Evening star., 1915-11-11
WHAT A FAMILY CAN
LIVE ON.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

A thousand dollars year would be
wealth and luxury to some families. IL
would be absolute penury to others. so
lit seems that the income necessary to
satisfy the legitimate wants OF any
family or individual is dependent en-
tirely upon circumstance, and there
can be no fixed standard.
There is, however. a minimum amount
upon which a family may live without
the sacrifice of health or self-respect.
The street cleaning department OF New
York, determined that its employees
shall live as Americans should, has
conducted an elaborate investigation TO
determine what this minimum income
for decent living is. The result of the
study is of wide interest, not only to
employees, but to all persons who seek
a standard of absolute necessity by
which to gauge expenditures
The survey just completed fixes the
sum of $S40 as the minimum wage upon
which a laborer's family in New York
city can procure the necessities of life
The future wages of each street cleaner
are to be based upon this report.
4 Il
A committee of expert economists has
been working for months to secure
accurate data
General Increase regarding the
of Wage Necessary. tons of un-
skilled laborers' families in New York
Clothing, food, rent, fuel, recreat1on'
medical attention and every other ne
cessity have been carefully studied.
The report presented to the department
was regarded as sufficiently convincing
to warrant wholesale increase in
wages.
The survey is based upon the re-
quirements of a family of five-a IA
ther. mother and three children-which
is the average number required to
keep the population at its present rate
of increase, though most unskilled Ia
borers have larger families.
The study proves conclusively that
the families of all men living in New
York upon incomes of s40O or $500 are
underfed, UNDERGRAD and overcrowded-
all three conditions detrimental to
health, morality and self-respect. Those
| living upon $500 or 800 can choose
between the three disadvantages. They
can hardly avoid at least one Of them.
~
The cost of living for the foreign
born family is less than that Of Ameri-
cans. because
American Family their stand
Needs More Money. sr ar'S Tbe Tbe iom fact
that out of an income of $500 or $500
| the foreigner is able to make a small
| saving does not affect the real made
quacy of his wages. The saving is
made by the sacrifice OF decent living
conditions for his family.
Economists in every city are giving
close study to the actual cost of living.
Except for rent, the estimates are not
likely to vary greatly in American
cities. as the cost of food and clothing
is almost uniform throughout the coun-
try. The New York minimum is con-
sidered too low by number of spe-
cialists, who claim that 5000 is the
smallest sum upon which a family can
live decently. This means little more
than SO for each working day in the
year.
A complete budget of the living ex-
penses of a family of FIVE made up by
a woman economist gives full details
for the expenditure of a nine-hundred-
dollar income from actual tests of each
item. Her family includes father,
mother, Tommy, aged thirteen; Mary,
aged ten, and Johnny, aged six. Fa-
ther's overcoat at IS is expected to last
two years, as is also each of mothers s
two-dollar hats. Father has one suit
and one white shirt annually, besides
his working clothes. shoes and under
wear. Mother has also a suit costing S6,
in addition to the cotton dresses she
wears in the home.
Tommy has two suits a year, but if
he
mothers find
$43 Clothes Three necessary for
Growing Children. hov tne ,bsr srom,ns ,.ruy
come out of some other allowance, be-
cause Tommy's wardrobe for the entire
year is expected to cost only SIS. Mary
requires SIS. but this sum does not
give her any of the ribbons and friils
so dear to the feminine ten-year- old.
Johnny's clothes are to cost $40. How
they are to be supplied when he is a
little older Is one of the questions for
mother to solve.
Father. mother and the three children
have their hosiery limited to six pairs
apiece at 10 cents a pair. The boys
winter underwear can cost only 80
cents a suit. Fathers neckties come
from the ten-cent store. With a care
full, watchful mother, it is barely posi-
BILE to keep a family clothed decently
for year upon the sum fixed, but
the schedule of absolute necessities
leaves scarcely a dime to spare.
The economist few years ago show
ed a tendency to skimp upon the food
allowance. Experience has proved the
fallacy of this. Underfeeding is respon-
sible for more than half the sickness
and much of the crime in the larger
cities. 1t fills hospitals and asylums
and renders the worker and the school
child less efficient. The lowest food ex-
penditure, recommended for family of
five is $3.50 per week, which, if prop
erly expended, will supply ample nutri-
ton.
| The weekly schedule may include If
ken quarts of milk, two dozen eggs, a
pound of butter
Weekly Schedule and daily
of Food Supplies. other " ~ ' meat ot
with chicken once a month. Three
loaves of bread a day, with cereals, po-
tatoes and other vegetables and care
full selection of groceries, redeem this
allowance from the charge of made
quacy, but leave little to spare.
An average of one person and a half
to a room must be the maximum in ar
the housing accOmmOda tions