The Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 191?-19??, 1919-05-10
$500 PER
YEAR NEEDED
To Keep Wolf From Door Of The
Average U. S. Family.

Washington, May ct requires
$4,000 a year to keep the average
American family government inves-
tigators have found. Furthermore,
the cost of living throughout the Uni
ted States still is soaring.
Of those who depend upon a ST.
500 yearly income few families are
able to show a surplus of $500 at
the years end; can save as much as
$50 while large number have moth
ing to show but deficit. Forty per
cent of the income of the average
family goes for food-the largest
single item in the list. Clothing calls
! for Is per cent, rent about IA per
cent, and light per cent, with eX-
penditures of furnishings about the
same
These figures were announced to-
day by the Department of Labor,
which has made a years survey of
living conditions in the United
States.
Concrete Examples Taken.
How family budgets in most large
cities work out for the year is indi-
Gated by hte income and expense ac-
counts of 518 families in New York
I City.
With an average of 40 persons per
family in this group the expenses
we're recorded as follows:
\ Food, $640.92; clothing, $25S.6o
l rent, $21462; fuel and lights, $64.-
80; furniture $51.05; miscellaneous,
expense, $2S4.35; total, $1,5O8.35.
Out of the total average expenses
per family in New York City, the Ia
Dor department Investigators found
that the total average surplus was
., only $30.67 year.
The investigation shows that APP
proximately 20 per cent of the total
income is all "that the average fam
lily" has left after making necessary
expenditures for food, clothing,
rent, light and heat and furniture
Out of this 20 per cent surplus must
come "all fees for medical attention.
charges of amusements, entertain
ments, donations to churches, educa-
ton and other incidental expenses"
/ Retail prices of twenty-five articles
: of food jumped an average OF 2 pei
: cent in March, as compared with Feb
ruary. Compared with March, 1918
the increase is Is per cent.
Onions went up 40 per cent, anc
/ cabbage, which scared % per cent
f in March, and compared with Febru
airy, showed the greatest increases o.
1 the twenty-five articles of food. But
t ter went up IA per cent and organge'
Y IA per cent over February prices
D Coffee and tea each increased 3 pc
cent during the month.
Families whose incomes resulted
2 from business or other sources wer
e not included in the survey. OF fam
: lily groups picked for study, the larg
= est group included was not that who's
n annual incomes ranged from $500 t
d $1,000. Another large group had in
Y comes between 81, 200 and 81, 800. In
comes from other groups ranged fror
$1,000 to $4,000 and from 200 t
d $500.
), And right on top of this officis
It survey Prof. WIS. Ogburn, in a tai
today on economics at the conferenc
on child welfare standards under aui
It pices of the childrens bureau of tn
= Department of Labor, declared thu
a it costs on an average little nor
i than 500 year to feed child b.
d tween the period of its birth and tn
= age of 16 years. He declared tht
e the average income of families was
too small to provide children wit
the requisites Of life.
! Mrs. Esther Dehoney, Of COlun