Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-04-23
What il Costs a Workingman to
Support Wife and Family
In Deoenoy.
STUDY OF CITY HOUSEHOLDS.
Investigation Carried on Through Coz
operation OF Volunteers. Trade Union
Members and raid Reporters.
gpeclai correspondents.

90 INMN NAAlAANUH III Now lUIh civ on
salary OF $500 Year,"
That's the problem that group OF
students ia New York have been work
ms on for two years and their report.
Just published. draws up the first scien.
tito and philosophical conclusions ON
the standard OF living yet made In this
country 1t Is a statistical study add
statistics usually Brighten people. l,nt
if figures ever lived and told stories
for themselves Of deprivation ana cy-
tmvagance, foresight and lack OF iud IL
ment, saving and spending. these sta
t'stics Of workngmen's nmIIes in
New York, certainly tell a tale OF their
own.
And they have a practical bearing.
TOO, for the Buffalo Charity Oraaniza-
lion society has used the results qr
rived az through this Investigation IN
the work Of giving out relief I'M that
city Charities and the Commons a..
New York magazine devoted 10 social
welfare, used the conclusions Of The In
vcstigation IN studying a strike of CLAW
NW0rkcrs In Perth Amboy last winter
when the minimum standard set nm I'M
the report Of the Investigation v-as
measured against the actual amount of
wages being received by the workers.
and the wages given 20 the strilinu
pottery men were found 20 be way he
low the required standard OF living set
by the Investigators
The Investigation was carrieI on
through the cooperation Of volunteers
tmde union members and paid s,he1-
ule-repOrtors furnished By the Russsil
sage Foundation. Dependent familiss
were not Included. The investipafnrs
tried 90 find normal families having
both parents living with two 10 four
children under IS years Of age nae
leading natlonalities were included i'm
the Investigation which took Ina "a sfiid,,
of 39l families who answered the scbe5.
uled questions with a surprising N gree
OF willingness. The expected None al
your business answer was fortheoto-
ing often enough, but on the whole me-
visitors were treated with considara
ton although some OF the inti,nots
question were baked at.
DRINKS AWAY FROM HOME -
one visitor tells this story about tho
ITEM Of expenditure for drinks away
from home:" When LIQUORS ,vor'.
spoken OF, the wife. who was ans,,o,',,,-
most Of the questions. emphaticallv *
claimed, Nothing At this The father
sitting silently and letting the wife az
the talking, turned his head toward tbs
street. However, looking straight into
tho fathers face, / emphasized mo
words drinks away from home ana
me could no longer restrain himself
Auout ~ 10 10 glasses OF beer a lav
ana a gas OF whisky he mumbled. +"
oI the 99l families whose home storlea
were recorded. SIS had incomes ranpins.
from 5000 70 SL100 Tho 25 below ss13
ana tho As above 81 100 are Included ana
niost OF tho attention Is given 10 tie
5ls families within the narrower rance
lhilty-elght OF the fathers were lahor-
eis' 30 were teamsters and IS were v3,.-
ment workers. In these occupatIons
where II Is seldom possible for the faith
en- 10 earn moro than 5000 or $500 4.
year IL was found that the childrea
OF the mother must work. or lod rs-s
must be taken 81 the family is TO eniov
anything beyond bare necessities.
Forty-tive children were found In no
q, WORK Tor wages 20 boys and g5
sHla ana. strange as IL NAV soorn
more children were found employed i'm
ie families earning larger wages than
We small income groups. In the ais
.alullles whose incomes ranged frop,
$500 to Sl,l00, there were found ios
Wdee-earners besides the father ana
0t lhese lOs persons IS were mothers
20 working as mattresses. I'm MANY
lived ~ ''iey
WHERE BURDEN COMES HARD.
Hard times often means a good deai
10 me man with a respectable Income.
at the burden comes hardest on
Wese Families already pretty close
% the border line OF the 1873 Man
Hiltan FAMILIES who had been a year
more IN the same tenement 102 re-
ported an increase OF rent from so
cents To- NM "a 81
iau'liN on Essex street has been I'M
l1 present tenement for 10 years IL
Nnw pays 1913 a month for four rooms.
WIN toilet In apartment Two wears
neIore the rent was SIS
lMenty-seven per cent OF an ex-
f.ndltures Is paid for rent on the
eftfage, by tho eight families with in-
comes between $500 and $500. ana &c
ger cent by the M families with I'M
zones between $500 and SllO0 average
Only ~ per cent although paying Si7f
uN ah average. as compared with si24
W. 9Nerage rent OF families IN the
". income group.
Many bad conditions 0f crowdlnp
were found by the visitors. il ans
pears from the final summary that out
NI i' Manhattan families with in
comes between 5000 and $500. IA Der
,eNl nave no moro than three rooms.
y. me 1s families in the $500 group.
HNtNN htNNf NNk NANIN NNNn INNNN
rooms, and OF the 20 families with
..nlnes between 5000 aud Sl.l00 80
fI cent live in three rooms or less
HALE GOES FOR rood.
81, Nearly hall Of tho total outlay OF
,hc a9l families is FOR food. Two
hundred ninety dollars ana ton cents
" lne average amount spent for the
groups
pne hundred dollars was fixed as "a
Y.uhinum for % fmnily'a clothlng.-u
,nlW oi father mother and four
NWlllen, 500. or tho 3is families with
ul'oIloa between 5000 and sil00. i26
'u per cent report less than ono /
ta'eq amount f0r clothing 1857 in- I
''hDa. ui Der cent of the families with /
NlOo ONE. nf between 5000 and $500 arc /
.llNrI-ciad ~ Der cent of those with /
pr nneF of $500 90 $500 and is ner cent /
,hpHe with Incomes betW Coz 5000 and /
,pl OF those With Incomes below /
ihreo-uuaricrs were found under /
lA.u while only one in two of tho /
.'.,Ilos with over s1l00 10 spend falls /
F" inls category.
DOCTORS BILLS
Doctors bills are 80 Intermittent in
N. history OF any family that ID o.
.h posainle 90 treat them like the Il
llafN recurring expenditures FOR /
.lA ana rent Tho average oxneudi-
le Tor health ranges from SlalS for
w. families with Incomes between
' and 800. 40 $3.50 for families with
zones between 5000 and Sl100 ~ /
KY. TO $3.50 in the 5000 group and