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... ~v--u •11:..·~ f.S ROOM : , .:srtnwestern 7961 University Library WO R K S - PROGRESS ADMI I S T R .A. T I 0 Harry L. Hopkins, Administrator Corrington Gill, Assi stant Admin i str~t or Howard E. Mye rs, Dir ector, Social Research Division RESEARCH BULLETIN SURVEY OF CASES CLOSED FROM RELIZF ROLLS I_ SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, IN JULY 1935 Se ri es II No . 11 January 11, 1936 , r tiz. d by NOI-CHWfS~ERr--..i Lr--..ilVERSITY Or ginal from NOR~HWES~ERN UNIVERSITY 7961 PREFACE During October and November 1935 a series of spAcial inquiries was conducted in a group of western and ·southwestern states to study the condition of cases closed from the relief rolls in antici pa tion of the Works Program and in accordance with the policy of transferring unemployable cases from Federal to local care.This group of studies was planned to supplement the information obtained from earlier inquiries into the results of administrative closings in Georgial/. This series of studies was carried out in about the same manner as the Georgia studies. Background information in each community was secured from relief agency officials. and from citizens familiar with the problems of relief. Family interviews were conducted in order to secure primary data bearing on the family c ompos ition, the occupational experience of the workers, and the economic status of each household for comparable periods before and after the closings. Both urban and rural communities were covere d by fi~ld surveys. The cities chosen were Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Little Rock, Arkansas; the rural areas included Custer, Corson, Hand ar:J. Hutchinson counties in South Dakota and Kit Carson and Weld counties in Colorado. These communities were selected not for the purpose of g1v1ng a picture of conditions pr eva iling gene rally in the United States but because they show clearly certain kinds of problems.Their value in giving direction to future administrative policy is increased by the fact that they display diverse conditions. Two of the studies - those in Colorado and Arkansas - cover only unemployable cases and hence throw light upon the problems confronting the state and local agencies that are assuming the ~are of such eases. The two South Dakota inquiries, including only employable cases, yield information upon the significance of hnrv8sting work as a means of reduci ng the relief rolls and upon the problems involved in adjusting the Works Program to meet the nee ds of the se peopl e . Information regarding the care of cases closed from Federal rolls was secured in several communities where field surveys were not undertaken. Data on agency policies and procedures were secured for Denver, Colorado, for Albuquerque, New Mexico, and for Muskogee , Oklahoma. !/ See Research Bulletins Series II, No . 8 ; Series I, No.11; and C-19 Prepared by Edward J. Webster under the supervision of A. Ross Eckler Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - i- SUl.1MARY The surv ey in Sioux Falls, South Dakot a was unde rt aken with a view to t r a cing the changes in the economic sta tus of 147 c a ses c lo sed from the r el ief roll s in July 1935 when a special r elief suspension orde r was issued in r es ponse to widesp r ead rumors that r elief clients we r e r efu sing employment in the har vest fields . Thi s orde r bec ame effective on July 21 , but i n view of the dates of t he 147 c lo s i ngs i n and as of July, it coul d have di r ectl y acc ounted for only a negligible part of the tot al numbe r. Mo r e than ha lf of the July cl osings were ma de p ossibl e by reported p r iv a te emp loyment obta i ned p r io r to July 21 st a f ac t t hat forc eful l y i n dic a tes the na tural ly sel f -reli ant cha r ac t er of this sampl e of th e r eli ef popul a ti on. The study r evealed th a t the opportun ities for har vest-f iel d employment i n the vi c i nity of Sioux Falls wer e neithe r sufficie~tl y nume rous or r emun er a tive to ma~e poss ible any important r educt ion of the r elie f rol ls . In less than a third of al l the f am ili es int erv i ewed we r e members able t o ge t work in t he h a r v e st fi el ds . Th e medi a~ amount earn ed by each wor k 3r duri ng the e ight-week period fro m July 21 st to Sep t ember 15th was s l i ghtly l e ss t han $34 . Ther e is r eas on to believe that the demai1d for h ar v e st h8.llds a t fai r wages was gr ea tly overs t a ted. The fi nancial condition of South Dakot a f a r 111e rs wa.s too p r ec a r ious ;:ind thei r deb t s too p r ess i ng to enabl e many of them to hi r e extra worke rs ev en a t t he summe r peak of f ar m wor k. The group cov er ed by t his inqui r y r eveal ed almost n o spe ci a l char acteristics othe r t han its r eli ef st a tus tha t would se t it i n a c l a ss apa rt from the gene r a l p opul a tion of Sioux Falls . These f amili e s wer e highl y typ ic al i n r aci al co mp os ition, househol d size , and age of hea d. Practic ally all t he f amil ies had one or more employabl e membe rs , a s mi ght be expected since onl y those ca ses wer e cl osed which had a membe r engage d a t p r iv a te e~ploymen t or one elig ible f or har vesting emulo ymen t . No l es s th2.I1 37 separ at e oc cupat ions wer e r ep r e sen t ed i n this group . In additio n to the wide v ar iety of wor k oxp c ri onco , the g rour exhibit ed a hi gh degr ee of wo r k st ability,. Half