Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-07-09
D. c. BRIGHT SPOT
IN CHILD SURVEY
City Best of Six Studied
to Determine Effect of
Depression.

Washington is the brightest spot
in dismal array of facts made pub
lie today by the Cnildren's Bureau
concerning effects OF the depression
on children.
Bureau social workers conducted
house toulouse inquiry among 259
families in five cities, Washington, At
lanta, Memphis, Tere Haute, Ind.
and Racine, Wis. The report Of their
findings. presented by Miss Katherine
F. Lenroot, bureau chief, under the
title, Children OF the Depression"
shows this city to oe comparatively
good provider for its needy
Although the reporl said lack of
medical treatment constituted the
most disturbing feature about the
whole question of health Washing
ton was found to have the lowest pro-
portion of needy families requiring
medical attention aid the highest pro-
portion of families receiving free care.
Big Increase in Need.
Miss Lenroot was concerned over
the fact that 43 per cent Of tee 259
families required medical treatment,
which had not been provided at the
time of the survey iast Summer. In
80 per cent of the cases, it was be-
cause the family could not afford it.
In Washington, however. only of
the 81 families studied, less than one
third. were said TO have required at
tention. which they were not receiv-
ing. The ratio was more than one
half in both Atlanta and Memphis
and between one-half and one third in
Terre Haute.
Bureau officials emphasized that no
statistical conclusions could be reached
regarding health conditions among
Washington's poor because of the
small number of families interviewed
here. They said, however, that 1.-The
general picture suggests there was not
so much need for medical treatment
in the families we visited here"
The survey in Washington was con-
fined TO colored families in the How
ard University area. 1t had not been
intended originally to include the Dis
trict in the study, but the bureau re-
quired more representative informa-
ton concerning Negro poor, none of
whom were studied in Racine and
Terre Haute. The investigation indi-
Gated that the number of families in
debt here for health services were pe-
culiarly low compared to the other
cities affected by the inquiry. Like
wise, it was found that Washington
has comparatively more resources
available to its distressed populations.
This condition can be explained, in
part, bureau officials said, by the fact
that Washington is considerably larger
than any of the other cities studied.
Average Allowance Higher.
Not only is the income of colored
families higher on the whole IN
Washington than in Atlanta and
Memphis, but the average monthly
relief allowance here is $2682 COM
pared to $26.49 in Terre Haute, $25.71
in Racine. 5000 in Atlanta and 1881
in Memphis. The percentage of fam
lies on relief here is ia, the same
as in Terre Haute, but substantially
lower than Atlanta's 80 per cent.
On the red side of the ledger in
the bureaus findings on Washington,
it was found that unemployment was
most serious among those engaged
in the building trades and in domes-
tic and personal services and affects
very gravely the Negro population,
which constituted, in 1880, 27.1 per
cent of the total population" Of the
SO Negro families visited in Memphis.
Atlanta and Washington, only q per
cent had never been on relief as COM
pared with As per cent of the white
families in all cities studied.
Another significant feature of the
bureaus report was computation
of the amount of milk used weekly
by the families visited. Washington
made the poorest showing, an average
of only So quarts being recorded here
compared to general average of 81
quarts. Families surveyed here having
four or more children used about 81
quarts weekly; families with two or
three children SO quarts, and fam
lilies with one child 4 quarts. In
contrast, Racine families containing
four or more children used about %
quarts; two or three children, 14.4
quarts, and one child. nearly 10
quarts. Racine was said to be the
only city in which there was even an
approach to the minimum standards
of the amount of milk per person"
Bureau officials attributed the low
usage of milk here largely to high
prices. According to the A. A. A.
Consumers Guide, the price of milk
here June Is was Is cents a quart,
compared to 11.3 cents in Memphis,
IA cents in atlanta and less than 10