CHAPTER XIX.. Bread Baking Under Control.

BREAD BAKING UNDER CONTROL.

FAMINE POSSIBILITIES—CHANGES IN QUALITY OF FLOUR—FOOD CONTROL DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED—BAKERS’ DIFFICULTIES—THE POSITION OF THE U.C.B.S.—A BIG LAND PURCHASE—ILLNESS OF THE PRESIDENT—A NATURAL WORKING DAY BY ORDER—ITS DIFFICULTIES—ENTERTAINMENTS TO SOLDIERS—BRANCH BAKERIES—IRELAND—LEADHILLS—ROTHESAY—BUTE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY FORMED—SUBSIDISED BREAD—AN INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL—DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES—EMPLOYEES ON MILITARY SERVICE—THE END OF THE TASK.

The first two years of the war had brought difficulties in their train which the bakers of the country found considerable difficulty in overcoming; but the conditions under which they were called on to produce bread in the following two years were such as had not been experienced for at least a hundred years, and there came a time when the country was faced with the possibility of having to do without bread altogether for a period. Fortunately this possibility did not become reality, but it was the cause of material changes in the quality of the flour used for breadmaking and of the conditions under which the bread was made and sold which would have seemed impossible before the war began. By the early winter of 1916 the possibility of a condition of things obtaining which would prevent the importation of foodstuffs, and particularly of wheat, in sufficient quantities to provide full supplies for the population of the British Isles began to force itself on the Government, so they appointed a gentleman to the position of Food Controller and conferred on him almost despotic powers. One result of this control of food was a drastic interference with the milling of flour. In Scotland the millers produced flour in ordinary times which contained a little more than 70 per cent. of the wheat; the first fruits of the new order of things was a regulation that the extraction from the wheat should be increased, by about 8 per cent.

There can be no doubt that under the circumstances this regulation was necessary. There was a time in the history of these islands when practically all the food consumed by the people was grown in the country; but during the lifetime of the last generation this position had gradually altered until Britain was dependent on wheat imported from abroad for four-fifths of the bread supply of her people. There had always been pessimists who foresaw, as a result of a war with a maritime power, a danger of interruption to the steady supply of seaborne food which was necessary if the people were to be saved from starvation, and who uttered warnings which passed more or less unheeded; but the time had arrived when these warnings seemed likely to become justified. Towards the end of 1916 it was becoming apparent that there was likely to be a world shortage of foodstuffs, and particularly of wheat, and doubts were being expressed in well-informed circles as to whether there would be supplies sufficient to enable the people to carry on until the 1917 crop was ready. While this world shortage was due in a measure to the war, because of the number of men who usually devoted themselves to agricultural pursuits who were then engaged in war work of one form or another or serving with the Forces, it was also due in large measure to a world shortage for which Nature, through the medium of a bad summer and a wet autumn, was responsible.

The result was that in this country the regulations affecting flour extraction became more and more rigorous, until not only were millers extracting a proportion approaching 25 per cent. additional from the wheat, rejecting practically nothing but the outer husk, but many other varieties of cereal, even including a considerable proportion of maize, were pressed into service and mixed with the flour from which bread had to be baked. In some cases potato flour was also used for this purpose. Fortunately, the famine which had threatened in the summer of 1917 was staved off, but the inveterate submarine campaign waged by the Germans during the whole of that year was responsible for the destruction of many food-carrying ships and of many thousands of tons of wheat and flour which were being conveyed to this country from America as well as of many other varieties of food.

BAKERS’ DIFFICULTIES.

All this was the cause of much worry to bakers. They had been accustomed to the manufacture of bread from flour the quality of which was well known and regulated with almost scientific accuracy, but under the new order of things they found the knowledge which they had acquired laboriously over a long period of years almost useless to them. So long as they were dealing with wheat flour, even if that flour did contain a large proportion of offal which had formerly been used to feed cattle, the position was not quite so bad, for most of them had been in the habit of baking a greater or lesser proportion of what was termed “wheaten” and “wholemeal” bread. But when flour produced from rye, barley, and even maize had to be added their troubles began, for only by chemical analysis was it possible for them to determine the proportions in which the various cereals were used, and these proportions were varied arbitrarily week by week at the whim of the Wheat Commission authorities; while the millers were absolutely prohibited from giving any information on the subject. Thus, when after a series of experiments they had ascertained the method by which they could produce the best loaf from a given flour, they suddenly discovered that the mixture had been altered, and that their experiments had to begin all over again; and this continued to be the position for some time even after the end of the war.

