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WORKS
PROGRESS
31 191
8131
ADMINISTRATION
Barry L. Hopkins, Administra tor
Corrington Gill
Assistant Ad.illi ni s tra tor
Ho ward B. Myer s , Director
Soci a l Research Division
RESEARCH
:BULLETIN
SURVEY OF RURAL RELIEF CASES CLOSED FOR ADlv!INI STRATI VE
REASONS I N SOUTH DAKOTA
(Study made in -November 19 35, covering
June and July Closings )
Ser i es II, No. 12
J "IJlU'.lry 23 , 1 936
D1g1 LE'l.
I
ORTf
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w. ~ H RN UNIVE RS rv
Original fro'll
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8131
Preface
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During October and :November 1935, generally in the United .States, but
a series of special inquiries was because they showed clearly certain
conducted in a group of western and kinds of problems. Their value in
southwestern states to study the giving direction to future adminiscondition of cases closed from the trative policy is increased by the
relief rolls in anticipation of the fact that they display diverse conWorks Program and in accordance with ditions. Two of the studies - those
the policy of transferring unemploy- in Colorado and Arkansas - cover
able cases from Federal to local only unemployable cases and hence
care.
This group of studies was throw light upon the problems conplanned to supplement the informa- fronting the state and local agention obtained from earlier inquiries cies that are assuming the care of
The two South Dakota
in to the results of admini strE",ti ve such cases.
inquiries,
including
only employable
closings in Georgial/.
c·a ses, yield information upon the
The second series of studies was significance of harvesting work as a
carried out in much the same manner means of reducing the relief rolls
as the Georgia studies.
Background and upon the problems involvei in
information on each community was the development of a comprehensive
secured from relief agency officials program to meet the needs of these
and from citizens familiar with the people.
problems of rel_ief.
Family interviews were ' conducted in order · to
The South Dakota Counties, Custer
secure pri mary data bearing on the Corson, Hand, and Hutchinson, had
family composition, the occupational been previously selected as repreexperience of the worker.s, and the sentative of the rural areas of the
economic status of each household state. Two of them, Custer
and
for comparable periods before and Corson, are predominantly grazing
after the closings.
areas although in certain portions
small grains and alfalfa hay are
Both urban and rural communities important crops.
Hand County
is
were covered by field surveys.
The located in the small grain area and
cities chosen were Sioux Falls,South Hutchinson County lies in the liveDakota and Little Rock,Arkansas; the stock feeding area.
rural areas included Custer, Corson,
Hand and Hutchinson Counties
in
The relief load in each of these
South Dakota and Kit Carson and Weld counties has been high.
In proporCounties in Colorado.
tion to the to t al number of families
in 1930, Custer County had
the
These comruuni ties were selected lightest May load of the four counnot for the purpose of giving a ties (18 percent), and Corson County
picture of conditions
prevailing the heaviest (52 percent).
The
counties surveyed
suffered
from
1/ See Re sea rch Bulletins Seri e s II drought this year although to a less
No. 8 ; Seri es 1, No. 11; and C-19.
extent than in the .two preceding
years.
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Prepared by
Waller Wynne, Jr.
and
Gordon Blackwell
under the supervision of
A. Ross Eckler, Chief,
Special Inquiries Section
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SUMMARY
This study was based upcn a samp l e of 21 4 families drawn f r(' ~ cases
cl csed in four South Dakota Counties
in June and Jul y 1 935 as a r esult of
two separate ad~inist r ative or ders ,
the fir st p r '.)viding f")r the cl~sing
~f all cases which did not r e- apply
f~ r r e li ef d J.r i ng the month ending
June 20 and the second, f ,.,r the
clnsing of cases in r esponse to
cha r ges that membe r s of r elief famil ies we r e unwilling tn accept p ri vate
emplcyment in
the harvest
fi elds .
1
The total incomes of these fami lie s fn r the pos t-relief m'.)nth Sep~
temb er 1 ~ tn Octobe r 15 wer e sharply
re duced in comrar ison with those obtain8d i n the last r e l ief mar.th , as
might be expected in view ,.,f the
fact that
relief grants c0mposed
about thr e e frmrths of the avera 6 e
total inc ome in the earl ier mon th .
For bnt h the a gr icultural and the
non- agricultural cases , total incomes
in the la st relief month wer '3 app roxi mate l y $~8 .
Wnile their.comes
fer the agr icultural gr'.) .:.;> in the
month ending October 1 5 fell by more
than 50 pe rcent to $1 3 , the average
fe r the f ew n0n- agri cultu ral ca ses
r ose to $40 .
