Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-11-14
COUNTRY
INQUIRY SHOWS
SMALL OUTPUT
GsveEnnent Investieatien Proves
20 Per Cent Of the People
Rrsparly Nsarishsd. ~

u
the federal bureau Of labor after
selecting families Of IL different
tiles It r. clearly shown that not
enough expenditure ID being made
for the proper care and n0urish-
ment Of the body. In some cases It
ID found that while enough ID ex-
pended the wrong kind Of foof ID
purchased. d
The bureau In it, countrywide
Investigation oe the cost Of living In
191S-19ls, secured 1temized bud
gets from approximately 1900
families, Special intensive studies
Of each Of the major items Of ex-
pense in the family budget have
been, or are being made. Consider
able data showing the relationship
between the family budget and the
health Of the family are already
available.
Detailed dietary analysis Of the
food Of 9S3 families, selected at
random from IL representative
cities, indicate that 21.2 per cent Of
these families purchase less than
$500 cAlories of food per man per
day; ~ per cent OF these families
less than 5000 Galleries. and 74.5
Per. cent less than $500 calories.
Allowing for considerable variation
from the recognized standard Of
$500 calories purchased per man
per day. these figures point to the
fact that approximately 20 per cent
Of the families are purchasing food
entirely insufficient for the MAIN
fsnancs Of health, 30 per cent are
on the border line between suficient
and insufficient nourishment; and
80 per cent are in all probability
we'll nourished. %4
Less Than Hali.
A study Of the total yearly In
come In relation to the food bud
get also bears out these conclu-
sions; l4.e per cent of the total
number Of white families included
in the investigation were received
annual incomes Of $500 or more.
and were probably getting an ade-
quate and reasonably balanced diet;
Eat per cent Of the families were
receiving annual incomes of less
than $1,000, which is wholly made
Quate to permit Of the purchase Of
sufIicient food for . family Of aver
age size. leaving 32.7 per cent Of
the families In the income group oil
$1,000 to $500, were the food nee
essary for an average family would
b subject to serious curtailment.
A sufficient number Of calories
however, does not necessarily
mean Q we'll balanced ration. Many
Of the dietaries In which $500 calor-
1es were purchased. were seriously
deficient in milk, eggs. green vege-
tables, and fruit
From . cursory examination OF
the clothing expenditures reported
IN this Investigation, It. WAS lesti-
mated that . yearly average Of $50
per adult male would probably re-
suit. Further study has shown
that this estimate was too liberal
During the past two years, clothing
purchases have been cut drastic
ally. A careful study Of the cloth
ing budget Of GAL families having
children under Is years Of age, ant
living In northern cities, shows ~
average yearly expenditure o.
468.3S for the clothing Of the hus.
mand. and t65.76 for the wife. II
southern cities, the average for 20,
families, similarly chosen. show,
375.5s for the husband, and $500
for the wife. While the clothes pur
chased for these sums may be sui
hcisnt to keep the wearers warm
It II certain that decency and healtl
can not 10 maintained on such /;
small outlay for clothing.
Many Over.Crowded.
Judged by the standard that over
erowding begins when there Il
more than one person per room, ,
considerable proportion Of tn,
families included In this investiga
ton must be classed as overcrowd
cd. A study has been made Of 2,45I
families living IN rented houses II
"a different cities. Fifty per cen
Of these had less than one room
per person. II per cent had les
than ITO Of . room per person, an,
3 per cent, less thar half of q room
per person. Very little Information
was gathered which will give con
illusions - to housing conditions
from sanitary standpoint. Il
New Orleans. however, 81 per cen
Of tho 147 white families included
in the investigation lived in houses
without bath rooms. and 80 pc
cent Of the 10z colored families.
Miscellaneous items which IN