THE POSITION OF THE U.C.B.S.

While the position of the average private baker was that which has been described above, the baking departments of Co-operative societies found themselves in a very much worse position in direct ratio as they had been loyal hitherto in the use of Co-operatively milled flour. The flour mills of Scotland did not produce more than one half of the flour which was used in the country, with the result that the remainder had to be imported; but the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society imported wheat and themselves milled practically all the flour sold by them. The consequence was that as the quality of “Government Regulation” flour deteriorated, the flour which was supplied by the Wholesale Society’s mills, in common with that supplied by the other millers, was of such a nature that bread baked with it was inferior in quality and unpalatable. As, however, bakers were compelled to take flour from the source from which they procured it at the time when the Food Control regulations came into force, those who had formerly used a considerable proportion of imported flour were allowed to mix a good percentage of the flour which was still being imported with the “Regulation” flour, and were thus enabled to produce a comparatively white and palatable loaf; while the Wholesale Society, which had not been in the habit of importing much flour, were now allowed by those responsible for the bread regulations to import only a very small proportion, and their customers suffered accordingly. It was only after repeated representations had been made to the Government and the Wheat Commission that, ultimately, the proportion of imported flour which Co-operative bakers generally were allowed to use was raised considerably.

From this cause the Baking Society was as great a sufferer as were the others. The bread became more and more unpalatable as the admixture of foreign cereals in the flour used increased, and complaints about the quality of the bread began to come in with irritating frequency. The receipt of these complaints, justifiable as they were, must have been all the more irritating to the committee from the fact that they found themselves the victims of circumstances over which they had not the slightest control. They knew that the bread which they were producing was unpalatable, and the fact that the Germans had to eat bread which was very much inferior was but poor consolation in view of the fact that many of their trade rivals were able to produce better bread because of the larger proportion of white flour which they were allowed to use. There ensued, as a consequence, a very considerable decline in the bread sales of the Society. The customer societies would have taken the bread, but their members could not and would not eat it. From much the same causes the trade in biscuits and in teabread declined also. The use of sugar in biscuits or in teabread was prohibited, as was the manufacture of pastries. The result was that while the output for the quarter which ended in October 1916 was 68,533 sacks, that for the quarter which ended in October 1917 was 67,132 sacks, and that for the corresponding quarter of 1918 was 62,867. And if the details for loaf bread in M‘Neil Street alone are taken, the contrast is still more striking. The output for 1918 had fallen below that of 1915 by over 400 sacks, and below that of the quarter which ended in April 1917 by over 12,000 sacks.

A BIG LAND PURCHASE.

By the end of 1916 M‘Neil Street bakery, and particularly the biscuit factory, was again becoming congested, and power was obtained from the quarterly meeting to spend up to £9,750 on the purchase of more ground. At the time this power was obtained, the committee had under consideration the fact that the ground on the east side of M‘Neil Street, extending from the Clydeside to Govan Street, was in the market, and ultimately the purchase of this ground was completed at a cost of £9,750. The ground contained an area of 6,590 yards. Much of it was occupied by buildings of a temporary character; the only buildings of a permanent nature on the site being two tenements at the southern end. This site has not yet been utilised by the Society, but it forms an admirable property which is available for any extensions which may require to be undertaken in the future. Meantime it is let at a rental which gives a net return of 3⅓ per cent. on the capital cost of the site.

ILLNESS OF PRESIDENT.

In November of 1916 Mr Gerrard was laid aside for a number of weeks by a severe illness, from which, fortunately, he recovered after a time. With the exception of one short interval, he was able to carry out his duties until the beginning of November 1918, when he was again laid aside with an illness so severe in its nature that ultimately he was informed by his medical adviser that he would have to give up all thought of public work for the future. The last regular meeting of the committee at which he was able to be in attendance was that held on 10th October 1918.

A NATURAL WORKING DAY—BY ORDER.

