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interfere with the daily People who were thrifty And, among the lowest

scarcely offers an inducement likely to habits and plan of life of the very poor. before are not likely to be unthrifty now. grade of wage-earners, it is questionable whether thrift is a virtue. or not. Certainly it would be easier to teach this class to spend wisely than to teach it to save. Defects the Act probably has, but they are not its essence. It has come to stay.

E. THE STANDARD OF LIVING

271. The Nature of the Standard of Living1

BY FRANK HATCH STREIGHTOFF

"How can these people endure it?" asked the fair boarder, closing her novel and languidly sinking into the depths of her hammock. "Mr. Farmer drudges from four A. M. till dark, and never a visible result! He's never been to the theater! Why, he hasn't even read The Balance of Power. I don't call that living-it may be existing." Such words are heard every day in rural summer resorts. Corresponding sentiments are entertained by many a farmer who cannot see how his guests are held by the chaotic buzz of the metropolis. The people of one city block "couldn't be hired" to move to certain other squares; yet the respectable inhabitants of these latter districts "wouldn't be buried from Z-Street." It is really amusing to notice how the words "live" and "exist" are contrasted, but the distinction is merely the expression of the fact that "consciously or unconsciously every man whose means, or wealth, or resources are more limited than this wants-and this is practically the case with human beings generally-has a scale of wants in his mind when he arranges these means. On the basis of this scale he satisfies what are his most urgent wants and leaves the less urgent ones unsatisfied.' In other words, every man has his own "standard of living."

18

Satisfactorily to define the standard of living is extremely difficult. Bullock writes, "Each class of people in any society is accustomed to enjoy a greater or less amount of the comforts or luxuries of life. The amount of comforts or luxuries customarily enjoyed forms the standard of living of that class."19 That is to say, the standard of living, as the expression is usually understood, consists simply of what men do actually enjoy. On the other hand there are always felt but unsated wants that prompt men to struggle;

"Adapted from The Standard of Living among the Industrial People of America, 1-4. Copyright by Hart, Schaffner & Marx (1911).

18 Smart, Introduction to the Theory of Value, 22.

19 Introduction to the Study of Economics, 126,

these reasonable unfilled desires are the motive powers to progress. Few indeed are the women who do not confidently whisper to their friends, "We cannot do that now, for we are rather poor this year." There is an "ideal" standard of living which is always in advance of achieved satisfaction.

The definition given here is valuable in suggesting two important truths. First, it properly emphasizes comforts and luxuries. In everyday affairs effort is often directed more to securing superfluities than in providing necessities. In the second place, the extent and content of the unsated wants in a man's ideal standard is largely determined by actual satisfactions.

Each individual has his own more or less rational concept of what is essential to the maintenance of his own social position; and he knows exactly what this position is, whether he be the bank clerk who delights in race horses, or the man who shares the same desk and plays on the Sunday-school ball team. The one demands "smart" raiment and amusement at highly nervous tension, the other wants respectable, serviceable clothes and healthy sport. They live in different worlds, they have individual criteria: so each man has his own standard of living. But it will be noted that bank clerks as a class have some wants in contrast to the mechanics, for instance. The clerks must enter their offices clean-shaven, the mechanics like a good scrub after work; the former wear kid gloves and fresh linen, the latter are more comfortable in woolen gloves and flannel shirts. These contrasts and comparisons can be extended until the standard of each group can be determined with considerable precision. Thus the class standard of living may be compared to a composite photograph; certain features are emphasized, while others are faint or blurred according to the proportion of the individuals possessing the character. On the other hand, development of the individual is so largely influenced by his environment that his notions are, in the main, those of his class.

But class is not the only factor in the development of the individual's ideal standard of living. Aside from its large determining influence in the matter of class membership, income has an important part to play; purchasing power limits the quantity and quality of obtainable satisfactions. The higher the individual climbs on the ladder of success, the wider is his view; the more he sees, the more he seeks.

Another determinant of the standard of living is the progress of civilization. The modern carpenter has far more comfort than Richard II dreamed of, simply because progress has put new things. within his reach, but the carpenter knows that there are many, many

things which he cannot have. Thus there is a constant, though irregular rise of the standard of living as civilization becomes more complex.

272. A Wage-Earner's Budget 20

BY LOUISE BOLAND MORE

This household consists of father and mother, both born in Ireland, and two boys, 8 and 9 years of age. The man is a steady, temperate, unskilled laborer. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. R. have known any higher plane of living than their present surroundings; both are uneducated, but the woman especially possesses considerable native thrift and intelligence. This family is representative of the average family of this size on a fairly steady income of $12 a week, with no drink, sickness, or unusual conditions to make it abnormal. The man was out of work for six weeks in the year, but that is not unusual. The woman is neat, honest, and reliable, and tries hard "to get ahead." For three months the man had night work as stableman at $13 a week. The family has never been dependent, but while the man was out of work a sister gave them $25 as a present, and they were obliged to draw $10 from the little which they had saved in the bank. The total income for the year was:

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Rent-2 mos. at $10.00, 7 mos. at $12.00, 3 mos. at $11.00..$137.00

Food-From $4.00 to $7.00 a week..

