CHAPTER IV.. St James Street Bakery.

ST JAMES STREET BAKERY.

A HINDRANCE TO THE PROGRESS OF THE SOCIETY—THE SEARCH FOR NEW PREMISES—THE NEW BAKERY—RUNNING INTO DEBT—THE CHAIRMAN RETIRES—MORE CAPITAL WANTED—SLOW PROGRESS—THE MANAGER RESIGNS—JOINING THE WHOLESALE SOCIETY—PAYMENT OF BONUS COMMENCED—MR BARCLAY RESIGNS—ADDITIONAL PROPERTY PURCHASED—MR CAMERON RESIGNS—MR ANDREW BROWN BECOMES CHAIRMAN—BAD BREAD AND DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES—FURTHER EXTENSIONS—MONEY DIFFICULTIES—MR BORROWMAN RETIRES—BECOMING BISCUIT AGENTS.

Long before the end of the first year of their tenancy of Coburg Street bakery the committee had come to the conclusion that if their business was to grow and flourish they must remove to more suitable premises at the earliest possible moment. As one of themselves put it, they discussed “the present bakery as a hindrance to the progress of the Society.” The result of this discussion was that a circular was issued to the societies, in which the committee recommended the building of a new bakery. During the months of October and November 1869 the question was discussed on several occasions, and at least two special meetings of the committee were held for its consideration. At the second of these, held on 6th November, a sub-committee was appointed to look out for a site, and a week later it was decided to write to Mr M‘Kay, of Alva, asking his advice on the subject. There is no doubt that the matter was urgent. The trade was growing rapidly, and there were numerous complaints regarding late delivery of bread. The subject crops up in the minutes again and again, and the manager is unable to get out enough bread early in the day to meet the demand.

Still, the committee are cautious. They have now discovered that the Society can be made a success; they have also gained some knowledge of the difficulties which are to be encountered; and so, not content with applying to the Alva Baking Society for information, they also get into communication with the Dunfermline Baking Society, and receive a letter in which that society’s bakery is described. Meantime, the sub-committee appointed to look out for a site had not been idle. They had discovered a building at the corner of St James Street and Park Street, Kinning Park, which was for sale, and which they thought could be so altered as to make suitable premises for the Society and, after due consideration doubtless and careful inspection, although the minutes are silent on the subject, the matter was brought before the December quarterly meeting and purchase was approved of, provided the cost was not more than £400.

THE NEW PREMISES.

The building was purchased at once, and steps were immediately taken to have it fitted up as a bakery. It was decided to erect four ovens at an estimated cost of £210 for the four, while a part of the building was fitted up as a stable. To-day, the fitting up of a bakery of this size would seem quite a small matter and not at all a thing to make a fuss over, but it is easy, nevertheless, to imagine the loving care with which those old veterans watched the transformation which was taking place; how they deliberated over the merits of asphalte as a satisfactory material for the floor, and the utility of cast-iron fittings as against wooden ones for the stable. The manager made a special journey to Irvine to arrange at the quarry there for proper stones for the oven soles, what time the sub-committee were arranging to get estimates for tables and troughs for the bakery. By the end of January the manager was able to announce that the stable was finished, and was instructed to employ a man to take charge of it and attend to the horses. At the same meeting it was agreed that the S.C.W.S. be allowed stabling for a horse and van, and that they pay a fair share of the expenses. Already, too, the new bakery was so far advanced towards completion that the committee had begun to consider the question of having a formal opening ceremony, and a supper, to which it was proposed that “two or three members of the committee of each society within easy distance should be invited, whether they were members or not.”

