CHAPTER VI.

HOUSING AND LIVING CONDITIONS.

Rent in its relation to standard of living-Boarders and lodgers-Size of apartments occupied-Size of households studied-Congestion-[Text Tables 352 to 361 and General Tables 119 to 130].

RENT IN ITS RELATION TO STANDARD OF LIVING.

A majority of the families investigated in the Middle West own their homes. Seventy-nine out of a total of 171, however, rent their houses, and the average rent paid by these households per apartment, per room, and per person is shown in the following table:

TABLE 352.-Average rent per month, by general nativity and race of head of household. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 10 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all

races.]

The above table exhibits the fact that the households whose heads were foreign-born pay an average rent per apartment which is 29.7 per cent less than the average rent paid by all households whose heads are native-born of native father. The Americans usually live, when possible, in town or urban centers where housing conditions are good and rents higher. On the other hand, the disposition of the immigrant is to live in the outlying or detached communities which cluster immediately around the mines, or, when living within the central towns, to live within a section which is inferior as compared with the Americans.

As regards rent payments per room, it is noticeable that the North and South Italians pay below the average and the Lithuanians pay more than the average. The rent per room paid by each of these immigrant races, however, varies only slightly above or below $2. The reason for this showing is obvious when the tendency of the immigrant to live in company houses is recalled, together with the fact that the average price charged by the companies for houses is about $2 per room. Of the three foreign-born races, the Lithuanians pay the highest rent both per room and per apartment.

The following table shows the per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment, by general nativity and race of head of household:

TABLE 353.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all

Of the total of 79 households studied in the above table, 10.1 per cent pay under $5, 60.8 per cent pay under $7.50, 91.1 per cent pay under $10, and 97.5 per cent pay under $12.50 rent per month per apartment.

Of the 65 households the heads of which are foreign-born, none pay as high as $12.50, and of the 32 households the heads of which are Lithuanians, none pay either as low as $5 or as high as $10 rent per month per apartment.

Owing to the limited number of households paying rent, as well as the limited number of households studied in the Middle West, the numbers are so small for most of the individual races as not to admit of comparison by percentages. The larger part of American households are paying a monthly rent per room which ranges between $2 and $3, while about 50 per cent of all households of recent immigration pay a monthly room rent within the same limits.

The conclusion to be drawn from the general uniformity of average rents per apartment and per room is not that the races of recent immigration have about the same general standard of living, but that the houses occupied by the miners in the mining communities are of a similar type and are intended to rent for a uniform price per room, the rent for the entire apartment varying with the number of rooms. The tendency on the part of many races of recent immigration is to crowd the houses with boarders or lodgers, or to divide the house with one or more families, in order to decrease the per capita or per household outlay for rent. Where the families are not occupying a company house or where a home is being purchased, the same tendencies prevail. This is well exemplified in Table 352 by the fact that in the case of the Lithuanians the average rent per room is $2.14, while the average rent per person is only $1.44. Owing to these and similar facts, it is plain that in treating rent as an index of standard of living the only satisfactory basis for discussion is rent per person.

Upon a comparison of the average rent per person paid by individuals native-born of native father with the average paid by foreignborn persons, the average rent per person for the 65 immigrant households reporting is 44.5 per cent lower than the average rent per person for the 14 American households. The Lithuanian race, which has the highest standing on the basis of rent per household and apartment, makes the lowest showing among the foreign races when judged by the standard of average rent per person.

BOARDERS AND LODGERS.

As bearing upon the living conditions in the Middle West, the following table shows the number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers, by general nativity and race of head of household:

Table 354.-Number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[Information relating to boarders or lodgers covers only immediate time of taking schedule and not the entire year. Boarders are persons who receive both board and lodging.]

Based upon information received from 171 households, the above table shows that 11.1 per cent keep boarders or lodgers. None of the native-born households keep boarders or lodgers. Of the 149 households whose heads are foreign-born, 12.8 per cent keep boarders or lodgers. There is little to be said of the above presentation, except that the Poles show a larger proportion than the Lithuanians or South Italians keeping boarders or lodgers, the proportion of Poles amounting to over one-fourth of their number, as compared with one-fifth of the Lithuanians and a fraction less than one-eighth of the South Italians. The table next presented shows the average number of boarders or lodgers per household, by general nativity and race of head of household.

TABLE 355.-Average number of boarders or lodgers per household, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[Information relating to boarders or lodgers covers only immediate time of taking schedule and not the entire year. Boarders are persons who receive both board and lodging.]

From information secured it will be seen that, based on the number of households keeping boarders or lodgers, the average number of such boarders or lodgers per household is 2.21, while the average number, based on the total number of households, is but 0.25.

SIZE OF APARTMENTS OCCUPIED.

As regards the size of the apartments occupied by the households studied in the Middle West, the table below presents in detail the per cent of households by general nativity and race which occupy apartments of a specified number of rooms:

TABLE 356.-Per cent of households occupying apartments of each specified number of rooms, by general nativity and race of head of household.

Upon examination of the preceding table it is seen that 18.2 per cent of the American households occupy homes of three rooms, and 50 per cent live in apartments of four rooms. The greater number of immigrant families are housed in three and four room apartments, 43.6 per cent of the total living in apartments of the former size and 34.2 per cent in the latter. Seven and four-tenths per cent of the households of foreign birth have two-room apartments. None of the American or immigrant households occupy one-room apartments.

As regards the different immigrant races, the greatest tendency to live in small apartments is noticeable among the South Italians, Poles, and Lithuanians. More than 90 per cent of the Polish households occupy three-room apartments and the remainder have four rooms each. Thirty-six per cent of the South Italian households are housed in three-room apartments, 12 per cent have two rooms, and, with the exception of two families occupying five-room apartments, all the other households of this race have four-room apartments. Practically all of the Lithuanian households have three and four room apartments. The most favorable showing is made by the North Italians. Thirteen and seven-tenths per cent of the households of this race are found in apartments of two rooms, 11.8 per cent have three rooms, 41.2 per cent have four rooms, 29.4 per cent have five rooms, and 3.9 per cent have six; none, however, live in apartments of seven or more rooms. The North Italians are far in advance of any of the other races of foreign birth in the tendency to live in apartments of a greater number of rooms.

The size of the apartments occupied by households of different races in mining localities may be said to be a criterion of racial tendencies only within certain limitations. The mining employees, especially in detached communities, are forced to live in company houses, which are usually, as already pointed out, standardized structures of three or four rooms. The number of larger-sized houses is small and the races occupying them may be said to exhibit a tendency toward better living conditions. On the other hand, races which tend toward congestion will occupy the smaller apartments which may be available. This situation exists in the Middle West as in other mining regions, and in reaching any conclusion as to racial tendencies the fact must, therefore, be borne in mind that there is but comparatively small range for selection as to size of houses, and the inclination toward crowded living conditions is best exemplified by the division of houses by households and the number of persons per household and per room.

SIZE OF HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

For the reasons outlined, the tables following are presented. The first table shows the number of households of each specified number of persons and the second table brings forward in a summary form the number of households, together with the number of persons in apartments of each specified number of rooms.