Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1907-09-16
'H|S FAMILY OF SIX.
: 'PENDS OVER $3.50
! \ PER MONTH
Railroad Man. His Wife and
Four Sons Often Use
as Much as 5000
Monthly.
GIVE AN ITtMztO
EXPENSE ACCOUNT
In Every Line of Living Their
Expenditures Are Heavy De-
spite an OverWOrked and
Careful Mother Who
Tries to Save.

"Only with great care and economy
can we make both ends meet and my
husband never earns less than $3.50
month and sometimes as high as
5000" said a serious-faced woman
who is the wife of a railroad man
and the mother of four boys of ages
ranging from five years to eleven.
The cares of family life haYa-4aS1
their marks on the face of this wo-
man, yet the face is that of a typical
mother and the lines of pride are
fully as distinct as the lines of care.
This woman is proud of her four
children and tries to keep them look
ing as well as their means will allow.
The children are not pampered and
petted, but they are we'll cared for
and due attention is paid to their
moral training. The mother is a strict
woman. but not harsh; she does not
spare the rod, neither does she be-
grudge tenderness; she commands
the respect and obedience of the
children without exciting their fear.
"Of all persons the wife who has
no children l pity the most. Chill
dren make much work and are the
cause of much trouble, yet life would
not be worth living to me without
my mischievous boys" said Mrs.
Railroader proudly.
How They Live.
AS is the case in the families of
most wage earners no actual expense
account is kept in the household Of
Mr.. Railroader, yet a fair idea OF thS
expenses of the family was gained
from the collections of bills for food,
clothing and other things. In look
ing over her receipted bills for the
last year, Mrs. Railroader was able
to furnish a Citizen reporter with an
approximately correct account of the
yearly expense of maintaining the
household.
The family lives in a five room
house for which S22 a month is paid
in rent. The husband receives his
wages monthly and the bills are paid
monthly. The family uses each week
one gallon of oil 80 cents; potatoes,
20 cents; pounds of butter, $1.05;
2 Dozen eggs, 20 cents; flour, 40
cents; sugar, 35 cents; canned goods,
so cents; vegetables, $1.75; milk, 20
cents; breakfast food, 40 cents; fruit,
81; meat, $500; ice, so pounds a day,
at so cents a 100 pounds, $1.75; other
provisions, $3.50; a total for provs-
ions of $14.95 and this does not in
clude the water tax which amounts
to $26.40 a year; coal which costs
about $26 a year; wood $12 and hired
help $75 a year, and $50 a year for
household incldentals such as furni-
ture, table and bed linen, repairing,
etc The family uses only kitchen
range and one heating stove and as
rule four tons of coal is sufficient for
year. A dollar load of wood lasts
month. Mrs. Railroader bakes most
of her own bread and does her own
housework except that she usually
hires help on wash days or when
there is extra cleaning. She further
more does all the mending for the
family and often makes articles of
wearing apparel for her children.
The yearly bill for rent, provisions
and general living expenses amounts
to $1,009.09.
Clothing and Incidentals.