Several years before the outbreak of war the directors of the Baking Society made a determined effort to institute a natural working day for bakers, but were unsuccessful, as a natural working day meant the use of bread which was cold before it reached the shops, and this the members of the stores refused to accept. In March of 1917, however, the Government, impelled by the exigencies of war, were able to do, practically with the stroke of a pen, what the unaided efforts of the Baking Society had failed to do. This Order of the Food Controller decreed that bread must be at least twelve hours old before it was sold in the shops. It is quite likely that those who devised the Order did not know and did not desire to know how their proposals were going to affect those engaged in the trade. The bakers were faced with the necessity of rearranging their methods at a moment’s notice. They had to rearrange the working day, and also to find storage accommodation overnight for their total day’s output, and on Friday nights for almost double that quantity. One good result of the Order was, as has already been mentioned, that the working bakers at last obtained a natural working day, for their hours of work were fixed to begin at 8 a.m. and to end at 4.30 p.m.

The storage difficulty was one which was more difficult to overcome. At M‘Neil Street storage accommodation had to be found for 84,000 2–lb. loaves on ordinary weekdays and for 156,000 on Fridays. This meant the fitting up of every available space with racks and trays in which to place the bread, and a very serious addition to the amount of labour necessary. On the other hand it meant that there would be a considerable saving on delivery charges, as societies were able to take in larger quantities in the mornings, and so minimise the duplication of deliveries. The difficulties were all overcome, and, in a very short time, the delivery side of the business was working as smoothly as the attenuated state of the delivery staff could be expected to permit.

ENTERTAINING SOLDIERS.

During the years of war a feature of the philanthropic work of the Society was the entertaining of large parties of convalescent soldiers from the Glasgow military hospitals. The Society began this good work in August 1916, when a party of convalescent soldiers from Stobhill Hospital, numbering 200, were conveyed to Calderwood Castle in brakes, and entertained there. The party were accompanied by the Society’s Silver Band, and an enjoyable afternoon was passed. Then, early in 1917, another party of wounded were taken to a matinee at a theatre in the afternoon, and were afterwards conveyed in brakes to the Society’s premises, where they had tea, and a splendid concert was provided. Several of these theatre entertainments were given, and were much appreciated by the recipients of the Society’s kindness.

In another way the Society also showed kindness to men who had been fighting their country’s battles. An “Overseas Club” for members of the Colonial Forces had been established in Glasgow, and during 1918 and 1919 a party of visitors from this club were taken over the bakery every Thursday, being afterwards entertained to tea, when the work which was being done by the Federation and the principles on which it was managed were explained to the visitors. Early in 1919, a letter was received from the Scottish Sectional Board of the Co-operative Union, commending the propaganda work which was being done in this way by the U.C.B.S. directors, and offering a number of copies of “Working Men Co-operators” for distribution. The Baking Society directors were much gratified by this commendation and gladly accepted the gift of books, which were afterwards distributed to the Colonial visitors.

BRANCH BAKERIES.

Various difficulties attach to a gigantic bread bakery which are not apparent in the working of any other commercial concern of similar size, and chief amongst these is that of rapid and cheap delivery. The perishable nature of bread and the ease with which it is injured by crushing make carriage by railway impracticable, while combined with these difficulties is the fact that the majority of bread customers desire to have it as soon after it is baked as possible. All these disadvantages combine to limit the distance within which a bakery can operate successfully to a radius of about twelve miles, and even on the outer edges of that radius it is doubtful if the cost of delivery does not counterbalance the saving caused by larger production. Yet the advantages of having bread baked by a large Co-operative organisation, instead of by many small ones, are obvious. In the first place, the large buyer has the advantage of buying all the raw materials used at rock-bottom prices: he has the advantage also of a wider knowledge of the fluctuations of a market notorious for rapidity of rise and fall, and this expert knowledge enables him in normal times so to average the cost of flour used that it is always at the lowest average possible.

It can be easily understood, therefore, that Co-operators, struggling with adversity and yet desirous of providing Co-operatively-baked bread for their members, should turn to the U.C.B.S. for help.