By the middle of March the manager was in a position to state that the bakery “would be ready for business in two or three weeks’ time at most.” At the same time it was decided to erect a house for the manager on the property, the rent of the house to be considered later. At the same meeting the committee had a visit from Mr Keyden, writer, who stated that he had learned that the Society were desirous of raising a loan on their property, and had called to find out what the amount was and what rate of interest they were willing to pay. The secretary stated that the amount would be from £400 to £500, and the rate of interest 4½ per cent. per annum. At a later meeting the question of the opening celebrations was again considered, when, amongst other decisions arrived at, was one to the effect that two gallons of “drink,” presumably whisky, should be procured for the use of those who attended. It was agreed that invitations be sent to societies who were members and to others within a convenient distance, also to the employees of the Society, past members of the committee, Mr M‘Kenzie, of the P.C.M.S., Mr Marshall S.C.W.S., and such Wholesale Society directors as lived within a suitable distance for attending. The decision about the whisky evidently did not find favour with some people, for at the next meeting of the committee the matter was again under consideration, “and after mature deliberation it was then agreed to have none, as the committee had been informed that there were many objections to the same.” In the beginning of May the new bakery was opened for business.

But in thus following up the negotiations about the new premises, we have been running ahead. The fourth quarterly meeting was held on 19th February 1870, when some important changes were made in the method of conducting the business. For the first year each society which was a member of the Federation had a representative on the committee, and this arrangement was continued by resolution of the quarterly meeting. The whole committee resigned in order that it might be reconstructed, and Mr Thomson was re-elected to preside over the business of the meeting. Some of the regulations drafted that afternoon are amusing. It was decided that each member of committee receive one shilling for every meeting of the committee which he attended, along with travelling expenses; but it was also decided that any member of the committee who was later in arriving at a committee meeting than fifteen minutes after the time fixed for the meeting should not only forfeit his allowance for attending, but should also, unless reasonable excuse was shown, be fined sixpence for being late. What was to happen if a member did not attend at all was not stated, but no member of the committee was to be paid his allowance unless he was present at the meeting.

THE CHAIRMAN RETIRES.

A large number of changes were made in the personnel of the committee at this meeting. Mr Gabriel Thomson retired from the presidency, and Mr William Barclay, also of St Rollox at that time, was elected president in his stead. The other members of committee were Messrs Ferguson, Barrhead; Gibb, Thornliebank; John Borrowman, Anderston; Kinniburgh, Cadder; Mungall, Cathcart; and Shaw, Lennoxtown; with Mr James Borrowman still secretary. At this meeting exception was taken to the propaganda activities of the committee, for a letter from Paisley Equitable Society was read to the meeting in which the Society was charged with trying to injure that society’s trade with the Provident Society, and the secretary was instructed to reply denying that such had been the policy of the Society. It was also from that quarterly meeting that the proposal came that a house should be built for the manager in the new premises, in order that he might have the premises under his supervision at all times.

MORE CAPITAL WANTED.

As the Society, at the end of the first year, had only a paid-up capital amounting to £338, all of which was locked up in stock, fixtures, etc., it was evident that they required much more if they were to finance their larger venture. The visit of Mr Keyden has already been referred to, and ultimately a bond on the property was taken up through him, but the committee were desirous of securing capital also from the societies. These were written to by the manager, requesting them to increase the amount of loan capital they had with the Society, and by the middle of April six societies had increased their loans by an aggregate amount of £275.

M‘NEIL STREET PREMISES (1897–1903). ]

CLYDEBANK BAKERY ]

The insurance on the new premises was fixed at £1,000, divided into £400 on stock, £300 on the buildings, and £300 on horses and vans. For several years the Society continued to suffer from lack of capital, however, and it was not until it had been in existence for nearly ten years that the committee ceased to be troubled with financial worries. On several occasions appeals were made to the delegates attending the quarterly meetings that they would bring under the notice of their societies the urgent need of the Baking Society for more capital, and for several years a system of receiving loans from private depositors was adopted, but this system was stopped, except in the case of employees, when the Federation began to receive enough capital from the societies to meet its needs.

SLOW PROGRESS.

