The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-03-09
PROSPERITY ERA
POVERTY-TORN,
TUGWELL FINDS
Depression Only Added to
Great Horde of Poor,
His Book Says.
BY DANIEL VI. KIDNEY
Times SIAN Writer

Three-foGrths Of the farm fami-
lies in the United States and
100000 city families were living
IN poverty during that so-called
prosperity period, the decade from
1919 to 1929
Things have slipped some since
then and now 5000 600 city fami-
lies have poverty level incomes ana
about 100000 are destitute.
These are some of the unpleasant
facts Of life" which high school
students will learn in economic
classes from a new textbook pub
lished by Harcourt. Brace & Co.
Authors Of the book are Howard
c. Hill of the University Of Chi
cago and Rexford Guy Tugwell, as
sistant secretary of agriculture in
the Roosevelt administration.
New Deal Viewpoint Given
Mr.. Tugwell was an economics
professor at Columbia university be-
fore becoming a leading man with
the so-called brain trust"
The book gives the new deal"
viewpoint on economic problems and
sets forth the various programs for
planned economy in the future, in
Guiding both Russian and American.
Necessity for such planning is
pointed out throughout the volume
and no facts are blinked. Following
minute description of life on
American farms today, the plight of
the farmers as summarized follows:
Poverty is the level of living
which does not provide enough
goods to maintain a minimum
standard of health and decency. 1t
is the easiest to measure this stand
ard in terms of money income.
Farm Income Below Average
About 1,4OO to $1,000 a year was
found necessary from 1919 to 1880
to keep farm family of five above
the level of poverty. When this
tezt is applied to rural families, we
find for the country at large the
average income has been less than
$500 a farm family, that over three
fourths of farm families live on the
poverty level, and that over one
half live in the most extreme pow
erty.'
What of the city folk? Here is
wrat the Oook says about them:
Urban poverty is that level of
living which does not provide
minimum of health and decency.
Until 1929, about $4,000 annually
was necessary to keep them above
extreme poverty. Poverty income
yields insufficient necessities and
almost no other desirable goods.
Statistics on Poverty
In urban areas alone, in 1918.
1850 600 families were destitute,
and another 5.350,OO0 were in the
upper ranges of extreme poverty,
and ABOUT 100000 more were below
the comfort level-making 100000
urban families in all. In 1929. there
were still 100000 urban families in
the poverty group.
The great depression, starting in
that year. wrought such havoc that
In 1913 approximately 100000 fam
lies We're on the poverty level; of
these from 100000 to 100000
families were destitute"
What to do about it occupies the
latter portions OF the book. After
describing what is being done to
solve the economic problem for the
masses in Russia, the authors offer
the comment:
Specific Planning Necessary
The decidedly bad feature of the
prc rat dictatorsh . is tha SUP
preston of free inquiry and the Pc
secuticl CT dissenting groups ano
individuals
The challenge of Russia to
Am RIGA d-e5 net lie in the merits
of ne Soviet Sg5-cG,. 9 .',Cugl ,l~y
may prove to be considerable. The
C,~lcnge lies rather III the idea of
p,~nning, of purposoful. intelligent
control over economic affairs This
it seems we must accept as a guide
to our economic life TO replace the
decadent notions of a laisSez-faire
philosophy"