of them had worked ten years -or more a t th ei r usu;:u oc cupation ; about th o same p rop or tion h a d se r ved a s i ngle empl oy er a t l east fiv e y oar s. I)a t a. on f amily incomes we r e obta i ned fo r t he last r eli ef month and fo r t he mor. th fro m Sep t ember 1 5 t o Oc t ob er 15 i n or d5 r to find out ho~ the c a s es f ar 2d 2ft or r eli ef had b oon cut off. These inc ome dat a , cons i der ed by thorns el v es , would make t he out lo ok for t he clo sed c a ses s eem r el a tively hopeful. :Bet.ween July and tne mon th endi ng Oo tober 1 5 there wa3 a moder a te r ise i n t he numbe r of worke r s with gainful empLiyment and a sharp incr ease ( 108 per cen t) in their mcdi,m rr.ontllly ear nings fro m such e!'1p}.oymen t . Su.ch an i rccrea sc i n incom e i s e::pL:i.i n od by t h e f a.ct t l,a t a maj or ity of the July clos\ ~gs wer e madG pos sibl o by p riv :1te em) lO~'me:1 t arid t h e a ttendan t r osUlilpti on of ea.rnL1g p ower. This il!lp rov cment i n ear n i ngs from p riv a te emplo;y:nent v:as gr ea t enough t o off se t sha rp dec r eas es i n th e total amount Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 -i i of ERA r elief and of oth e r a s s i s t anc e with the result t ha t th e medi an of t h e tot al monthly r eceip ts for the 110 c a ses for which current inc ome da t a c oul d be secured i ncrea sed about one fi f th between the pe riods under c onsiderat i on . The emp loymen t status of th e se 110 c a s e s dur i ng the mon th immedi a t ely pr ecedi ng the i nt erv iews i ndic a t ed, h owever , tha t th ei r p ro sp ects ha d not improv ed so much a s th e av er ag e inc r eas e i n incom e woul d sugg est . Onl y on e- si x th r egar ded t he ir jobs as 11 pe r man en t 11 • On e- sixth was un empl oy e d; the jobs of ab out 30 pe r c en t wer e cl early se a s on al , and of tho other s unc er t a in. The ir c ondition is furthe r r efl ected by the f ac t t h a t withi n 10 we eks aft er the c lo s i ngs , 50 of t he 110 h ou sehol ds in te rviewed h a d found it n ece ss ary to r e-apply for r elief. Livi ng c ondi t i ons fo r t h e se f amilie s showed compar a tiv el y littl e change b e t ween t h es e t wo p er i ods . A third of t hem we r e able to i mp rov e t he i r die t s , but an equ a l p r op or t ion was for ced t o g et alo ng wi t h cheape r f oo ds . Hous i ng f acil i ti e s wer e dec i dedly i na dequ a te both befo re and a fte r t h e closi ng s ; about half the c a ses we r e l iving i n qua r t er s which we r e too sma ll to p rovide p rop er housing. The size of their accumul a t ed debt s the l ack of s aving s , the exi s tence of genui ne ne eds for medic al t r ea tment , cl ot h ing and sh elter a ll show tha t th es e f am ili e s ma de r ea l s ac rif ic os b efor e t hey a c cep t ed r el i ef . Thei r av er si on to going on r eli ef supports t he evi denc e tha t al most uni formly t hey a r e anxiou s to ge t jobs , pay off t h e ir de bts , and aga in bec ome inde-ponden t . Thi s study is par ticul a rly signif ican t bec au se it r ev eals the criti c al situa tion of a normally s t able group to whom a rel ief s t a tus i s espec i ally repu gnan t . They h av e struggle d de sp er a tely to r et a i n t h ei r i ndependence; t hey seize ever y opport unity to r ega i n it . Obvious l y , seasonal employmen t i s a me r e s top- g ap for t hem. Re s to r a tio n t o a s ound ec onomic st a tu s will r equ i r e p erman en t work a t wage s adequa t e fo r their suppor t . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 -1- Survey of Cases Closed from Relief Rolls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in July, 1935 The study of relief cases closed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in July 1935 covers 147 households in which not one head, insofar as physical or mental disabi~ities are concerned,is unemployablel/. The problem of transfer of unemployable _cases from Federal to state care does not,therefore, exist in this study. as the dates of at least 103 closings were such that they could not have been among those directly affected by the special relief suspension order which became effective on July 21, the willingness of these workers to seek and to accept private employment is hardly open to question. Of the 147 cases, 112 were closed in July and 35 were closed as of July bec ause they received neither relief service during the month of Augus¼. In 84 instances, or 60 percent of the total, closings were r eported to have been ma de p oss ible by privat e employment.It is p robable that most of the 16 additional c a ses which were clos ed becaus e they did not ren ew work c ards in July also secured priva te employment. As stated above, 35 cas es were clos ed as of July bec ause they received neither relief nor service during August. Of the remaining 1 2 , six left the city ,two enjoyed sufficient increase in privat e income to become self-supporting, one received a pens ion, one, a ca se of temporary 11 depression 11 separation was reunited with her husband, one returned to the Veterans Co_nservB.;tion Corps, and one -- out of the total of 147 -refused a work relief job, Inasmuch After the necessary preliminary information had been obtained from relief office records a staff of interviewers made home visits. Of the t otal of 147 cases, interviews were completed for 110 . Definite but limited da ta were secured concerning 37 who were absent from the city or who could