The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-10-31
FIFTY PER GENT.
 OF PEOPLE ARE WELL NDUR!SHED
Report Issued By Bureau of Labor Tells of Family
 Budget and Health.

SO'N of living in 191S-1919, secured item ized budgets from approximately 13,OOO families. Special intensive studies of each of the major items of expense in the family budget have been, or are being made. Considera- ble data showing the relationship be- tween the family budget and the health of the family are already available,
 Detailed dietary analysis of the food of 9S3 families, selected al ran dom from Il representative cities, in dicates that 21.2 per cent. of these families purchase less than 2,500 calories of food per man per day; 49 per cent. of these families less than 5000 caIories, and 74.5 per cent. less than $500 calOEies. Allowing for considerable variation from the recognized standard of $500 calories purchased per man per day, these fig ures point to the fact that approxi- mately 20 per cent. of the families are purchasing food entirely insuft1- cient for the maintenance of health, 30 per cent. are on the border line between sufficient and insufficient nourishmert: and 50 per cent. are in all probability well nOurished.
 study of the total yearly income in relation to the food budget also ears out these conclusions. 44.6 per cent. Of the total number of white families included 4n the investigation were receiving annual incomes Of $1,5O0 or more, and were probably getting an adequate and reasonably balanced diet; 22.7 per cent of the families were receiving annual in .F 1r- wholly inadequate to permit of the purchase of sufficient food for a fam lily of average size, leaving 32.7 per cent. of the families in the income group of $1,2O0 to $1,5OO, where the food necessary for an average family would be subject to serious curtafl- ment.
 A sufficient number of calories. however, does not necessarily mean a well balanced ration. Many of the dietaries in which $500 caIories were purchased, were seriously deficient in milk, eggs, green vegetables and fruit.
 From a cursoTy examination of the clothing expenditures reported in this investigation, it was estimated that a yearly average of $9O per adult male would probably result. Further study has shown that this estimate was too liberal. During the past two years, clothing purchases have been cut drasticalIy. A careful study of the clothing budgets of 641 families hay ing children under 15 years of age and living in Northern cities, shows an average . yearly expenditure of $68.33 for the clothing of the hus- band, and $55.75 for the wife In Southern cities, the average of POT a mi similarly chosen cT7 $75.59 for the husband, and S62O8 for the wife. While the clothes pur- chased for these sums may be suffi- Cient to keep the wea~ers warm it is certain that decency and health cannot be maintained on such small outlay of clothing.
 Judged by the standard that over crowding begins when there is more than one person per room, a consid- erable proportion of the families in cluded in this investigation must be classed overcrowded. A study has been made of ,, ,455 families living in rented houses in 24 different cities. Fifty per cent. of these had less than one room per person, IT per cent. had less than or of ,om per person, and per cent. less than O.5 of a room per person. Very little infor- matiOn was gathered which will give conclusions as to housing conditions from sanitary standpoint. In New
 Orleans. however, 31 per cent. of the
 147 white families included in tke investigation lived in houses without
 bathrooms, and 90 per cent. of the 102 colored families.
 Miscellaneous items which include
 expenditures for care of health, edu- cation, amusem ents, insurance pre-
  miscellaneous nature, comprize from IT to 24 per cent Of the family budget, the amount increasing uni fOrTnly win increase in income Detailed data on miscellaneous ex. penses for 30 representative citie. have been compiled. In these variou.
 cities, the yearly expenditure pe1 family for health, which include. doctor, dentist, hospital, ocuIist, med icines, ranged from an average O s31.27 to S92.77, the mean being ap ! proximate1y $500.
 The corresponding figure on amuse ments, which includes movies, plays concerts, excursions, vacations, rang I ed from average of $9.95 to S35.5! Il per year per family, with a mean o Il between $17 and SIS.
 The average yearly expenditure pc family for education and upNft, whicl includes newspapers, magazines books, school tuition, music, range, from $8.87 to $27.57, the mean beinI approximately S17.
 None of these averages would seen | to depict extravaganza on the par of the workin gman's family along tn lines of medical attention, recreation or self-development. Especially q some of the family averages appea meagre when taken in connection 9 with the average number of person t per family, which for white familie I ds 4.9 persons.
 h REAR WEI