The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-11-03

cost Of living quzntitativel,Ysnd
then by adjusting TO current.pr,cs,
discover the cost Of living fof this
particular standard at a particular
time When the study Of 'S.H0v
budgets and expenses has he,
made sufficiently general "a. % 81,
trustworthy. the latter method g,nf
probably be the most useful I'm
hecuon with wage settlements.
very satisfactory summary NJ
ms whole question was recentI,,
-. oy N. l. stecker In the Amer
Eohomie Review. in vhieb n
h,,ash that the use Of family
SseS is a relatively new tb1ns
ano that much Of the work
lore cone raises serious ous.ties.
80 Attenpt TO establish nsNI an
sAnoards based upou NOR ,
prosperous Times emphaSis
heeo Tor careful studies a, -
Mhere the exact mintmuu, s.,.s
oSros Of living should No.
placed Standards which 49,
~ actory TO a certain sror,n7 !.
, Ger a Few years ago World
ogeeoeo 70 today and hiebes SSy.s
- ~ insisted upon. The pf6blen
!. ee upon a ste ndard vhicn
dn.tr,.I plne with the genersf in
tTnitts. Sonolton and the appor-
'ur.tIes OF various Rroup, os 6se,I.
me principle was widely scc.s
urihg the war that NE &C. 1ks.'1s
sp pace with the cost on ii,is,
great deal was made og -
.snt that every wage earn.s
ehtltle1 TO living waee D..
the trouble has been IN sGz 4
on what is the real cost of -iiyirs
ana what is the living ware - sor.s
attempts were made 70 eEtabfish
mum for the American sfsn
oaro OF living below which waSss
nouio not be allowed 10 descend
IN me other hand, the worker
nave desired 70 establish a 1eeSsr,
STANDARD 20 which wages sber,Id y
adjusted. This standard 20 ~ ho,
the mere subsistence level, ETGf
The question arises. is the ..rp.r.
law OF supply and demand foF lsho
70 hx "sges7 II 80, then standsrd
VIII be determined largely hy what
is actually expended by the WORT
eTs themselves and standards ~
requirements will be Of little i'm
portance-- II, on the other hand
wages are to be fixed to an. extent
TO provide a certain minimurn
must relate TO the probable amount
OF labor that can be offered 70
workers and still maintain Epch a
standard.
Another question arises as 10 what
the standards shall be in various in
dustries involving workers Of varf-
Gus degrees of skill II is true that
the family budgets Of many %, the
relatively unskilIed trades tend 10
approach those from more rskilIed
professions. Where shall the nd
tustment be made for these Various
groups? aoy
One Of the debated questions y
concerning the unit that shall be
taken for family budget studies. In ,
most cases the family OF I'VE has
been chosen. because the census
shows that on the average .Iner.
are about four and a half persons
per family in all the families OF the
United States In such families.
however, the sources of income are
various, not being confined 20 che
income OF the man OF the Family
alone, but 70 revenues from the Ia
Dor Of children, boarders. etc. This
question calls for extensive studfes
as 70 the facts concerning actual
family income, and also the way in
which this income is erperded-
whether on individuals or FOR sthe
group as a whole. -.s-
II has been apparent forII sXso.
time that the margin between wages
and the cost Of living as indicated
by the difference between wage
rates and current prices has not
been a true measure as TO whether
labor has been well paid or not, IL !
was defective in the same way as
savings accounts as a measure or
net income is found to be. The fac
tor that has not been studied sufn-
ciently is the character Of eNpsndi-
ture in a given family group atJvS
riOus wage levels in comparison
with the average OF previous years
There has not been enough STUDY o
essentials and nonessentisIs In ram
fly budgets Such studies need
be made for a wide variety OF pr
| fessions and trades 20 discover
characteristic actions 81 each .sr1
in periods Of prosperity or depr
SION.
The Federal government undo
/ eddy has a serious obligation
vestiCate this question OF the
Of living. since Il has been Ia
| through the instigation Of so
ment commissions that the
budget as a basis OF adjusting
has been emphasized whe
United States Anthracite Goa
mission met in 1920 some
budget studies were introdu
evidence. 4 living wage
effect defined 20 moan not
a subsistence income but a
paw sufficient 20 meeu the N
physical needs for food.
and shelter and to enable Il
Garner to secure some rel
measure Of health. recreal
education. In other words,
OF a minimum standard
was set aside for a more idea
ard which would give a wild,
Of opportunity.