not be found. Valuable supple~ entary information was secured from conferences with ci tizens in the community, public offici als and heads of local welfare organizations. nor 1/ Previous adm inistrative closings by the Minnehaha County ER.A had been effected for the purpose of removing from the rolls all persons who could not be certified for employment on the Works Pro gram. 2/ The adv isability of treating these 35 cas es as a distinct unit of the study was considered. However, p reliminary tabulations rev ealed that they differed in no significant respects from the 112 cases. Composition of Case Households. With respect to such fundamental char acteristics as racial and cultural stock, age, and size of household, it would be difficult to select a group more representative of the i mmediate Sioux Falls region. All persons in the study are white. Although native _ .American greatly predominate, there are some natu~ ralized citi zens, and a considerable number of first-generation descendents of Dutch, German,Irish and Sc andinav ian stocks. .Among the 147 c ases , practically all families a re int act , there being only four female heads of households--two deserted, and t wo divorced. The median age of al l heads of households is 37 years. One-fourth of th em are less than 30 years of age. The median size of households, all cases included, is 2 . 6 p ersons; if the 17 one-person Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 -2- cases are excluded, the median size becomes 2.9 (Table I). Education. Only one illiterate was found among the 147 cases, and although the general level of education is not high, i t is probably at least as high as that found among relief clients in other cities. Twothirds of the heads of households-and other workers in the households do not differ r1.~rkedly from the heads in this respect-~ had completed ei ght or mo re grades of schooling. Of the 40 who had attend.ed high school .a t all, only 13 had completed four years. Five persons had attended college for from one to two years, and one had comp leted the four y ears' work for a B.A . degree. After meeting many of the se clients face t o face, however, one is forced to conclude that a l arg e proportion of them are illequipped for effic ient participat ion in modern economic and industrial li fe . Occup at ional History. Nea rly on efifth, or 27 , of the 147 hav e been attached to the l and : f ou r as o,mers one as manag er, five as r enters, an d 17 as laborers (Table II). Until recently four were truck oper a tors, the individuals own ing from one to as many as five trucks. df the 31 skilled workers , 15 belong in · the building construction trades, and 16 in other miscell aneous occupations. The semi-skilled, of whom there are 13,r epresent seven other occupat ions while fifty unskilled are distributed ov er eight occup at ions. I n addition to these, 18 are usually engaged in non- manual work . Rather, therefore, than r epresent ing the vict i ms of a slump in a few majo r industries, it is a strik ing fact that in this sma.11 group of 147 workers are found represent at ives of not less tha.~ 37 occupations and one profession. It is not surpr1s1ng that, under the pressure of such conditions as have preva iled during the past five years, there should have been numerous cases of enforc ed occupat ional readj u stmen t. Of the 110 head s of hou seholds interviewed, 42 have within the pas t four y ea rs accepted what they r egard as a lower occupati onal status in order to s ecure work . Only two reported i mp ro vement in occupat ional st atus ; a common store l abo rer became a grocery salesman, and a skilled wor~ er became a commission sal esman . Six were affected by technological displacement, four because of the passing of the steam tractor and steam sta ti onary engine, one because of the di spl acement of street c a rs · by buses , and one because of local discontinuance of steam railway oper a tion. Ho wever, with r espec t to th eir usual occupat ions all but 22 re 6 i3-.rd thems elv es as only tempor arily unempl0yed. All except 10 , who believe they must accept some permanent occupational r eadjustm ent, consider themselves employable at their usual occupat ions. The r eco rds show they have been, on the whole, a stable group of workers , one-half of them having spent from one to nine and one-half years at their usual occupat ions and the other half from 10 to more than 25 years. In like manner, on e-half of them sp ent f rom o~e to four an d thr ee- quart ers years wi th the same employer, whil e tbe others sp ent . from fiv e to mo r e than 20 years with one anployer . With the exception of nine w~o re? orted that they had exper ie nced irr ee;ul ar a:id insuf- Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 3- fi cient employment over a pe ri o~ of years, and nine who s t8.te 0 that t hey had c onst2n tly suffered fr o~n l ow wages and i nsuf fi cien t earnings , these perso ns cons i de r ed oo th emp l oyment and income adequate p ri or to 1 931. Rel ief Hi s tory . Only 59 of the 14 7 households ha d e ver r e ce ived r e li ef from e ither the l ocal or t he county we l far e a ~ency , and f or a numbe r of these , the l oc8 l r Gli a f of this characte r occu rred only duri ng their pe ri od on Fede r al r e li e f, which has fr om the f irst t aken the form of wo r k r e li e f in Si 0ux falls , except f or eme r gency needs occas i one d by t he su sp ensi on of Federal Eme r sency Relief Adm i