
societies should have an opportunity of submitting amendments. On the
other hand, those who favoured giving the board the provisional approval
they asked for argued that the proper time to submit amendments was
after the actuary had considered the financial proposals and had come to
a decision as to their soundness or otherwise. Disapproval of the whole
proposal was also moved, but eventually the motion for delay became the
finding of the meeting.
The proposals of the committee were most elaborate. They proposed that
all employees who had been in regular employment by the Society for six
months and who were in the employment of the Society at the date of
commencing the fund, if they were sixteen years of age or upwards and
not over fifty years of age in the case of males or forty-five years of
age in the case of females, should be members of the fund. The proposed
scale of contributions to the scheme was 5 per cent. of the wages or
salary received, and contributors were to be eligible at sixty years of
age to retire on pension if they so desired. At the age of sixty-five
for males and fifty for females they would be eligible to receive
annuities ranging from 25 per cent. of their salaries, after ten years’
payment of contributions, to 85 per cent. of their salaries after having
paid contributions for fifty-one years. To assist in launching the
scheme it was proposed that the Society should make an initial
contribution of £10,000. It was also proposed that the superannuation
fund should be managed by a committee of seven, which committee should
consist of the chairman and three directors for the time being of the
U.C.B.S. and three representatives of the employees, who must have at
least three years’ service with the Society.
When the scheme was brought forward again at the September meeting of
the Society one of the amendments sent in was from St George Society,
and called for the rejection of the scheme in its entirety. The motion
to reject the scheme was seconded by a representative of the employees,
who referred to the “autocratic” methods of the directors in adopting
this scheme and bringing it forward without consulting the workers. The
result was that the scheme was disapproved. The scheme which was brought
forward by the S.C.W.S. for the superannuation of their employees
suffered the same fate.
THE INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE CONGRESS.
It was as the result of an invitation which came from the Scottish
National Co-operative Conference, held in Kilmarnock in 1910, that the
International Co-operative Congress held in Hamburg in the autumn of
that year decided to come to Glasgow for the 1913 Congress rather than
go to Vienna, the claims of which city were strongly urged by Dr Beno
Karpeles, in opposition to the claims of Glasgow, as set forth by Mr
James Deans.
The year 1913 was a big year for Scottish Co-operators, for not only had
they to entertain the International Congress in the autumn, but Scotland
was also the location of the British Congress in the summer, and
pessimists were not wanting who thought that the Co-operators of
Scotland had undertaken a task which was too heavy for them when they
decided to entertain two so great Congresses as the British and the
International in one year. Events proved that the pessimists were wrong,
however. One of the first duties which fell to the lot of the committee
which was appointed to make preparations for the International Congress
was that of finding a suitable house for it, but they did not require to
look far afield. The U.C.B.S. were the owners of the best hall in the
city for the purpose for which it was required. In St Mungo Hall there
was ample accommodation for the Congress itself, while in the adjoining
halls ample space for dining the delegates could be provided. The Bakery
was just across the street, and cooking and waiting facilities were all
that could be desired. So it was decided that in St Mungo Hall the
Congress should be held.
The U.C.B.S. undertook all the work of catering for the delegates at
luncheon each day. They also undertook the provision of the luncheon
which was given by the reception committee on the Saturday, and they
themselves provided the entertainment for one of the afternoons of
Congress. It was universally acknowledged that the International
Congress of 1913 was the best International Co-operative Congress held,
and to this happy result the U.C.B.S. contributed no small share. The
event was one which will not readily be forgotten by those privileged to
take part. Alas, that the expressions of fraternity so freely uttered
then should have been so soon made of no avail by the outbreak of war.
THE HOLIDAY CAMP.
It is to Mr John Dewar, for many years president of the Renfrewshire
Co-operative Conference Association, that the idea of a Co-operative
holiday camp owes its origin. For many years Mr Dewar was an
enthusiastic Volunteer, and his experiences under canvas during the
annual training periods of his regiment impressed him with the value of
this form of holiday. Associated with him in his propaganda for a
camping association on Co-operative lines was Mr James Lucas, at that
time president of the Glasgow and Suburbs Conference Association, and
latterly, also, Mr John Paton, of the Renfrewshire Conference council,
who had been converted to the idea as the result of a visit to Douglas,
I.O.M., where he had seen the huge city under canvas which for a number
of years housed thousands of holiday-making Lancashire lads every
summer.