The difficulty which arose from shortage of capital was not the only one with which the committee was faced, unfortunately. Foreman baker after foreman baker was tried, but still complaints of the poor quality of the bread continued to pour in. Added to this there were the difficulties of delivery. When the Co-operators of to-day see the vans of the U.C.B.S. arriving at the various shops with the regularity of clockwork, they may have some difficulty in realising that fifty years ago the problem of prompt delivery was a very serious one, and one which engaged the attention of management and committee almost continuously for several years. In part, this was due to the fact that the baking of bread had not been reduced in those days to a state of scientific accuracy, as it is to-day, and partly it was due to the shortcomings of the human element, which has always a tendency toward failure at the most unexpected times and often in the most unexpected ways. The craze for new bread was as great fifty years ago as it is to-day, but the difficulty of delivering it was very much greater, and it was especially great in the earlier years of the Baking Society’s existence because of the fact that the majority of the societies in the outer area supplied by the Federation were but small and could give but small orders, thus increasing the cost of delivery until sometimes it transformed trade which should have been profitable into a losing business.

So much so was this the case that, in the first two or three years, society after society, which had joined the Federation and were anxious to trade with it, had to be asked to withdraw because the cost of delivery was so great that it could only be done at a loss to the Federation. The first societies to suffer in this way were Motherwell and Dalziel. At a later date, Vale of Leven Society, which had been having their bread sent by rail, had to withdraw, and later still, Lennoxtown were asked to make arrangements for getting bread elsewhere as soon as possible, on the ground that the Baking Society was losing eleven shillings every week through delivering bread to them by van.

As time went on, too, the position was becoming more and more difficult for the manager. He does not seem to have been a strong man, or else he had grown careless. At all events, at one quarterly meeting when the criticisms of the delegates had been even more searching than usual, he left the meeting before its close, and when the committee adjourned to the committee room at the close of the meeting they found a letter from him intimating his resignation. Whether it was with the idea of getting a little of his own back, or because he thought that having engaged the employees it was his duty to dismiss them is unknown, but when he took his own departure he also dismissed the office and breadroom staffs, and there was a little difficulty for a day or two until they were brought back or others procured in their places. After discussion, the committee decided that they would not advertise for a manager, but for a confidential clerk and cashier, and Mr Robert Craig, then bookkeeper with the S.C.W.S., was the successful applicant.

The trade was increasing slowly but steadily, and during the second year averaged 90 sacks per week. Shortly after the removal to the new bakery the Society had four vans on the road, and was supplying eleven societies. In June of that year it was decided to take up thirty shares in the S.C.W.S., and pay one shilling per share, but a month later this decision was departed from in favour of one that the question of joining the Wholesale Society be left to the quarterly meeting. This decision had its origin most probably in the fact that the Society had no money to spare at the moment for investment, as at the same meeting it was decided that the manager make an effort to pay the flour merchant and take flour into stock.

At the quarterly meeting it was decided that the Society should join the S.C.W.S., and take up two shares for every society which was a member of the Federation. At the same time, the members of the committee were becoming more confident in their handling of the business, one evidence of this being the fact that they were purchasing flour in much larger quantities. The new bakery had only been in operation for six months when the trade had increased so much that the erection of other two ovens was being considered, and at the same time the reroofing of a shed for the purpose of turning it into a flour store was agreed on, and the manager was instructed to “get estimates of the cost of having the floor laid with any material that would keep out rats.” It would appear, however, that the cost was more than the committee could venture to face at the moment, and it was not until the following April that the question of new ovens was again raised, when all the societies were written to on the subject and all agreed to the proposal of the committee.

Meantime the second year had ended with the position of the Society improving. The sales had amounted to over £9,000, and a dividend of sixpence had been paid each quarter. Stock and buildings were valued at £1,370, while the members held £279 in share capital and £709 in loans. The nucleus of a reserve fund had been formed, and the property of the Society had been depreciated by £150. It is interesting to note also that with the beginning of the second year the Society had begun to pay bonus on wages, a practice which has continued without intermission ever since. The beginning was humble—the amount paid in this first year was only £20, 17s.—but it marked the recognition of the principle that the worker was something more than a mere hireling; that he was a being who had something to do with the making of profits, and therefore had a right to share in them.