nis tra tion wor ks p r oject s p r io r t o t he op eni n,!s of Works Pr ogr ess Admini s trat i on pro j e cts . The dur a ti on of Fedgral eme r 6 ency relief r ece ive d by the se 147 cases vP. ries fr om l e s s than one month t o 19. One - hal f of the 1 47 r e ce ived r e li e f for l e ss than 11 months, an d on0fourt h we r e on the r olls for l ~ss than six months . concerning p r ivate earni ng s and i ncome was se~1red d i rect l y f r om head s of ~ouseholds themse lve s , who gave willing an <'l , it is believed, s c rupul ous a s s ist ~nce . This d i spo siti on t o coope r a te was undoub t edly due t o the fa c t that t he l ocal relief adm inistr <:i. ti on s ome mon t hs a go adop t ed a po li cy unde r which such budge tary a dju s t men t s as we r e mad.e di d not pena li ze those who se cur e d private empl oyme nt . Thi s p oncy , the Hi nneh;:,,ha County Re li ef Adm i ni s tra ti on is convi nced , has no t onl y be en acconwan i ed by ve r y little abuse bu t has a ls o do ne much to sustain morale . Income of 1 7.0 Hous e ho l <'t s for La st Month on P.e li E} f Comur;r e c' wi t h Cas h Inco_me c1.nd o th,.n:_: Ri" c2ipts fr om .s~ . 15 t o Oct . 1 5 , 19353/. In or ~e r t o dete r mine th,?. to t al inc ome of tho se hous e ho l ds for the month of J uly thr ee s ource s wer e t a~en in t o conside r ation : wo r k r elief , non- ERA r elief , and pri vate ear nings and othe r r eceip ts . I t i s worthy· of special :note t r.a t t he inf or rne.tion The med i an amount of wo r k r el ief r ece i vedbr 110 househo l ds in July was $1 5 . 00 ; of n on- ERA relief ( rn,q,de u p almo s t e ~t irely of Fe ne r a l Sur p lu s Reli ef Corr or at i on distribu ti ons) r ec8ive d bv 93 househol d s , $2 . 53 ; 2.nd of pr ivat e earning s and othe r r e ce i pts repo r t od by 33 househo l ds , $24 . 46 (Ta bl e I I I ) . The me di an inc ome of the 110 ho1::.seholds fr o.::i. t hese t hr ee sour ces c omb ined wa s $~8 . 99 for t he l ast mont h of relief . than one- fourth of Some~ha t le s t l em r ecei ved $60 . 0 0 or mo r e , while more t!l.Eln on~ -f ourt h r ece ive d l ess tl:1An $25 . 00 f r om all s our ces durin g the mo:1 t h . Al t hou 6 h many of these hous e hol d s ha.d ga r dens which contr i b1-~t ed to the f ood sup) l y duri ng t t is mont h , t he se items a r e not includ0d sinco dol l a r val ues c ou l d no t f easibly be p ssigned t o t he gar den pr oduce . ~ / No in come d~ta conce r ning 37 cases alre .":.dy acc ou:i.te d fo r 0n page 1 were obtai11able f or the latte r pe ri od . Cnns equen t ~y t ho se ca ses were omitted fr om the calculations . Med ian incomes of the s:une 110 hous e holds f or the month fr om Sep t . 15 t o Oct . 1 5 wer e ~1ch influenced by t r e f e et tr.at 35 cases had been reaurn i tte d to the r oll s and r ece ived Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 4da t e. r elief before the latter Fifteen o the r s had r eau~li (d and had been forme. lly r e- opu1ed s o rocen tly tha t the firs t r oli nf checks wer o n ot yet on reco r d. It is signi f~ can t to n ote that during t he sea son most f avorab le to self- suppo r t nearly oneh a lf of the 110 househol ds ha d r eWhe r ea s , applied within 10 weeks . two of the 50 r eop ened cases had managed to get al ong for 11 weeks or l onge r withou t r elief , 15 or nea rly one-third of them had survived l ess than eight wGeks . Th G median period a for tho ent ire group was onl y little mor e t han eight we ~ks . Compari s on of the median income of the 110 h ousehol ds for July with tha t from September 15 to October 15 i nc rea s e r eveals the substanti a l or 22 from $38 . 89 to $47 . 50, pe rcent~ . Cons i de r ed with r ef er ence ±/ This increa se may well-b~ ompare d with the income figures i n a study of closed c a ses i n Baltimore County p r ep ar ed by Miss Mar y L. Trippe and Mr . W. O. Brown, Re s ea rch Bulletin Series II , No. 10 . I n the Bal ti more County study of 1( 22 c a.s e s the i nc r ea se in median i nc J me fro m Mar ch 1935 (l as t month on r elief) to Ap ril was 44 pe rc en t ($9 .10 ) a s com( $8 . 61) par ed with the 22 pe r cent increase for the Sioux Falls group b etween their l a st mo nth on r elief and the Sep t emb er 15 -- Octob er 15 pe riod. Tho incr ease ove r Ma rch f or the mon ths of May and June was even gr ea ter for the ~alt imore County group , bei ng 78 pe rcent and 96 p er cen t respec tively . i nc r ea se The hi gh pe r centage of livi :1g not mean adequa te does standar ds , howeve r, for in Jun e 70 out of the 1C22 Ba ltimore County and c as es h ad no inco me a t a ll, 1 almost 50 pe r~ ent of the h o 1seholds wer e livi ng on l ess t han $1 ~ a week. to source , onl y 35 r eceived EP..A work t ho r el ief in the l atter n ~riod , median amount being $20 . 50 ( which wa s one- half more than tho av er age a~oun t r eceived by llOcases i n July) 18 h ouseholds r ece ived n on- EP.A reli ef, the median a mount being $11. 67 and 96 ha d either p riv a te inc o~e or earnings or b o th , the median amoun t beine $50 . 83 . Si nce a l a rge nu mber of, t hese c a s e s wer e closed bec ause th ey ha d s ecur ed employm en t , it is to b e expected tha t nri va t o earnings in the mo:ith Sop t ombo r 15 to. October 15 woul d g r eatly exceed those fo r A.nd I nc l uded i n i nc ome July . r oceip ts for th e l at ter month were the borro wing s of fiv e p ersons which tot alled $43 . 00 ; re cei pts of payment for ba ck wages by one pe r s on , $5 . 