Drink-(pint of beer at supper daily).

Clothing

Light and fuel

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277.00

36.40

40.00

52.00

29.25

5.72

17.50

25.00

2.63

$622.50

..22.50

This deficit consisted of bills owing to the butcher and grocer amounting to $10, back insurance payments equal to $2.50, and clothing bought "on time" on which $10 was still unpaid. The rent varied because the family had moved twice in the year, looking for

20 Adapted from Wage-Earners' Budgets, 163–167. Copyright by Henry Holt & Co. (1907).

cheaper rent. The last rooms, for which they paid $10 a month rent, were three dark, small rooms. The light of the "parlor" at the back of the tenement was almost shut off by a large factory built close to it. The windows in the kitchen and bedroom opened on an air-shaft. The rooms, however, were very neat, lace-curtains at the windows. plush furniture, pictures of the family, carpet on the floor, and all the bric-a-brac usual in homes of this class. There was a white iron bed in the bedroom, with the customary folding-bed for the children.

The expenditure for food varied greatly. A budget kept for a week showed $7 spent for food, but Mrs. R. said they could only spend that much when the man was working steadily or when there was no rent to pay. The weeks in which semi-monthly payments of rent were made, the food allowance was cut down to about $4 a week. Whenever there was any unusual expense the food suffered. During the six weeks the man was not working they did not spend more than $4.50 a week for food. This is an illustration of a very common condition among wage-earners and is due to the fact that. on the prevailing rate of unskilled wages, it is difficult if not impossible for a family to prepare for such emergencies. Mrs. R. estimated that $277 had been spent for food in the year, making these allowances, and that the average per week would be about $5.33. On the whole, the food was adequate and wholesome, and the entire family appeared to be in good condition. They had no illness during the year.

The standard of dress is classed as "medium." They had few clothes, but took good care of them. The father had plain workingclothes, the mother always wore wrappers at home, and only had one street dress, as she never went anywhere except to church. The boys were neat and clean. Mrs. R. bought clothing "on time"-she was ashamed of it, but said the boys could not have new suits for Easter unless she did. She itemized the expenditures for clothing for the year as follows:

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Mrs. R. cannot sew, and buys all their clothes ready-made of a cheap quality, but the little boys are not hard on their clothes. Her sister knits stockings for the entire family.

The expenditure for coal and gas and oil was rather high, owing to the dark rooms. Coal was bought by the bushel, and the man brought home wood free for kindling. Gas was burned in two places where they lived, and the gas-bills for nine months amounted to $11.20. In all, coal cost $37.75 (at $ .25 a bushel), and oil for three months about $3.05-total $52.

This family did not spend one cent for recreation, except what the father had out of his "spending-money." This was very little, for while he was earning $12 a week his wife gave him not more than $ .40 a week and often only $ .25 ($ .15 for tobacco and $.10 for a shave), but when he earned $13 a week (for 3 months) he kept out a dollar a week for "spending-money." His allowance for the entire year would not exceed $25. He gave all the rest to Mrs. R., who said he was a "model husband." They are very religious and go to the Catholic Church every Sunday, only missing two Sundays in the year. They pay 10 cents each for a seat, put 10 cents in the collection, and give the boys 2 or 3 pennies for the collection, making a total of $35 a Sunday.

They were all insured for $.50 a week, $ .15 for the man, $ .15 for the woman, and $.10 each for the boys, until the man's wages were raised to $13, when his wife raised his insurance policy and paid $ .40 a week for him. This extra amount was more than they could afford to pay, for in those 13 weeks they dropped behind $2.50 on the insurance payments.

The only reading is the penny papers. The boys are sent to the parochial school, and the parents are very ambitious for them. Unless sickness or unemployment comes, this family will be able to make up the deficit of $22.50 on the man's wages of $13 a week. but it is very evident from a study of these expenditures that it wil' be impossible to save any considerable sum for the future.

273. Life at $1.65 a Day21

BY MARGARET F. BYINGTON

Let us consider how the economic problem of life can be worked out on $1.65 a day.

With the single men the problem is, of course, a simple one. Many care little how they live so long as they live cheaply. One of the lodging-houses which I visited consisted of two rooms one above the other, each measuring perhaps 12 by 20 feet. In the kitchen

"Adapted from Homestead; the Households of a Mill Town, 138–143. Copyright by the Russell Sage Foundation (1910).

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