The committee continued unremitting in their attempts to extend the trade of the Society. Every complaint was inquired into closely, and every little while a deputation was sent to one or other of the societies with the view of inducing them to become members or to extend their trade. It is interesting to note also that the cost of flour, which had been 31/ in May 1869, had advanced to 41/ in April 1871. The first quarter of the third year was a decidedly successful one, as it showed a surplus over cost which enabled a dividend of one shilling per pound of sales to be declared. The membership had increased to 14, and the turnover to 102 sacks per week, an increase of 11 sacks per week in one quarter. At the end of this quarter Mr Barclay retired from the presidency, after having held that position for fifteen months, and Mr Donald Cameron, Thornliebank, was elected to the chair. At the following quarterly meeting it was agreed that, in future, tickets, with a programme of business for the quarterly meeting, be sent to the societies.

Before the end of the year a building in Park Street, adjoining the Society’s premises, came on the market, and was purchased by the Society for £735. At the same time the building of other two ovens was undertaken, thus bringing the capacity of the bakery up to eight ovens. The building which was purchased was in use as an engineering workshop, rented at £67, 10s. per annum, and the purchase price included an engine and boiler.

At the quarterly meeting which was held in December, the first mention was made of a subject which was to engage the attention of many quarterly meetings before being finally disposed of. This was a suggestion by Johnstone Society that the Baking Society should consider seriously the possibility of opening branch bakeries as their business extended. Meantime, Vale of Leven Society had approached the Baking Society with the view of having bread delivered to them by rail, and a van had been fitted up for this purpose, so the Board came to the decision to hold over the consideration of branch bakeries until they saw what the results of conveyance by rail were going to be. The delivery difficulty was getting more acute every week at this time, and it was found that two societies which had ceased to take their bread from the Society, and whose action had been described by the committee as “utterly subversive of true Co-operation and detrimental to the interests of the Baking Society,” had done so because of the irregularity of delivery, and declared themselves “willing to begin again as soon as they could see an assurance of a regular and steady supply.”

In order to suit the convenience of Glasgow societies an arrangement came into force in the beginning of 1872 whereby the Baking Society undertook to deliver bread at the houses of the members of these societies for an additional charge of 9d. per hour for the time spent in this work. About the same time the question of baking biscuits on days when the general work was easy was considered, and this new branch of business was finally entered on. The turnover for the third year was larger than that of the first two combined, being 6,341 sacks; an average of 122 per week. Owing to the rise in the price of flour, however, and in some degree also to the heavy costs of delivery, the surpluses on the year’s trading showed considerable fluctuations; for while the dividend earned during the first quarter was one shilling, those for the succeeding quarters were fivepence, sixpence, and threepence respectively. The Society was now quite a large property owner, the value of the buildings as shown in the balance-sheet being £2,421, while the value of live and other stock was £870. Several new vans of a four-wheeled design had been built during the year in order to facilitate delivery, and several new horses had also been purchased. The cash value of the sales for the year was over £16,000, and the combined share and loan capital was £1,411. Reserves had been increased to £54, and buildings and stocks written down by £368 during the year.

In March 1872 Mr Cameron resigned from the presidency of the Society as he had become an employee, and Mr Andrew Brown (Paisley Provident) was elected president until the quarterly meeting, when his appointment was confirmed. Meantime the Society was having some trouble with the last pair of ovens erected. The gentleman appointed as inspector reported that they were not according to specification, and were of less value than had been contracted for. At the same time he suggested that an endeavour should be made to settle the matter amicably, “as a lawsuit would result in a loss to both parties”; which sensible advice was taken by the committee, who, however, decided “to retain the money lying in their hands until satisfied with the finish and durability of the work.” They also decided to deduct £10 from the estimate price for departure from the terms of specification. At a later meeting, however, it was decided to meet the oven-builder half way and be content with a deduction of £5.