00 ; and paymen t for bo a rd and r oom r ent r eceived by 1 2 households, the t otal of whic:i was $208. 00 , making a gr and During . the month tot al of $256 . 00. a t le ~st 53 h ousehol ds h a d some food from their own gardens and s ix f r om t he ir own poultry. The employmen t s t a tus of these worke rs fro m September 15 t o October the 15 is h i ghl y sugges tive of condition s wh ic h th ey f a ce . In onl y fiv e c a s e s did i den tic al jobs hold over from the t i me of July closi ngs. Fourte en o ther worke r s h a d v aryi ng amounts of th e same kind of work t hat ha d ma de ca s e c lo sings pos~ ible. The a cc ompany i ng t abul a tion summariz es t~ c employmen t s tatus of th cso worke r s?_/ a.'1d i s the mo re significant when it is r ec ~lled that the f all s perio d under consi der at io n within a s ea3on of peak employment. s/Err.ployment sta tus of the Bal tirnore County g r oup of 10 22 c losed c a ses, c ompar able , al though not exacti y pe r cen t wer e em78 showed tha t pl oy ed duri ng l\pr il - June pe riod foll owing c lo sings and 22 per cent h ad no work a t all. Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 5- Employment St a tus of Haads of 110 Clo sed Ca s e Reli ef HOU$Chol ds fro m Sep t . 1 5 to Oct . 15, 1 935 19 Unemployed 8 Odd jobs'!} On call (part ti me) ~/ 8 Tempora rily employed 22 35 Sea s onal wor k 18 Perman ent jobs Tot al. ..•••. 11 0 A tot al of 3 6 days , or an aver age of 4½ da;vs e2.ch . Q/ A tot al of 72 da;y s 1 work , or an av er ag e of 9 days each . ~/ Har vest Fiel d Labo r . The r eport ed demand for h a.rv es t field l ab or was in much exagger a ted. Jany f a r mers Sou t h Dakot a a re ope r a tin~ on c r edit and the cl ~ims 0 :1 thei r c r op dol l a r s a r e so numerous and i nsist ent-- from the t hr esher, the el ev a to r, the machinery agen t , and t he Gove r n:nen t -tha t , i n many c a ses , the r e would hav e been noth i ng left with wh ich to pay worke r s . 11 liad I h ired even one man 11 11 it wouJ.d have s a i d such a f a r rr.er, 11 Hence it was put me in the r ed. t ha t · wiv es and childr en went i nt o the fi elds , f a r me rs clubbed to ge th er to he l p each oth Gr, and soma gr a in befor e was not shock ed a t al l Si oux the , nsequently Co thr eshing. was Falls supply of l abo r which i nt o the harv es t willing to go fi el ds c onst ant l y oxcoc dod th e a.ehous0hol ds From tho 110 mand. eede d i n succ s er 34 work visit od , gotting mor e or l oss of t his work p rior to Sep t . 15 , th e median amou~t b eing 17 days , tno medi an daily wago b eing $2 . 21, and t he median ear nings pe r pe r s on being $33. 75 (Tabl e IV ) . Th e wage r ange was fro m a s high a s $4 . 00 a d_3 y in one i ns t ance to a s lo w a s $1. CO a day . It wa s r ep orted by the National Reemploym ent Service tha t the p r ev a ili ng wag e tended to drop fro m abou t $2 . 50 a day to $2 . 00 a day when the susp en sion of rel ief Ho~eve r, bec ause of wa s announced . all sp otty c rop c ondition s , not work ers who l ef t Sioux Falls in sear ch of harv es t fi eld wo r k f a r ed a s well as t hose menti oned above , s i nce jobs we r e n ot al ways forthc o~i ng , and s ome of them h ad to t humb t hei r way back home with no ear nings Th e publi she d rumors of wha t ev e r. unwillingness on the par t of r eli ef cl ients to acce~ t harv est fi eld jobs ri s e appear to hav e had t he i r l a r g el y from th e typ e of f a r mer who, aft er he had s cour ed th e count r y lo oking for men t o wor k for a dol l a r a dAy and supp or t th ems elv e s and h a d f c.iled to fi n d. them , ann ounced tha t 11 the peO:)le on r elief a r e a ll bums and lo a fers . 11 In Curr ent St A.n dci.r ds of Liv ing. th ese house~ol ds the foo d pr obl em w2s not acute during the pe rio d Compar i ng di e t from Sep t . s tuii ei. 1 5 t o Oc t . 1 5 wi t h t hat of July , 36 irrgen er al eith er a r eu o~ted p r ov cme nt or imp rov omen t in specific 1 9 r ep ort ed unchanged diet ; i te~s ; adjustment s 35 r ep or t ed s~ eci r 1c wh i ch so:ne ,hat r educ ed the q_u a li t y and 1 8 r ep ort e d tha t t hey of diet ; w0 r 8 unabl e to suppl y f ru.i t and milk Downwar d for youc1g ch iJ dr cn . i n most adjustmen ts r ~~r P- scntcd , c a s es , r educ ed c onsumpt ion of milk, oggs , but te r and moat . ;v1c r eas f ood s t an dar ds we r e , in tho th e ma ic1, a t l east t ol er able , housing of many of tho 93 f &mili es visited (1 7 bo a r der s an d lo dge r s wa s cl ea rly i nadequQt o. 8xc ludod) With r espec t to phys i cal condition , Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 6- 23 dwelling units we r e r epo rt ed in need of minor repairs, 14 i n n ee d of maj or r epa\rs , and 1 3 as unfit fo r occu-pancyf/ . That h ous e s wer e repo r t ed as doe s no t denote any degr ee of p r osper ity . Two of them a r e 11 tr aile rs 11 on whe els, and others are mere shac ks, the makes hift char a ct e r of which i s amply a ttest ed by the fact tha t seven of t he~ a re valued at from $25 . 00 t o $100 . 00 each . In many units , t he orQinary c onveni ence s are l acki ng . Th irteen do no t b.nve running water , ga s , or el ec tric i ty; seven othe rs have 11 n e ither gas n or el ect ri ci ty ; oth ers have n o ga s ; and eigh t others have no running water . The median r en t paid by the 93 hou s eh olds is $1 3 . 49 pe r month. However , s omewha t more than one- fourth of t hem pay l e ss than $10 . 