In this way there had come to the directors within recent years numerous calls for help. Unfortunately, the majority of these arrived at a time when it was impossible to give the help desired. The first of these calls came from Ireland. In and around Dublin there were several small societies, having a combined membership of somewhere over two thousand. The Dublin Industrial Society, after unsuccessfully endeavouring a few years earlier to get the Baking Society to help in the financing of a bakery in Dublin, had gone ahead with the erection of a bakery for themselves, but it had never been very successful. The Society itself was not too successful for a time, owing to the fact that the members were not pulling very well together; and indeed, at one period during the early years of the war, it seemed to be in danger of collapsing altogether. The bakery was not very successful, because the quality of the bread which was being produced left something to be desired, and this again was due in some measure at least to the fact that the men employed did not seem to realise that there were some operations in connection with bread baking which could not afford to wait on the convenience of anyone if disastrous results to the quality of the finished product were not to accrue. On more than one occasion one or other of the foremen in Ravenhill Bakery went down to Dublin to give the Co-operative bakers there the benefit of his expert advice.

Finally, an invitation came from Dublin, asking that representatives from the management of the Baking Society should attend a meeting of representatives from five societies in and around that city, with a view to taking over and working the bakery belonging to Dublin Industrial Society in the interests of Co-operators in and around the city. The members of the board discussed the question in all its bearings—social, political, and financial. They recognised that the cause of Co-operation in Dublin was much in need of a helping hand, and they were also well aware of the difficulties from a trade point of view which would confront them, but they resolved to attend the conference. They suggested, however, that representatives from the executive of the Co-operative Union, the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society, and the Belfast advisory committee should also be invited.

At the same time, a request for the erection of a branch bakery was received from Enniskillen Society and several agricultural societies in the neighbourhood of that town, and the deputation took advantage of the opportunity which their visit to Dublin gave them to visit Enniskillen also. The information gained in the course of this visit was discussed at a special meeting of the board, which was held on 23rd August, when it was resolved, in the interest of the Co-operative movement generally, and in view of the success which had attended other efforts, to place the subject on the programme of business for the quarterly meeting, with a recommendation from the board that they be empowered to establish branch bakeries in Ireland. When the recommendation came before the quarterly meeting of the members, Mr Gerrard explained that there were a number of small associations of Co-operators in various districts in Ireland who were anxious to use Co-operatively-produced bread, but who could not be expected to produce it for themselves. They were situated so far from Belfast that they could not be supplied economically from there, and the only other alternative was that small branch bakeries should be opened in these districts. Already negotiations had taken place, but before the members of the board went further, they wished to know whether the delegates were prepared to continue the policy of good work which had been begun at Belfast. The recommendation of the board was approved by a very large majority of the representatives of the societies present at the meeting, in opposition to an amendment which laid down the proposition that “no new bakery be erected in Ireland until definite details had been submitted for approval to an ordinary or special meeting of the Society.”

After some further inquiries had been made, the board as a whole gave further consideration to the question at a special meeting which was held on 27th November 1917. At this meeting it was stated that in and around Dublin there were ten societies within a radius of twenty miles, whose capital amounted in the aggregate to about £3,000. Dublin Society were willing to dispose of their bakery for £2,000. Only a meagre response had been given, however, to inquiries as to the amount of trade which was likely to be obtained from these ten societies, but the opinion was expressed that if the branch was once established the trade would be sure to come in time. Reference was made at this meeting to the lethargic state of the Co-operators of the district, and to the need which existed to give the movement a lift out of the weak state into which it had fallen. All the members of the committee who had visited the district were impressed with the fact that a good field for Co-operative work existed, provided that good management was given. The committee expressed agreement that, given normal conditions, there were reasonable prospects of the success of a branch established at Dublin, but they were divided on the question of whether the purchase should be made at that time, and remitted the decision on that point to the whole board.

With respect to the proposal to establish a branch at Enniskillen, the members who had visited the district were in agreement. There was in the district a nucleus sufficient to warrant placing a branch there, but no bakery was available, although a building capable of being made into a bakery could be purchased. The restrictions placed on the use of building material and on the supplying of machinery placed an embargo on going ahead at the moment, however, and they must wait until the war was over.