For some time negotiations had been going on between the Society’s tenant of the engineering shop and the committee on the question of whether the boiler in that shop, which was the property of the Society, should be kept in repair by the tenant or by the owners. The committee contended that, according to the terms of the lease, the duty of keeping the boiler and other machinery in repair devolved on the tenant, but as a way out of the difficulty offered to sell the boiler and engine to him. The matter was finally adjusted by the tenant taking over the engine and boiler, and paying for them by an increase in rent amounting to £5 per annum. At the quarterly meeting which was held on 2nd June 1872 the balance-sheet was submitted to severe criticism, the ground of complaint being the smallness of the profit shown in view of the increasing sales of the Society. For the first time in the history of the Society the turnover had exceeded £2,000 for the quarter, but the surplus was only £119, and the dividend sixpence, while nothing was added to the reserve fund. The delegates to the quarterly meeting also combined to express considerable dissatisfaction with the quality, shape, and general appearance of the bread, and the committee were urged to take energetic measures to place the Society in a better position in this respect as well as in that of profit. At almost every meeting of the committee complaints were being made about the quality of the bread and lateness of delivery, and they were at their wits end to find a remedy. Discussions took place meeting after meeting about difficulties of delivery, varied every now and again by a discussion on the subject of the high rate of expense. Investigations into the cost of baking were set on foot, but with no results. A suggestion was made by Paisley Provident Society that the discount allowed to the societies be reduced from 10 per cent. to 7½ per cent. in order to cover losses in working, but no action seems to have been taken in this direction at the moment. In order to find remedies for the continuous complaints about the quality of the bread and its delivery, a rearrangement of duties took place; the stable foreman being made responsible for the delivery, and the foreman baker for the quality of the bread, while the manager continued to act as cashier and bookkeeper. These alterations did not seem to make much difference, however, as complaints continued to come in with as great frequency as before.

The arrangement which had been made to supply Vale of Leven Society with bread had evidently not been working satisfactorily, for that society intimated its intention of withdrawing from the Federation. The adjustment of the terms of this withdrawal took many months of negotiation. It was on 4th May 1872 that the committee received the intimation that the society intended to withdraw from the Federation, but it was not until 19th April 1873 that the final adjustments were made and the matter settled. In this case there was dispute as to the amount which the withdrawing society should pay for the delivery of their bread by rail, this being finally adjusted by computing the cost of delivery per 100 dozens to Barrhead and to Vale of Leven, and charging the latter society with the difference. Another peculiar practice of the Federation at this time was that of retaining for the reserve and depreciation funds a proportion of the capital of retiring societies. This was done even when the societies withdrew at the request of the committee and against their own wishes, although in the three or four cases where this occurred the percentage deducted was less than that usually retained. In the case of Vale of Leven Society 7½ per cent. was charged, while Dalziel and Motherwell societies were only charged 5 per cent.

By the end of the third quarter in 1872 a further extension had become necessary in order that more storage room might be had, and it was decided that the only way to get the necessary space was to build another storey to the present flour store. The great difficulty was lack of the necessary money, but it was thought that if the extension became imperative a bond might be obtained to cover the cost. A short time later a letter was received from the Anderston Society, in which a protest was entered against any further extensions being made in the bakery meantime. At this time the Society was in somewhat grave difficulties for want of money, as, in addition to other debts which were owing, their account with the Wholesale Society amounted to £4,000, equivalent to nine weeks turnover. Inside the next fortnight, however, the manager was able to report that he had paid £1,000 to the Wholesale Society.

At this time the committee had under discussion the method of supplying flour to the Society. It was alleged by some members of the committee that the manager had not a free in ordering flour, as “another party” had taken it upon himself to send in flour without the knowledge of the manager. Mr Sturrock stated that he was aware of all contracts entered into, but that on a recent occasion he had to cancel an order because he found after his order had been given that flour was being sent to the bakery without his knowledge. At the following meeting this question was again taken up, and it appears from what transpired at that meeting that Mr Borrowman was the “other party” referred to above. That gentleman explained that the contracts were made through the Wholesale Society, and no irregularity could occur if the manager sent his orders to the Wholesale Society instead of sending them to the millers, as he had been in the habit of doing. In the course of the conversation the chairman pointed out that although, because of the fluctuations in the price of flour which were taking place, they had for some time delegated their power to make contracts to the manager and Mr Borrowman jointly—not separately as some people had supposed—they still retained in their own hands such powers, to be used as soon as they might think it right so to do.

