Tacoma's Women Take On the Bakers Over Wrapped Bread

Tacoma bakers object to being compelled to wrap their bread in paraffin paper. And Tacoma women object to having the bread exposed as a roost for flies and a collector for germs and dust.

The bakers told the council health committee this morning that to wrap the bread when fresh causes the gases in it to concentrate and make the bread unfit for use.

The women told the committee that when it is not wrapped it gets dirty and often full of disease germs.

Women for Pure Food. Mrs. O. O. Ellis, Mrs. Stanton Warburton and Mrs. D. E. Roberts appeared as a committee from the pure food council of Tacoma women to speak for the new ordinance which will be introduced in the council Wednesday night.

A dozen bakers appeared to protest against the wrapping of bread. There was no dispute about any other portion of the ordinance. The bakers also said they wanted to keep their produce clean but they did not want the wrapping insisted upon.

Mrs. Ellis said they did not care whether it was wrapped or not if some other way could be provided for keeping it clean. But she cited numerous instances that had come under her observation where the bread was getting dirty.

Bakers' Argument. Donald McPherson, the baker, said 90 per cent of all the bakers' bread in Tacoma is sold south of Division avenue. It goes to the workingmen's homes.

"Yes, and they make a mistake, too," suggested Mrs. Warburton. "I know you men make the bread just as good as you can but there is more nourishment in one of my loaves than in two you bake," she said.

Lloyd Robinson, of the Tacoma Baking company, declared that they tried to deliver bread to the grocer perfectly clean. He thought it up to the grocer then.

Mr. McLain of McLain Brothers said bread should "cure" and to wrap it would prove disastrous.

Mrs. Ellis insisted that the women did not want the bread injured nor any hardship put on the bakers but they do want the bread kept free from flies and dust.

"Dust is healthy," suggested T. Nearup. "You got to have a little mud in the stomach."

May Bar Wrappers. The committee finally reached an informal conclusion to eliminate the wrapping section of the ordinance pertaining to bread. Otherwise it will stand practically as drawn, according to the present showing, although Chairman Giblett said the butchers would probably want to take a rap at it later.

Mrs. Ellis said if the Tacoma council will pass it the state federation of women's clubs will take it up and use the Tacoma ordinance as a model to send all over the country for a pattern for other cities, thus giving this city a national advertisement that would be of inestimable value as the pioneer in the movement for pure food.

She said over 1,000 women were enlisted in the movement here now and that the federated women's clubs of the whole country are just taking up the pure food question.