Mr Young, the manager, spoke strongly in favour of rendering help to Dublin Society; but he pointed out that for some time, at least, there would be little surplus if any, although when the district was penetrated thoroughly with Co-operative principles there would come ample compensation for the initial sacrifices. He thought, therefore, that it was the clear duty of the Baking Society to take it in hand. The board, however, was very evenly divided on the question, five voting for making no recommendation to take over the Dublin bakery meantime, while six voted in favour of making such a recommendation. With respect to Enniskillen, however, the board were unanimous that a branch should be established there as soon as possible, and agreed to recommend that this be proceeded with at the end of the war. At the quarterly meeting held in December, however, the proposal to take over Dublin Society’s bakery and establish a branch there was defeated, although that to establish a branch at Enniskillen was approved. How much the situation which had developed in Dublin and neighbourhood in the spring of 1916 had to do with the decision of the delegates it is impossible to say, but undoubtedly the political situation when combined with the influence of the known apathy towards Co-operation of the people of Dublin and the financial risk with no sure prospects of recovery weighed with the delegates when coming to the decision they did.

Since then premises have been acquired at Enniskillen, on a site quite near to the premises of the S.C.W.S., and the whole position has been surveyed thoroughly, but no definite steps to erect a bakery there have yet been taken as the cost of building materials has been found prohibitive.

Shortly after the outbreak of war the U.C.B.S. became shareholders to the extent of £1,000 in the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society, and at the quarterly meeting of members, which was held in December 1918, they took up 100 one pound shares in the Enniskillen Co-operative Milling Association, a Co-operative association which has been formed to establish a meal mill at Enniskillen.

So far we have been considering only the establishing of branches of the Baking Society in Ireland, but requests for branches were received at various times from widely distant parts of Scotland as well. In particular, just at the time when a final decision was arrived at on the question of taking over Dublin Society’s bakery, a request was received from the neighbouring societies of Leadhills and Wanlockhead that the Baking Society should take over and work a bakery in Leadhills for the purpose of supplying these two societies with bread. The master of works was sent to inspect, with the result that, later, the board were empowered to open a bakery at the place they deemed most suitable for supplying the trade of the district. Like every other building scheme, this of theirs was hung up during the war; but after careful consideration it was decided that a bakery should be established in Leadhills, and this has now been done. An application was received from Kirkconnel Society about the same time as that from the Leadhills district, and it was thought at first that one bakery might be erected which would suffice to serve both districts, but an inspection of the road connecting the two places showed that if this was not impracticable it would be at least dangerous, and the idea was abandoned. Nothing further has been done yet with respect to a branch at Kirkconnel.

ROTHESAY BRANCH.

For years attempts have been made to establish a branch of the Co-operative movement in Rothesay, but this was found to be impossible until the Baking Society took the job in hand. Their possession of Roseland Camp on Canada Hill had given them a footing in the town, and in some measure this was of assistance to them. Early in 1917 the board received information that a bakery situated on the water front was to let, and they made arrangements to secure it with such celerity that by the 24th of March in that year it came into their possession on a three years’ lease. They were not long in possession, however, before they were informed that the lease would not be renewed when it expired. It seems that the private traders of the town had made representations to the owner of the property, and this was the result. For years the traders had proved uniformly successful in preventing Co-operation from getting a foothold in the town, and they were not going to be baulked without an effort to prevent it. But the directors of the Baking Society were just as determined as were the traders of Rothesay, and after lengthy and long-continued negotiations with the directors of the Wholesale Society, who had been on the lookout for premises in Rothesay for many years but had been uniformly unsuccessful in securing them, the Baking Society became, early in 1918, proprietors of the property in which their bakery was situated.

The property which had been purchased included a shop which could be used as a grocery department, and for some time efforts were made to get one or other of the Glasgow societies to open a branch there, but unsuccessfully. The committee of Clydebank Society were inclined to view the matter favourably, but when the question was brought before a general meeting of the members of the society for their approval, they refused to consent. Greenock Central Society were also given the opportunity of opening a branch, but they also were afraid to venture in face of the prevailing restrictions on supplies. The result was that those who had been customers of the Baking Society in Rothesay were invited to form a society of their own, the Wholesale Society and the Baking Society subscribing a large part of the capital between them. The society was formed with Mr William Maxwell, J.P., president of the International Co-operative Alliance, as president. Co-operation had been established in Rothesay.

The traders of the town had not yet shot their bolt, however. The Co-operative bakery was doing well, and it was possible that a Co-operative grocery and provision business would do equally well; but, fortunately for the traders, the local Food Control Committee refused permission to the new society to open their grocery branch, on the plea that the shops already open in the town were sufficient in number to do the trade, and in this attitude they were backed up by the Edinburgh Court. At the beginning of 1919, however, the embargo was removed, and the new society has proved very successful.

