The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1883-05-03
Family Expenses.

An interesting computation as to the eX-
pendture by families of working people IN
France has recently been made by M. Ar
mangaud. His statistics were obtained
from only sixteen families from the town OF
Mulhouse, in Alsace, but their expenses
NAV be accepted as a fair average for
France. These families represented difieren
classes of workmen, and their expenditure
daried from LOO francs to 5000 francs
year; that is from 1920 to 5000.
Oftheir total annual expenditure, house
accommodation, as a rule, swallowed up 10
per cent, clothing 16 per cent. and food oil
per cent, per cent. being reserved for
miscellaneous expenses. In the matter Of
food the highest expenditure registered was
~ per cent, thus described FSr bread
SO per cent; for meat IA per cent; milk IL
per cent. groceries, "a per cent, miscel-
ianeous, Is per cent. The average ex-
penditure foe bread was a little over
one-fifth of their total expenditure.
1t will be SEEM therefore, that the bread
bill is not by any means the chief item OF
expense in French working family. Yet
the French are great consumers OF Dreau, as
compared with us, for Instance; and hence
the cost of bread must be in even smaller
proportion here, while that OF butchers
meat undoubtedly consumes much
larger share of the expense OF living.
Last winter, when the tariff bill was un-
der discussion in the senate, table was
presented to show that the sugar and mo-
iasses of family of working paople cost
more than the bread The statistics were
obtained from the large clearinghouse
for operatives in Maine manufacturing
town, and OF course they would have VIDE
application. Sugar is consumed not only
Al. hut 10 SWeptpn-
ing purposes in cooking that 1t has become
one of the principal items of food expend'
iture of an ordinary family in this country.
The Is per cent. of his annual expendit-
ure the French workingman spends Tor
house accommodation seems small here. In
all classes of European society house rent
consumes q much less proportion CT the
outgoes of family than here. There 1t Is
not regarded as prudent to let it exceed
sixth, perhaps even tenth of the income
of a family. With us il is common enough
to pay a third of the income for house
room alone, and sometimes the proportion
is larger than that. A family which Keeps
it's rent down to fifth is rather exceptional
in New York, though formerly that was the
common proportion, or AT least the hlghest
which was deemed safe.
A mechanic living in tenement house
may have to pay as high as SIS month Tor
a four-room apartment in crowded as
trict. That is $2l6 year. To get decent
comfortable place he has to give that, or
nearly that, though if he goes into smaller,
poorer and meaner quarters he may hire an
apartment for a good deal less.
At any rate. the house rent OF the work
ing man, be he mechanic or daily labOrer,
draws 50 heavily on ais purse That ne must
not only economist closely in his living, to
meet that first necessary expense, but also
be able to get steady work to sustain the
burden. It takes too large share OF his
income, and the rent is extravagantly high
in proportion TO that charged for whole
houses occupied by families in better cir
cumstances. His apartment is made up OF
small rooms, with comparatively low cell
ings, and the house ia which it is may con-
tain twenty families and more, and be in
part of the city where landed property
would yield fair interest on its value at
much lower rents.
Ia proportion to their incomes, the peo-
pie OF New York generally pay too much
for house communications; but the poorer
among them are the worst sufferers in that
respect. The well-to-do burden them
selves with too much rent sometimes Tor
the sake ofappearances and 10 make show,
but the others are forced 10 give IL even for
mean quarters. They have no choice.-lN.
Y SIM