00 a month . 25 11 owned 11 The median number of r ooms pe r fami l y unit is three . Howeve r , t he diffe r ences in siz e of fami ly a r e §_/ Tue st andar ds followed in a ssi gn i ng t hese r atings we re th os e u s ed in t he Re:,,l Prope rty I nvento ry , 19 34 (Civil Wor ks Admin istration Pr oj ec t , Si oux Fa lls, South Dakota) Depa r tmen t of Commer ce , Bur eau of Dome s tic · c omm8r ce , For e i gn and Wa sh ington, D. C. , 1 934 p .1 2 . Jj ... ... . • 11 v e ry snacious r ef ers to dwell ing unit s having one- half p e rson or l oss pe:c r oom, v.hi ci'1 means that two or mor e r ooms are avai labl e f or each pers on l iving in the The t erm spac ious is appli ed U<l it . to cas es whe r e there is f r om one- ncl f to three- quart er pe rson pe r ro om, that is, dwelling units whicn have the equival ent of l e s s tn~n t wo rooms pe r pe rson, y e t whe r e one and one- half r oo ms or mol'.'e a r e avai l able such t ~at , in terms of the occupancy r ating sc a l e employed by the Bureau of Forei gn and Domestic Com~e rce when t aking t l}e Real Proue r t7 I nv entory of 1 9342 / , 48 pe r cent of the 93 a re ei ther 11 crowded 11 , 11 ove rcrowded 11 , or "gr eatly crowded. 11 , t his frequency being more tha.'l s even and one- half ti mes a s hi gh as the 6 . 4 percen t r ec or ded fo1· a ll r ent al uni ts in t l1e cityf/ (Tabl e V) . But in order to t ell the whol e st ory, fu r the r analysis is n e eded , In six cas e s the r ate of occupancy is t wo pers ons pe r room ; in two cas es it is t hr ee ; and in five cases it is f our , Tha t such ove r - c r owd~ ng creates c on diti ons injuri ou s to both h ealth and mora ls nead not b e a r gued . The r e r ep s ons why a r e two p r evai ling ·peonl e endur e t he s e bligh ti ng c on11 I em1not find a d ec ent d itio ns : house tha t I can 2fford 11 , sa i d one 11 and I would r at her stay here 3.nd ~ee p my r en t pai d 11 ; 11 v,.,e ought t o move out of this olace , 11 s aid anothe r, 11but t he landl ords knoVl.r we a r e on r eli ef and won I t trus t us . 11 for each _pe r son . B.e sidential un its a r e characterize~ a s having ade~uat e spacing when th ey a r e l is ted wit h fr om thr ee- q_11o.,rt er t o one pe rs on -pe r r oom , or when tL ey c0n tain one ro om or mo r e for each occupant , though l es s t han one a~d one- half r ooms . The term c:rnwded is u s ed f or uni ts whe r e the r e a r e t wo or l e es pe r sons, ye t A mor e t han one pe r son pe r r oom. 1.1.ni t is designat ed a s overcrowded wb.e!1 t her e a r e thr ee or l ess p3 rs ons but mo r e than two pe:rs ons pe r r oom. The t erm gre a tly ovP r ~r owaed r efe rs to un i t s ~aving me r e than thr ee pe rs ons pe r r oo.r:1 11 • Real _ Prope rty InventorJ, 1 934 09 . cit ., p , 9 . §_/ '.!.'he 25 11 o'i'mc3d 11 units a re included in the t otal of 93 . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 7- Exhausted Resources . It would be a s erious err or t o think of this group a s composed only of ~age earners TThose means had a lways bee n li mited to current earnings .Specific r ever s e s , cris e s, or other c ont ri butory factors s ta..vid out in many c2.s e s . Dr ought and r e!)eat ed crop fail u r e s r esul ted in 11 instance s in l oss of farms , farm equipment or s pec i a liz ed farm occupation . A de s tructive cyclo ne accounted for one more , and a fire which de str oyed all f a rm buildings as wel l a s dwel li ng and crop s accounted f or another . One business man was a victim of a bank f ai l ure ; the part ne r of anothe r absconded ; and fi ve we r e forced out of busine s s because of frozen account s . Death in the ir f amilies l ed to enfo r ced li quidation of busine ss for thr e€ h eads of hous eho l d s . Des e rti on forced tw0 hous ewive s to b ecome b r eadwi nne rs . Reve rs 6s in othe r indivi dual cas e s are att ri butable to l oss of a pol i t ica l job , habitual drunkenness and mental defici ency . Five were t he victims of acc i dent s, al l of which r e sulted in p r ot r act ed disability and four of which d is qualifi ed the wo r k e rs fo r th e ir usual oc cupat i ons . I n 15 households , illnes s, either of head s or cf members of the f ~mi l y , fo r p r olonge d periods ranging f r om one and one- half to e ight years , no t onl y nece ssi tated d r a s tic hous ehold r eadjustments but even l ed t o complete economic exbaustion in some cus es . Four years ago , 35 ins~rance polic i es t otal ling $69 ,000 were h eld by m8mbers of t hese 110 hous eholds . By Octob e r 15 , 1925 twenty- thTee of these r,olic i es totall i ng $5J. , 500 had been surr ende r ed . The a s ~umptio~ that these c itizens turned willingly to r el ief l acks foundation . On the contrary it is evident that for ITlc.IlY of them r elief was a l ast r e s 0rt . Befo r e the Acc.;__mulQtcd Debt s . cl osi.:1.gs RO h ous eho l ds had a lready acsumulated debt s fo r which the median amount was $73 . 33 exc l u si ve of J.ong-~erm mortgage s amounting t o $12 , 745}_} . The natur e of the deb ts , the number of peopl e r epo rt ing each t ype and median/ indebtednes s ar e as follows . 10 . Numb er Repor t i ng T;y-~e of Debt Median Debt for each T• e All debts 80 $73 . 33 Cha tt el Mortgage In te r e s t Taxe s Rent Ga s El e ct ri ci ty Gr oc eries Medical Farm Equ i pment Dental Mi s cellaneo11s 4 5 11 26 6 18 30 53 2 9 37 60 . 00 65 . 00 15 . 00 26 . 67 7 . 50 6 . 92 15 . 00 58 . 75 40 . 00 18 . 33 38 . 