Early in the third quarter of this year Mr Smith (St Rollox) was appointed assistant secretary, as Mr Borrowman was sometimes unable to attend. At the quarterly meeting, which was held on 1st March 1873, Mr Smith was appointed secretary, and Mr Borrowman retired from the committee, after having taken a large share in the conduct of its affairs from the inception of the Society. At the December quarterly meeting the manager resigned, as already stated in the beginning of this chapter, and Mr Robert Craig was appointed. The fourth year was not to end without more trouble however. A special meeting was called on 28th December 1872, at the request of Barrhead and Thornliebank societies, and Mr Ferguson (Barrhead), who had been one of the first directors of the Federation, placed his society’s case before the meeting. He stated that his society was of opinion that the Baking Society was in an unsatisfactory state, and on behalf of Barrhead and Thornliebank societies placed eight propositions before the meeting with the object of putting the Federation on a more stable basis.

PROPOSALS FOR BETTER WORKING.

The first proposition was that a manager be employed; but this was defeated by an amendment that the management be left in the hands of the committee. The second proposal was that the foreman baker should be the party who should judge the quality of the flour before purchasing, the quantity to be decided by the committee, and it was accepted, as was the third—that no person be a member of committee who has anything to do with the making or selling of flour to the bakery (but not to the exclusion of operatives) so that the committee be left perfectly untrammelled in their actions.

Another proposition was to the effect that the members of the Baking Society’s committee should be elected for that committee only, and not be simply delegates from the committee of their society; but as this affected one of the rules of the Society it was not discussed. It was also proposed that the committee should watch the purchases of societies with a view to dealing with those who were not purchasing enough to earn their fair share of profit, and considering whether they should be allowed to continue as members of the Society. The committee pointed out that they were already doing this, and the meeting agreed to the proposal. Another proposal was to the effect that when the additional shares had been called up the committee should purchase flour where it could be had best. This proposal sounds as if there was some suspicion in the minds of the proposers that the Society was being hampered in obtaining the best flour for its purpose by lack of money, and as the delegates gave a general acquiescence to the proposal it would seem that the suspicion was fairly general. It certainly could be said for the proposal that it gave the committee full power to do the best they could for their Society.

Just before the end of the fourth year Motherwell and Dalziel societies dropped out of the Federation at the request of the committee, as although both societies were loyal purchasers, the cost of delivery was so great that the Society was losing money on their trade. The Federation still consisted of fifteen societies, however—viz., Anderston, Barrhead, Busby, Cathcart, Johnstone, Lennoxtown, Cadder, Parkhead, Elderslie, Howwood, Eastern, Paisley Provident, Thornliebank, St Rollox, and Avonbank—and other societies were being supplied with bread. About this time, also, a new departure was made. The committee had found that their biscuit trade was not a profitable one, and the cashier was instructed to make inquiries as to the terms on which some of the Glasgow biscuit manufacturing firms would supply them with biscuits. It was finally arranged that Gray, Dunn & Co. supply them with biscuits through the Wholesale Society, and this arrangement continued for some time until a fire at the biscuit factory put an end to the connection, when the trade went to Herberts Ltd.

During the fourth year the Society had made considerable progress, and the trade for the year showed a substantial increase, but it had not been very profitable. Indeed in the fourth quarter, after provision had been made for interest and depreciation, there was nothing left to divide, while nothing had been added to the reserve fund during the year. The aggregate output for the year was 7,955 sacks, equal to an average of 153 sacks a week, which was an average increase of 31 sacks per week over the turnover of the previous year. The Society was still much hampered in its operations from lack of capital; the total share and loan capital being only £1,618. During the latter half of the year the price of flour had been very high, reaching in the later months of the year 45/6 per sack for the average quality used.

Yet, although there were still many anxious days ahead for the committee and not a few lean years, with the close of the fourth year the Society had been established on a firm foundation. Henceforth there were not the same defects of management to contend with, and what difficulties did arise were due to weakness in the societies which were customers of the Bakery rather than to causes operating within the Federation itself. In a later chapter mention will be made of some of the difficulties which arose owing to the weakness of some of the societies which were members of the Federation.