By 1910 these gentlemen had been able to get their organisation so far
advanced that they had selected a site on the Ayrshire Coast for their
first camp, and had made arrangements with the farmer who rented the
land. At the last moment, however, the landowner stepped in and vetoed
the whole proceedings. This put an end to doing anything further with
regard to a camp during that year, but the search for a suitable site
continued and, at length, the little farm of Roseland, situated on
Canada Hill, Rothesay, overlooking the Bay, was secured. The farm was
for sale, but the committee in charge of the arrangements considered
that purchase was too bold an initial step to take, so they leased the
farm for six months; securing an option to purchase at the end of that
period if they wished.
Here, in the summer of 1911, the first Scottish Co-operative holiday
camp was established. It was rather a primitive affair, that first camp.
The cooking was done in the little farmhouse, while the campers had
their meals in a large marquee. The U.C.B.S. directors took a keen
interest in the camp from the very beginning. The catering was done by
them, and the catering staff were housed in the little farmhouse.
Primitive though the arrangements were, they appealed to the campers,
who were unanimous in their praise of the beautiful situation, the pure
air, the perfect catering, and the small outlay for which they secured a
perfect holiday. Thus encouraged, the committee which had promoted the
camp proceeded to organise a Co-operative society to work it, and in
this Co-operative society the U.C.B.S. took out twenty-five shares. The
farm was purchased for £600, and in September the Baking Society
increased the number of their shares to 100.
In 1912 the camp was much better organised than in 1911, but it was
still far from being what its promoters desired to see it. They were
hampered for lack of funds, however, as the Co-operative societies were
showing caution and a lack of faith in the enterprise, and were not
providing the capital necessary to work it properly as readily as had
been expected. The only fault which the committee found with the site
lay in the fact that in dry summers the water supply was inadequate. The
summer of 1912 also showed them that it was desirable that something
more impervious to rain than a marquee was desirable for the gatherings
of campers and, in order that these two defects might be put right, they
applied to the U.C.B.S. for a loan of £1,000 on the security of the
property. This loan was granted them, and so good use did they make of
the power which it gave them that, before the time came for opening the
camp in 1913, they had put down a huge storage tank for water, capable
of storing 20,000 gallons; and had erected a dining hall large enough to
dine several hundred persons.
The camp was a very great success in the third year. Its popularity was
so great that the committee found it quite impossible to provide
accommodation for all who wished to avail themselves of its facilities
for holiday making, and this has been the case in each succeeding year,
notwithstanding the influence of the war. At the end of the third
season, however, the committee of the association came to the conclusion
that, if the camp was to be made the success they believed it was
capable of becoming, some rearrangement of its management would require
to be made, so they invited the Baking Society to take it over as a
going concern and work it themselves.
They explained to the directors of the Baking Society that they were not
taking this step because they disbelieved in its success, but solely on
the ground that they considered that dual control was not good for
discipline and did not make for good management.
The directors of the Baking Society promised to consider the matter, and
the result was they brought forward to the quarterly meeting, held in
March 1914, a recommendation that the camp should be taken over, and
this recommendation was accepted by the delegates. Since then the camp
has been managed by the U.C.B.S.
In 1914 accommodation was provided for 250 persons, and it is extremely
probable that greatly increased accommodation would have been provided
before now had it not been for the intervention of the war which, by
providing another and much more strenuous form of camping for the past
and prospective frequenters of Canada Hill, prevented for the time being
such further developments. Doubtless, however, with the return of Europe
to sanity, such developments will take place; until, before many years
are past, almost the whole of the Society’s seven-acre estate will be
covered in the summer and autumn months with the picturesque pyramids of
white canvas.
THE SOCIETY’S PROGRESS.
In all its branches, with the exception of the tearooms, the progress of
the Society during these four years had been remarkable. In 1913,
however, the London Street tearoom was closed, and as soon as the lease
of the Union Halls expired they also were given up. At the beginning of
the period the output had averaged 3,820 sacks per week, while at its
end the average output was 4,648, an increase of 848 sacks per week in
four years. The aggregate sales for the year which ended in July 1914
were £692,600. Truly, the Society had travelled far from the days when a
small two-oven bakehouse sufficed for all its output. The membership now
consisted of 201 societies; which was also a contrast to the eight small
struggling societies which had banded themselves together in the last
days of December 1868 to form the Federation.
The time had now arrived when the Federation was to be put to a more
severe test than ever before since it had attained to years of maturity.
Like a thunderclap the war storm which had been gathering over Europe
during the month of July burst on an astonished world which had almost
come to believe war on such a gigantic scale impossible, and many were
the doubts expressed, even by sincere wellwishers of the Co-operative
movement, as to how it would weather the storm. The next chapter will
tell how one federation kept the Co-operative flag flying and added to
the laurels it had gained by its devoted and loyal service to the
interests of the common people.