South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-12-27
What the Chicago
Diet Squad Proved
Those Who Can Afford Ii Can
Solve High Cost of Living
Scientifically-But What of
Those Who Can't
By Woods Hutchinson. VI. b..

Subjects
Peace hath her victories. etc. and
science her martyrs. They don't do
quite as uncomfortable things as the
early Christian ones did. but they
show the same spirit. Scarcely a
season passes but some little band
cheerfully volunteers for some test
Of human endurance. under, say
loss of sleep. starvation. complete or
partial; secondhand air. health
foods. peanuts or benzoate of soda.
Both the spirit and the results have
been most admirable and useful.
Facts have been substituted for
mere theoreuc opinions. actual
knowledge for traditional belief, so
that the thinking world Is most ia
vorably disposed toward these
group tests and turns a ready and
interested ear TO their story ana
their findings
Hence every one was keenly inter-
ested in the adventures of the diet
squad of the health department OF
Chicago. and delighted 10 learn that
they had triumphantly proved their
point. namely. that men and women
engaged in active business pursuits
could live comfortably and whole
somely-with certain reservations
upon 40, yea, even upon a little over
30, cents a day-prOvided that they
have the best dietetic experts OF the
community 10 do their buying, plan
their menus and cook their food
free of charge. What could be more
useful as a valuable and practical
contribution TO the burning II. c.
of L. problem?
But while fully recognizing and
admiring the public spirit which
prompted these experiments and the
intelligent. scientific, ration-balanc-
ing and managing which brought
them TO a successful conclusion, ore
may perhaps be pardOned for rails
ing the unsympathetic but practical
question: But what good came
of it at LAST quoth little Peterkin.
From a coldly economic point of
view its success simply demOnstrat-
ed TO everybody's satisfaction that
with scientific knowledge and good
Judgment the high cost of living can
be met by those who can afford il!
Average Family's Dilemma.
To those of us who face. whether
with mutterings of revolt or gestures
of despair. the charge of S1.35 for
a modest lunch. or $40 for a sim
pie dinner, on our walters check at
restaurant hotel or club. the mere
mention of a square meal for 10
cents sounds like heavenly music
and too impossibly good to be true.
But such patient-or explOsive-suf-
ferers are only a very, very small
fraction of the great American pub
lie.
Here is the situation which the
vast bulk of the community faces:
Not how to live on 80 cents a day,
but how 20 get the 80 cents. Abb
sUrd, says some one; why, every
merest day laborer gets at least
$3.50 a day, and many of them 50.
But wait a moment and figure ii
out quietly. The average size of a
family in these United states is five
persons, typically-a father, mother
and three children. Five mouths
to fill even at 81 cents a day comes
TO $1.55. How much will the work
ingman have left from his $1.75 or
81 a day, 10 say nothing of $3.50,
for rent. for clothing, for shoes ?
Man cannot live by bread alone" in
this age any more than he could in
Judea-
But the situation is actually a lit
tie worse than this in fact. Accord
a.
able at present, those of Nearing
and Booth, the wages or income of
about 40 percent OF the entire COM
munity are below $500 a year per
family. About 55 percent have less
than $500 a year and only about 80
percent of the community draw
more than $500 a year This means
that. although they may get $3.50
or even 81 a day for each day that
they work, sundays, holidays and
lack of employment will reduce
this. for 40 percent of our citizens
20 about $3.50 a day throughout the
year. and. unfortunately, we have
TO eat every day of the year wheth-
er we work or not
Middle Class situation.
Evidently this large class is not
particularly keenly interested i'm the
question OF whether, by great skill
and judgment and economy. they
can succeed in living upon $1.55
day for food alone
The 90 percent who make $500 a
year. or little less than $40 "A
day. are equally uninterested in the
triumphant possibility OF keeping
down TO S1.55 a day for food. In
fact. IL is not until we get up TO
the level of the lucky 30 percent
who get $500 or more as average
income. that is 10 say. S225 a day
throughout the year. that the prob
lem begins 10 assume the slightest
practical interest
In other words. this solution Of
the problem of the high cost of liv-
ing is a middle class solution pure
and simple. and the great mass OF
the community. the working and
most valuable and indispensable
twO-thirds, has no practical inter