33 ~/ Of the 25 dwe l lings repo rt e d as 11 owned 11 , thP. t ota l value of which is sai d to be 1~1, 831 ( assess ed values i n a ll asses sibl e cases) , 13 (t otal val uat i on $22 , 3SO ) are enclL~be r ed to the extent of $12 , 745 or 57 pe rc ent of va h :.ation . Ta·o l e VI fo r compl et e 10/ Se<', tabul ation . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 8- Accumulated dental, sur g i cal and medica l debts t o taled $4,575 . Ei ght pe r s ons owe dental bills r anging fr om as lo w as $2 , 00 t o a s high as $55 . 00 . Unpaid hospital bi ll s , of f r om which there a re ni:ie, r an 6 e $11 . 00 to $200 . 00 . Nine unpaid sur gical bills r ange from $60 . 00 to $311.00 , Of all unpa i d medical debts the smallest is $3 . 00 and the l a r ges t $400 . 00 Thirteen bills fo r obste trical se rv ices, t he r ange of whi ch is fr om $20 , 00 t o $75 . 00 r em8.in unpai d . Spec i a l i nqu iry disclosed that 25 households had appreciab l y increased t hei r debts, a nd five had incurr ed t heir first debts since the closing of their cases in J u l y , the medi an amount of t hese incr eas es and new debts being $17 . 00 , Indebtedness in curr ed a ft e r t he cl osi ngs was r ep ort ed as f oll ows accordi ng t o t he natur e of t he de btll/ . Type of Number Reporting Debt Median Amoun t of Deb t . All Deot s 30 $17 . 00 Rent Gas Electric i t y Groceri e s Medical Dental Mis cellaneous 7 4 10 18 . 13 3 . 33 3 . 57 8 . 33 4 . 17 1 5 . 00 15 . 83 4 5 6 13 acut e ly Many of these men are debt conscious, n ot merely "because they are fin ding it i n creasingly difficult t o obtain credit, bu. t mo r e especially because going 11 i n deb t" is i t self r epugnan t t o the~ . Thei r ave r sion to indebtednes s was 11 / F or complete data see Tab l e VII . fre quently views . expressed in the inter- Pr esent Needs . Such an inven tory of needs as is made po ssiole by thi s study is obvi ous l y neither p r ecise nor complete . However, intervie we rs were instructed to distinguish carefully between 1'want s 11 and 11 needs 11 an d t o make no ent ri es which we re n ot suppo r ted oy evide nce of u r gen t neea. Unde r such p r actice , the f ollowinr, needs were r epo rt ed: in f our households, stoves ; i n t wo households, be ds ; in 14 households, "be dd ing . Clothing f or children i s needed in seven househo l ds , and shoes f or chi l dren in five househo l ds . Seven families need cl othing ·f or adults . The need for such spec ifi c arti c l es of foo d as fruit , meat and milk was r epo rt ed fo r 17 households . An attemp t was made t o disco ver u r gent denta l , medical a nd surgical needs . From fift y- two households i nfo r mati on was given on the f oll owin g fift y- f our case s of need: Dental wo r k 24 Gla.sses 5 Medical treat men t 9 Oostetrical treatment 1 Surgical treat men t 14 Orthopedic treatmen t 1 Ti:1e Des ire t o be II I ndep8nd.en t 11 • The dat a in this r e1;ort a r e not offered in suppo rt of any gene r al izati on whatever concerni ng the en tir e r e lief popul Rti on of Sioux Falls, much l ess t ha t of the United States as a who le. Howeve r , fr om fir s t t o l~ s t , contac ts with t his part icul ar group of ca ses p r oduced cumul at ive evide nce t hat they desi re ab ove a ll el se t o be 11 i ndependen t 11 , self- suppor ti ng memoe r s of societ y . 11 I am not aiming t o make a lot of money" , said a f or me r farm owne r Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 - 911 but I woul d li ke a ct'.lnce to earn own li ving . 11 Simil a r s t ;.tl:m0nt s heard egain Rnd agPin i n t h e cours e of ne rs onal int er views ind i cate a strong ie s ire f or self- m~int enance . Thes e citiz ens l ook upon the r my pre s en t st~te e s accid ontal and t P.m:90 rary r athe r than a s pe rmanent . I f , A. S has be1m cha r gei , the way has baen opened to 11 a life of i ndo l ence a:1.d supinene ss 11 , they r efus e to acce-o t it . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 7961 -10- Table I. Size of Household and Age of Head in 147 Cases - Age of Head Total l' Total 147 20-24 25- 29 30- 34 35-39 40-44 45- 49 50- 54 55-59 60- 64 65 and over Si2e of Hou=i ehold. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 40 33 21 10 4 3 3 2 1 12 5 3 3 2,. 1 3 3 1 4 7 4 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 30 23 I 2 I 15 27 18 18 12 15 12 5 2 I I 8 i 3 6 2 I 1 I 1 I 2 3 4 4 2' 5 2 3 2 3 7 3 1 2 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 i I 1 1 1 1 1 I I I I Median age 37 . 4 Median size of hou s ehold 2 .6 No t e : If 17 one- pe r son cases r ep r ese nti ng boar de rs and l odge rs a r e omitt ed , the me dian size of households is 2 .9 Tab l e II. Usual Occupation Heads of Households Cl ass ifi ed by Usual Occupat ion and Educat i on Tot al Tot al 147 Agri culture Propri eto rs Skille d wo rkers Bldg . & Con st. I Misc e l laneous Semi-Sk ill ed Wo r kers Unskill ed Workers Non- Manual Sal esmen Clerical Professional Wor ke r s Not Ascert ai nable No Usual Oc cu p ati on I II 27 4 31 15 16 13 50 15 9 6 i I I 0 1 314 Grade s Com:21_t;~g. 8 9 10 I 2 I I I I i 14 I iI I 7 I 3 12 1 1 I 12 8 6 13 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 College I 613 61 . I 1 11 516 7 I 1 3 1 3 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 I~ I2 II I. 13 63 13 2 12 4 4 10 4 6 4 2 5 29 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 5 3 2 1 5 2 3 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 5 3 2 4 3 1 1 2 2 1 6 Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY N. Table III. So ·. urce .Amount z Incomes of 110 Hous eho ld s for Last Month of Relief a nd fo r Period September 15 - October 15 , 1935, Classified by Amount and Source of.l_~1c ome-La s t Moi::ith of Reliel ' Sour ce ,of Income - Septe_plb_er 15-0ctobe_L__lf?.J. 19 35 Non-E.R.A. Private Tota1~/1 E.R.A. , Non-E . R. A . T Private A3s is tance Earni_ngs ___ 1 Earnin.e:s 1 Ass i s tance Tot u ll.3. E . R. A. 0 1L____ _ ~ I ~ m l/lo --j <.O. Total 110 110 I 93 I 83 iI 7 8 I m rt ;:o ;:::;· Z ro 0.. C o- z '< < m ;:o l/l ~ $ . 