CHAPTER XVII.. Progress Continues Steady.

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.