SUBSIDISED BREAD.

In September of 1917 the Food Control Department of the Government decided to fix the price of the four-pound loaf at ninepence, giving the flour to the bakers at 44/3 a sack. As the stocks which the bakers had bought had cost much more than this price, the Food Control Department agreed to make up the difference between 44/3 and the invoice price, allowing a maximum discount on the invoice price of 18/ per sack. A maximum allowance for carriage, baking material, and wages was 23/ per sack. When the Baking Society had taken stock of their flour they found that the difference between the discount allowed by the Government and the invoice price of the flour represented a loss to the Society of nearly £7,000. To the delegates at the quarterly meeting the chairman explained that this was due to the fact that the Society had purchased a large quantity of white flour in order to improve the quality of the bread. This flour had cost from 80/ to 90/ a sack, and even with the maximum Government discount allowed they were losing about 30/ a sack.

The general result of the Government’s policy was that bread which, if sold at a price which corresponded with the market price of flour, would have cost one shilling for the four-pound loaf, has been sold at ninepence, the taxpayer paying the difference, which amounted to about £50,000,000 per annum.

AN INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL.

Early in 1918 an Industrial Council for the Baking Trade was set up on the lines laid down in the Report of the Royal Commission for the avoidance of Industrial Disputes. On this council Mr James Young, manager of the Baking Society, was appointed to look after the interests of the Co-operative societies in Scotland which had bread bakeries. The objects of the council provide for the joint consideration by representatives of employers and employees of such questions as wages, working conditions, regulation of employment, entry of apprentices and their training. So far as it has gone the council has proved of service in bringing representatives of the employers and the workers together at regular intervals to discuss affairs of the trade.

EMPLOYEES ON MILITARY SERVICE.

The Baking Society contributed its full quota to the Forces of the Crown during the war. In all 426 employees served in one or other of the Arms of the Crown: M‘Neil Street contributing 331; Clydebank, 60; Belfast, 34; and Rothesay, 1. Of that number fifty made the great sacrifice, eleven became prisoners of war, and forty-four were discharged as unfit for further service; while, at the signing of the armistice, 321 men were still serving. To these men or their dependants the Society paid from 4th August 1914 to 26th January 1919, the date which marks the end of the fiftieth year of the Society’s existence, the sum of £30,105. The arrangement made by the directors was that each man who joined up should receive half-wages irrespective of what his Army allowance might be. By this method they ensured that the men with the largest number of dependants should be in receipt of the largest total incomes.

THE END OF THE TASK.

We have now come to the end of our task. In the preceding pages we have traced the growth of the Society from its infancy when it was cradled in the little bakery in Coburg Street; we have followed it through all the struggles of its early years, and have seen difficulty after difficulty surmounted. Growth has followed on growth, and the Society has gone on adding to its usefulness until it stands to-day a monument to the faith and foresight of the men who conceived it, and a monument also to the shrewdness and integrity of the men who in successive generations have had charge of its welfare. In its early years the directors were often in need of money with which to meet expenses. To-day it has invested funds not required at the moment for business purposes, and including £70,000 in War Loan, which amount in the aggregate to considerably over £300,000. It began with a membership of eight societies and a few pounds of capital. At the end of the fiftieth year the share capital was almost £250,000; while loans and deposits were in excess of that sum, and there were 211 shareholding societies.

The prospect is rosy. The directors are on the outlook for new worlds to conquer. Already they have devised plans whereby they can come to the assistance of the Glasgow societies in setting up shops for the sale of teabread and pastries. They have requests for branch bakeries from various parts of Scotland and Ireland which have yet to be considered. They have the ever-increasing urgency of the transport problem to deal with, and on them falls, also, the duty of counteracting the ever-present tendency on the part of societies at the outskirts to break off and begin baking for themselves. That is to say, they have ever before them the problem of making the huge organisation which they control more and ever more efficient, while maintaining those good relations with their employees which have been such a noteworthy feature during the long life of the Society; and they have to continue to do this while continuing to manifest that true spirit of Co-operation and brotherliness which has been so distinguishing a feature of the attitude and atmosphere which surrounds the Federation. That they will achieve all this there is little doubt, for the directors of to-day are worthy successors of the men who wrought and fought that the Federation might stand where it does.