01-$ 4 , 99 5 . 00- 9 . 99 4 l U. OO - lLL 10 15 . 00- 19.99 7 9 20 . 00- 24 . 99 25 . 00- 29 . ~9 10 30 . 00 - 34 . 99 8 39 , 9 9 35 . 009 40 . 00- 44 , 99 10 45. 00- 49 , 99 7 50 . 00- 54 . 99 - I 3 55 . 0J- 59 . 99 1 8 60 . 00 - 6·1. 6 65 , 00 - G9 . 9J ji 4 70 . 00- 7 :i: • L)Q, 1 .. ., I 75 . 0G- 79 . 99 ! 3 BCJ . OU- 84 . 99' 5 85 , 00 - 89 . 9'3 1 90 . 00 - 94 . 99 1 99 . 99 95 . 001 100 . 00 a nd over 3 Not a sce rta ina.ble Median $38. 89 991 92 8 28 19 13 17 12 3 11 1 14 3 7 3 2 5 3 8 2 6 1 1 391I z 0 ~ I ~ mo V) :::!. --j lO m 3· ;:o ru z:::;; co z3 < m ;:o l/l ~ 2 4 2 L1 1 1 I 15. 00 I 2,53 2 , 24 .46 llO 5 5 9 8 6 8 3 8 6 -II II !I !I ! I 35 18 96 3 5 4 5 5 6 3 5 3 3 2 2 3 5 5 6 7 5 4 G 2 6 3 1 2 1 5 4 5 9 2 1 8 3 2 1 11 1 47 . 50 :20 .50 6 2 9 6 3 3 5 3 1 I f-' I-' I 9 I 11. 67 ! 50 . 83 ~ The total nCTnber of case~-i;lling i;- a g i ven class i nt~r~al in t h i s collUilil ·d.~es not eq~al the sum of t he correspond.i ng f requen ci es in the next three columns because a case re ceiving a specif ied total in come , e . g ., $27 .50 , may receive $10 .50 from E.R.A., $12 . 00 from non-E.R.A ., a nd $5. 00 f r~m p rivat e earni ngs , and hence will not be cl assif ied in the $25 . 00 - $29. 99 class interval in a ny of the next t h ree columns . ---."1 (.() m f-' Ear nings ru1d Number of Days Worked by 34 Persons in Harve st F i eld Prior to September 15 . Table IV . -- I ; Amount of Earning s z - 1 Tota l I'lio . of Cases / 7 0 }Jumbe r of Days r;orkeo. 19 - 12 13 - lb I - 24 25 and over 0 ~ Tota l I ~ m l/lo ---J co· m ;::;: :;;o ;:::;· Z 0.. ro o- C z '< < m :;;o l/l ~ 34 2 8 2 1 8 5 11 I $ . 01 - 9 . 99 10 . - 19 . 99 20 . - 29 . 99 30 .-39 . 99 40 . - 49 . 99 50 . - 59 . 99 60 . I 3 I ' I 11 and over I 7 I 3 8 6 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 '7 7 I ' Median no . days worke d Med ian earning s Median dai l y wage I 17 $33 . 75 $2 . 21 Tab l e V. I I-' I ~ I ~ mo U') ::::::!. Nwnbe r of Rooms 1 2 3 45Tb--r·-rr 9- 1o i ---j lO m :::;· :;;o ru z::;; eel z3 < m :;;o l/l ~ 24 25 21 Tota l 93 2 1 2 3 4 5 15 15 1 6 3 1 5 1 4 3 24 12 11 6 7 and ov - r -a/ 9 7 2 8 2 5 1 7 6 3 4 33 1 1 2 1 5 2 4 1 1 I =------:--=----c Occupancy Ratin~/ Very Spacious Ade - Cr owde<f175v 0r Great l y Spa-quate Cr owded, overcious cr owded l4 12 1 8 1 1 3 2 1 3 1 1 1 4 1 2 2 1 1 Exc luding 17 b oar de rs and lodgers . . / 1 I I + P ersons in .tfousehold Total I · - -·- - · Density of Occupany in 93 Dwelling Units~/ z 0 . [\) 4 4 22 3L~ 4 1 3 7 4 6 9 11 4 2 2 5 3 3 4 1 2 1 I 7 6 1 -.J -0 3 1 a-I--' Tab l e VI . Amount z 0 Amount and Type of I ndebtednes s of 80 Case s . II'otal.3/, Chatte l Interest Taxe s Rent Mor tgage Gas Gr oce r Elect ri city ies Medi cal Dental Farm Equipment Misc . ~ I Tota l ~ m 80 4 5 11 26 6 18 30 53 4 3 1 2 1 1 4 2 13 3 10 10 1 2 1 1 6 5 6 4 2 4 5 3 3 2 9 37 1 2 3 2 1 5 6 5 3 5 1 2 . l/lo --J <.0- m rt :;;o ;:::;· Z ro 0.. C o- z '-< < m :;;o l/l ~ z 0 ~ I ~ $ . 01- $ 9 . 9s 4 10 . 00- 19 . 9s 7 20 . 00- 29 . 9s 4 30 . 00- 39 . 9s 7 40 . 00- 49 . 9c 7 50 . 00- 59 . 9s 5 60 . 00- 69 , 9c 4 70 , J O- 79 . 9s 6 80 . 00- 89 , 9S 5 90 . 00 - 99 . 9: 100 . 00 - 119 . 9s 5 120 .oo- 139 - :~9 3 140 . 00- 159 . 99 160 . 00 - 179 ; 99 5 1 180 . 00- 199 . 99 200 . 00- :ir.d ov e , 17 2 1 1 1 1 8 6 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 2 3 1 4 1 1 3 1 6 1 15 . 00 5G . 75 ho .oo I mo V) ::::::!. --J lO :;;o CJ m :=;· Median $ 73 . 33 60 . 00 65 . 00 15 . 00 26 . 67 7 . 50 6 . 92 1 I f-' '->J I 1 18 . 33 38 . 33 z:::;; eel z3 < m :;;o l/l ~ ~ The t ota l numb er of cases falli ng i n a giv en c l ass i nt e r val in thi s co l umn does not equal the sum of the corre s pondi ngfr equeuci es i n the f oll owi ng co l wnns because a case may have a s pec ifi e d total debt which is di str ibuted und er differ ent head i ng s i n vari ed arnounts . -..J '° \..)', f-' Table VI I - - z Amount an d Type of Debts Contracted by 30 Cas e s Since Clo sin g 0 ~ I ~ m l/lo --j <.O. Tota l.Y Ai:1ount I Rent I Gas Elect ri ci ty Groce r ies Mer1 ica l Dental Misc . m ;:;: :;;o ;:::;· Z ro 0.. o- C z '-< < m 30 Total :;;o 7 h 10 3 1 7 4 5 6 13 1 1 4 3 3 1 l/l ~ $ . 01- $ 4- 99 5.009. 99 10. 00- 14-99 15 . 00 - 19. 99 20 .00- 24 - 99 25 .00- 29 .99 30 . 00- 34 . 99 35. 00 and ov er z 0 Mec ian ~ I ~ 6 5,..., L I 5 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 4 1 $17 .00 2 3 I I-' ~ I 1 1 6 lI 1 2 1 1 18 . 13 3 ,331I - 3.57 8. 33 4 . 17 3 15.001I 15 . 83 mo V) ::::::!. --j lO m ::::;· :;;o CJ z:::;; eel z3 < m a/ The t ota l numbe r of cas e s falli ng in a giv en c l ass int er val i n this column does n ot equal the sum of. t he c orr esponding f ,r equenc"ie-s in t he f o ll owing c olumns because a case may have a speci fi ed total debt which is distr ibut ed unde r diffen,,nt hea dings i n vs.ri ed amounts . :;;o l/l ~ -.J '-0 °' I-' Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY