New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-19
CAUSES OF POVERTY.
$50 Year Bridges Difference for
Burdened Women-Food of Poor.

and other conditions OF poverty IN New-York
have been brought out by an investigation, just
completed. OF thirty pensioners Of the United
Hebrew Charities. The most startling OF these
facts relates 10 the cause Of dependence. The
families were taken random from the lists
of the Hebrew charities, and in each and every
OF the thirty cases II was found that the
distress was due 10 tuberculosis or accident In
some cases the breadwinner had been removed
by these causes. In others he had been crippled
incapacitated. and in some cases not only
the breadwinner. but several or all of the MEM
bers Of the family were found TO be more or less
incapacitated by illness.
Another interesting and important revelation
is the small amount Of money that would be re-
Quired TO make any OF these families COM
Portable. Mrs Charles II. Israels. under whose
direction the Investigations were made esti-
mates that $3.50 a year would be amply sufi-
Gent for this purpose and the Hebrew Char
titles intends 10 ask for subscriptions TO make
pensions Of that amount possible.
This the real purpose OF the investiga-
ton" said Mrs Israels 20 a representative of
The Tribune. 1--WE wanted 10 find out just how
much money these people needed and give It TO
them. Our object in trying 70 keep these fam
lies together is TO keep the children out Of
institutions, but what is the use of doing any,
thing If we don't DO enough to make It possible
for the mother 10 care properly for her chill
oren? Now that know that such a small
sum as $50 a year will give the mother the
leisure she needs and relieve her of petty wor-
r1es about deficit Of a few cents month. we
think that we will surely be able TO get the
money"
STANDARD OF LIVING.
Among the many facts brought out by the In
vestigation is the variation Of the standard of
living among families Of the same income in
different parts OF the city It costs them more
20 live uptown than downtown, and mora TO live
on the West Side than on the East Side The
neighborhood even affects the amount OF soap
used Coal apears S0-cent week item
in the uptown accounts compared with %
cents in the downtown ones: and. whereas the
downtown family gets its stockings for 10 cents
q pair. the uptown family pays 20 cents. A
Chrystie-st. family uses "a cents worth of meat
tn & month, and the uptown West Side family
spends 81 30 q week for the same item, and both
families appear 20 think that liver is not meat
In the bills OF expense which the housekeepers
prepare for the Hebrew Charities liver and
meat are invariably entered as two separate
items. On the downtown accounts coffee ap-
pears IN two or three cent quantities; uptown 20
cents worth is bought at a time. The Chrystie-
ST. family buys sugar in two-cent quantities,
the uptown family gets 90 cents worth at a
time.
The reason for larger purchases at time is
easily found in the fact that the uptown stores
DO not sell things in such small quantities as
the East Side ones, but why the quantity Of
food and other things used should actually be
greater is not quite clear. Mrs. Israels sug-
gests that the better neighborhood may give the
family better appetite and inspire them TO keep
their houses cleaner.
All the families on the list. averaging about
six members apiece, live for about 81 day, in
Guiding rent gas, coal, etc and It is astonishing
how far they can make 81 60
'lf you want to help poor family" saws Mrs
lsraels, give them the money: don't spend it
for them They viii get much more for it than
you can"
LITTLE MEAT EATEN.
The average dietary includes a large amount
OF bread little meat, a considerable amount of
herring, with milk butter rice, apples, prunes
and vegetables The uptown families have more
variety than the downtown ones, owing prob
ably 10 the fact that they see a greater variety
of food in the markets, and are thus led to DUR
chase it,
Nothing but absolute necessities ever appears
on any Of the lists. In one family where there is
an invalid five cents a month is spent for wine
Another family spent three cents one month for
candy, four cents for stamps and ten cents for
csrfare. A third family INDUCED In the luxury
of religious instruction for one of the bows AT a
cost Of 70 cents week tremendous sum to
people who meet all their ordinary living ex-
penses on 81 day.
Their incomes are derived from the united
earnings OF the different members of the family.
supplemented by small pensions from the He
ore" charities Even families composed en-
urely Of sick and defective persons contrive al
most 10 earn their own support
one SICK family includes the father mother
ana iour children. The man is a criupl. and
ehe VIE consumptive- The Oldest child. q eirl
OF twelve years. is nervous and has had ~ bo,,a
fectiye ment. IE Der nose. boy Of ten is de-
tspoio IeVer- Another boy is subfec4 70 - u
ShIus ana is expected to deveIor1 49, - pIoL-
eventually A third boy is defory5aa - culosls
brace The man was formerly enor Ha.u wears
,s-brb 1900 soEIs' put met with an accident tbara
aselhst tne company TO recover dar,soss s a sun
;n tney hao the lives of all their e, ~ az
woman are both employed ar N. ne man and
tween them. Ne Go week be-
DEFECTIVE FAMILIES
0ner family Of sick people includes a Inns
Dsao' who has been 81 for ten wears. a ,,,so -.
mas asthma; two boys. one with tuberculosis go
80 ouier win generally delicate constitution
60. guns one with ricketts, and one with
SAINT Nitus dance. The mother ,ybo -
hllo washes. is the main sumner, 20 ,,,-
eo re Dfrptive boy has a pushcart and go
some ,s ~ cehts week. The other one nh -.
neTysrsa can get his working paneTs sd tDr
,brea =" Ctlro FAMILY woman IS s,,,,,,o..,--
bsn6 sets OF children. two by her ss rl,
go 80 py her second and two b al - ~ nus
Sno husbands first wife The seoo, pg her sec
ported his and heart disease bur snn
most 10 the ;a, 'saee Family uncomplaininglv al
TFal - thS hebrew Charities for aid n S -, 70
~ k ne asked. and not for financial as Tor
aS hsPl z little store which the 1Ssists lce