BREAD BILL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Tuesday, May 25, 1926. The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen (chairman) presiding. Present: Messrs. McLaughlin, Tincher, Thompson, Ketcham, Hall, Pratt, Fort, Menges, Andresen, Adkins, Aswell, Kincheloe, Jones, Fulmer, Robey, McSweeney, and Haugen (chairman). Present also: Hon. Charles Brand. The CHAIRMAN. We have before us this morning the bill (H. R. 9096) to establish standard weights for loaves of bread, to prevent deception in respect thereto, and to prevent contamination thereof, and for other purposes. (The bill is as follows:) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this act may be cited as the "Federal bread act." SEC. 2. (a) That when used in this act (1) The term "person includes an individual, partnership, corporation, or association; but not a common carrier. 66 (2) The term State" includes the District of Columbia. (3) The term "twin or multiple loaf" of bread means the product obtained by so baking individual units that two or more adhere to one another, but are susceptible to separation by breaking. Whenever the word "loaf " or "loaves is used in this act it shall be construed as including the individual units of twin or multiple loaves. 66 (b) The provisions of this act shall not apply to biscuits, buns, crackers, rolls, or other similar bread units, weighing less than four ounces each, or to bread commonly known as stale bread, and sold as such, in case the seller shall at the time of sale expressly represent to the buyer that the bread so sold is "stale" bread. SEC. 3. The standard weights for loaves of bread shall be one-half pound, one pound, one and one-half pounds, and whole multiples of one pound, avoirdupois, within the limits established in section 4 hereof. SEC. 4. That the minimum average weights of loaves of bread shall be the standard weights prescribed in section 3. In order to allow for unavoidable variations in the weights of loaves of bread, weights in excess of the said standard weights shall be permitted, but to prevent imposition and fraud through the medium of loaves nominally of one of the said standard weights but actually so much overweight as to tend to simulate loaves of the next larger standard weight, the maximum average weights of loaves of bread shall be as follows: Ten and one-half ounces for loaves nominally of the standard eight-ounce weight; one pound three and one-half ounces for loaves nominally of the standard one-pound weight; one pound eleven and one-half ounces for loaves nominally of the standard one and one-half pound weight; two pounds six ounces for loaves nominally of the standard two-pound weight; three pounds six ounces for loaves nominally of the standard threepound weight; and for loaves nominally of any greater standard weight, the maximum average weight shall be seyen ounces over the nominal standard weight. The average weight of the loaves shall be determined from the weigh 1 ing of at least five loaves of the same nominal weight and of the same manufacturer, or of all such loaves when the supply available at the time and place of the weighing exceeds five such loaves and is not more than ten such loaves; if more than ten such loaves are available, at least ten shall be weighed in determining this average. Whenever the number of such loaves available exceeds the number of loaves so to be weighed, the loaves weighed shall be taken at random. SEC. 5. That each loaf of bread and each twin or multiple loaf shall be either completely wrapped or otherwise kept in such a manner as to substantially exclude dust and contamination. In In SEC. 6. That each loaf of bread shall bear a plain and conspicuous declaration of its standard weight prescribed in section 3 hereof, together with the name of the manufacturer and the name of the place where manufactured. respect to bread not wrapped this declaration shall be printed upon a label not less than one inch square firmly and sanitarily attached to the loaf. In respect to wrapped bread this declaration shall be printed upon the wrapper. respect to wrapped twin or multiple loaves the declaration on the wrapper shall be the total of the standard weights of the loaves and, in addition, each unit of the twin or multiple loaves shall be labeled in the same manner as bread not wrapped. The declarations of weight herein required shall be in boldface capital letters and figures not less than twelve-point in size. SEC. 7. That it shall be unlawful for any person to ship or transport, offer for shipment or transportation, or deliver for shipment or transportation from any State to, into, or through another State loaves of bread which are not, of one of the standard weights prescribed in section 3 within the limits established in section 4 hereof, or which are not wrapped or otherwise kept as required in section 5 hereof, or which are not marked as required in section 6 hereof. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $200 for the first offense and upon conviction for each subsequent offense not less than $50 nor more than $500. SEC. 8. That loaves of bread the weights of which are not of one of the standard weights prescribed in section 3 within the limits established in section 4 hereof, or which are not wrapped or otherwise kept as required in section 5 hereof, or which are not marked as required in section 6 hereof, and which are being transported from one State to, into, or through another State, or, having been so transported remain unloaded, unsold, or in original unbroken packages, shall be liable to be proceeded against in any district court of the United States within the district where the same are found or seized for confiscation by a process of libel for condemnation. And if such leaves of bread are condemned as being in violation of any of the provisions hereof, the same shall be disposed of by destruction or sale, as the said court may direct, and the proceeds thereof, if sold, less the legal costs and charges, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States. The proceedings in such libel cases shall conform as near as may be to the proceedings in admiralty, except that either party may demand trial by jury of any issue of fact joined in any such case, and the proceedings shall be at the suit of and in the name of the United States. SEC. 9. That all loaves of bread which do not conform to the requirements of this act, transported into any State and remaining therein for use, consumption, or sale therein, shall upon arrival within the limits of such State be subject to the operation and effect of the laws of such State enacted in the exercise of its police powers, to the same extent and in the same manner as though such loaves of bread had been produced in such State, and shall not be exempt therefrom by reason of being introduced therein in original packages or otherwise: Provided, That this shall not be construed to relieve any person or to exempt any bread from the penalties and forfeitures prescribed in sections 7 and 8 of this act. SEC. 10. That it shall be the duty of each district attorney to whom the Secretary of Agriculture shall report any violation of this act, or to whom any health or food or weights and measures officer or agent of any State shall present satisfactory evidence of any such violation, to cause appropriate proceedings to be commenced and prosecuted in the proper courts of the United States, without delay, for the enforcement of the penalties and forfeitures as in such case herein provided. SEC. 11. That the Secretary of Agriculture shall from time to time make such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary for the efficient execution of this act, and in furtherance of the purposes thereof may cooperate with any department or agency of the Government, any State, or department, agency, or political subdivision thereof. SEC. 12. That the act, omission, or failure of any person acting for or employed by any individual, partnership, corporation, or association, within the scope of his employment or office, shall in every case also be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such individual, partnership, corporation, or association, as well as that of such person. SEC. 13. If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the act and of the application of such provisions to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. The CHAIRMAN. We will be glad now to hear Mr. Brand, who introduced the bill, and some gentlemen here in opposition to it. If 15 minutes on each side is agreeable, we will proceed with that understanding. STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES BRAND, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OHIO Mr. BRAND. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, this bread bill was introduced two years ago, and I will say for the benefit of the new members of the committee that the purpose of the bill is to regulate the size of the loaf of bread, or to standardize the sizes. It requires that loaves of bread shall be made in the sizes of one-half pound, 1 pound, and 11⁄2 pounds, and multiples of 1 pound. It prohibits intermediate sizes. Mr. MENGES. What is the purpose of this bill? Does it require that this bread shall come up to a certain standard, and does it prevent the shipment of bread that does not come up to such standard in interstate commerce? Mr. BRAND. Yes; the bill applies only to bread in interstate Commerce, because Congress can not enact a measure relative to intrastate commerce. Mr. ADKINS. Is bread shipped to any great extent from one State to another? Mr. BRAND. Before studying the matter you would imagine that there would be very little bread shipped from one State to another; but you will find that most of the cities of the United States where the big baking establishments are located are situated in juxtaposition to several States. For instance, Omaha is close to Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas; St. Louis is close to Illinois, eastern Kentucky, and Missouri; Chicago is close to Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin; Pittsburgh is close to a number of States, and Cincinnati ships bread into a number of States. In the East, New York touches a great many States surrounding her, and so does Philadelphia. Those cities that I speak of are the places where the big bakeries are located. Mr. ADKINS. The home of the so-called bread trust. Mr. BRAND. They are the big bakers, I understand. There are over 100 of them, I think, in one concern. Mr. ADKINS. That is what I understood. Mr. BRAND. We had four days of hearings on this bill two years ago, and the committee, so far as the record shows, unanimously and favorably recommended the bill for passage. I will tell you how this subject came to my mind originally, and that will give you the essence of the situation. Five years ago, in Ohio, I found that the bread trucks in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio, were according to reports made to the Department of Agriculture of the State of Ohio, hauling two sizes of loaves of bread. Now, in these two cities we had laws requiring full weight, and in the country they did not have such laws. There were full weight laws passed by the city council and in those cities they had full 16 ounce weight for bread, but when they got out in the country they had short weight loaves of bread to deliver in the country. Mr. ASWELL. Why could you not amend the bill that has been reported by the Interstate Commerce Committee, and which is now on the calendar by adding a provision requiring that bread shall have its weight stamped upon it? Why not require that the loaf of bread shall be stamped with the statement, "This loaf contains so many ounces "? Mr. BRAND. Yes; that looks very appealing. Mr. ASWELL. Why could you not do that? Mr. BRAND. That looks very appealing, and it would seem to be all right if the loaf stated 12 ounces of bread Mr. ASWELL (interposing). Or 10 ounces. Mr. BRAND. Or 10 ounces. That looks to be perfectly fair and square. Let me say that when I pressed this law in Ohio these big bread men-the same people we are dealing with now, the Ward people came into Ohio with a lobby, and they stayed there every minute for three or four months before we passed that bill. They offered to make me governor of Ohio if I would make that change in the bill. Mr. ASWELL. Who would make you governor of Ohio? Mr. BRAND. The bread people thought they could, or that was their proposition, if I would make that little change you suggest. Now, I will tell you why that would destroy the bill: For instance, take New York City: It is an easy matter now for the bread people in New York City to agree on the size of the loaf, say, on 14 ounces and then if the law permits them to put 14 ounces in a loaf the general public has no opportunity to get a 16 ounce loaf at all. That is the difficulty. Mr. ASWELL. If the weight must be what is branded or stamped on the loaf, why would they not have a 16 ounce loaf? Mr. BRAND. The reason is this. When we passed that law in Ohio, every loaf of bread in Ohio sprang up from 12 and 14 ounces to 16 ounces without any change whatever in the price. Mr. JONES. You could pass a State law similar to those adopted by the municipalities. Mr. BRAND. We did. Mr. JONES. Rather than have the National Government take charge of all this local machinery, why would it not be sufficient to forbid the shipment in interstate commerce of loaves of bread for sale in a State that do not comply with the laws of that State and then let your State and municipalities take care of the difficulty? Mr. BRAND. I do not know that we need any law to that effect. That would not change the situation. Mr. JONES. If it were shipped in original packages The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Would there be any objection to that? Mr. JONES. They might sell bread to large dealers in that way. The CHAIRMAN. Would there be any objection on the part of anybody to having the consumers get what they pay for? Mr. JONES. Not at all; of course not. Mr. BRAND. As a matter of fact, if you will permit me to say it, the Department of Commerce has made a survey of the United States on account of this bread law, and they found the short-weight bread selling at the same price that they found the full-weight bread selling for, just as I found the situation to be in Ohio. Mr. ASWELL. If the weight were stamped on the loaf, they could not sell the short-weight loaf at the same price as the full-weight loaf. Mr. BRAND. It does not change the price relation any, because they can go on with the same price. As a matter of fact, the people of the Nation, if our figures are correct, are having about $100,000,000 worth of bread pinched off every year on account of the lack of standard weight laws in the United States. Now, just with a slip of paper you can change that situation and save that money to the people of America. I will say to you that I am satisfied it means something to the people. I believe that just about as many loaves are used in the State of Ohio of 16-ounce bread as of 14-ounce bread. They take that much more bread, and it takes that much more wheat. It is of some interest to this committee in its relation to doing away with the surplus wheat. Mr. THOMPSON. This bill does not set up any board, commission, or new machinery? Mr. BRAND. No. Mr. THOMPSON. And the Bureau of Standards has recommended the bill? Mr. BRAND. The Department of Commerce, through the Bureau of Standards, together with the Department of Agriculture, have written this bill. They have all the evidence in favor of it. The State authorities, or the men who have charge of the weights and measures, have met here in Washington and demanded this measure. Mr. ASWELL. When was that? Mr. BRAND. About a year ago. Mr. ASWELL. Was a report of that put in the record? Mr. BRAND. No, sir; I do not believe I have that in the record. Mr. THOMPSON. It is in the hearings, is it not? Mr. BRAND. I think we referred to it in the hearings. Mr. FORT. The hearings were held two years ago. Mr. BRAND. Did they end two years ago? Mr. FORT. Yes; the last one was in May, 1924. Mr. BRAND. That action of the weights and measures officials of the United States may have been taken since then. I think, probably, it was taken since then. Mr. MENGES. Did the people who made those demands for this legislation set up any standard as to how much water bread might contain? |