1
Mo r e favorable cornparis0 ns are
r evealed when p rivat e earnir.gs a r e
conside r ed apart fr om outside assist8nce . Almost twice a s mar.y fami lies r eported pr ivate incomes in the
later pe ri od , and the a verage a~ount
ear ne d mo r e than doub l ed . While this
improvement might be attri -butec in
part to seasonal factors, much of it
doubtless r epresen ted a real turn
f ('r the bette r in the si tuati·:m of
the families surveyed ,
Var ious facto r s cont ri buting to
ec on~mic self- sufficiency a r e net
r eflected in the in come data . A
l a.rge numbe r of the families r epo rte d that their own gar den p r oduce
and lives to ck con tribut ed substantial l y to thei r food supply in the
ear ly autumn . Fay.nents by the A.A. A.
we re made tc about 10 pe r cent nf the
cas e s and enab l ed the r ecip ients
eithe r to meet so~e 1f their m,st
p r essing needs or tc pay cff part (' f
their cur rent indeb tedness .
Employment in the harvest f i e lds
was a r elatively ur:impertan t fa c t.-.r
in accounting fer the inc r ease in
pr ivate inco me between the
last
mnnth 0f r e J.i ef and the post- re l i e f
month . Only 11 pe rcent of the cases
rep or t e d tha.t they had been abJ.e tr;
find work in the he rvest fie l ds despite the fact that the __study
cove r ed a pP r i0d when oppo rtunities
f0r such wo r k we r e at th0 i r peak .
The l a r ge debts cf these famili e s
and their r elatively few
liquid
as se ts r eveal ed the precari ousness
,.,f their economic status . Thr eef ourtnP- of the fa r r.i o,_,mers had mn':' t~age s on their re a l p r ope r ty and
p r~ctically a ll of tho cases r e po ~ten sho rt-t er m deb ts . The average
size of thes e short- t e r m debts was
$1,l0J, an amount far i n excess ~f
aver age cash assets .
Five sixths of the fami lies re port ~rl some imm~diate ne e ds , among
which cl othing , bedding and medica l
care occurr ed mo s t frequ e ntly .
For
n':'ar l y nalf of them these
wan t s
were deemed se r ious enough to cause
the families to need outside as sist~nce during the ~oming winter.About
one tLi r d of the far m op erato r s r eporte d t he y would need
go vernmen t
as s 1sta.nce in buying se ed and me e ting othe r needs fo r the ir 1936 crops .
Wnethe r these cases ar e to be
aided by Fede ral or b y state agen-
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cies is not yet c lear.
None cf the
cases inc luded in the s2mp l e had rccei ved aid fr om a."ly public or privat e agency after r emo val from Z~
r oll s . The state and local autho riti es ar e burdened with t he care of
dependent unemployab l e cases .
With
the incr ea s ing l oad of p r ope rt y tax
de linquencies , they will find it
difficult t o ca rr y ~ny a dditional
relief cases .
Le ss t han 10 per cent
of the cases had been ce rtified f or
the Wo r ~s F r J~r am By De c ember l, and
since so many 1f them a r e farm ope rato r s , Wdrks P r ojec ts ma y not be a
construct ive means of g 1v1ng ass istance to these families . The Resettl em8 nt Adminis tration may t ake some
of them but the e li g ibility of tho se
who ha d not had reli ef f ince J une or
Jul y is unce rtain .
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SURVEY OF RURAL RELIEF CASBS CLOSED FOR .AD'..HNI STn.AT I VE
REAso1;s I N sou~H DAKOTA I N JUlIB Alm LTULY 1935.
The group of rura l fcmi lie s studied in South DRk ota was d r awn from
th os e closed f rom the r8lief roll s
by two admini str at ive oraer s which
be came effec tive in June 2nd July
1935. The f irst of these order s was
i ssued on May 20 and beca~e effective on June 20 .
It p rovided that
a ll cases should be au tomat i cally
re moved f r om the relief roll s unless
t hey m~de a re - app l i cation between
t11ose dates . By JTeans of thi s order ,
t he Socia l Service Division, which
ha d been reorganized abou t Ap ril 1,
wa s enab l 3d t o i nsta ll new 8pplication forms with si gned statements a ~
to the applicant 's financi al condition 2nd t o make new i nves tigation s in order to weed out ca:::;es
not a.ctua ll;y in need of r e lief . According to the s3cond aomini s trative
order , offoctive on July 22 , al l relie f was temporar ily suspGnded . Th i s
second order wa s is suea 1n r esp on:::;e
to compla i nts that r ec i p ie n ts of relie f were re fus i ng to 8CCept ~riv2 te
employmen t pa rticularly in t he ha rve s t f i e ld s .
In the fo u r counties s8le cted fo r
t he purpose of thi s s tudy t he sa two
orders r e sul ted i n the clo s i ng of
561 cases . .App roxi IT1'.ltely fou r f i rths
of them we re clo sed i n accor dance
with foe first order 2nd one fifth
as the r esult of the second . Si xtyfive cases we re re opened and received relief during t he period Sept ember 15 to Octobe r 15 a:1d he n ce
were not inclu ded in the surveylJ . A
fifty percent
r andom sample wa s
t aken of the re ma i ning 496 case s .
~h ir ty-four of the 248 cases could
not be re ached for t he purp ose of
home i nt erview s chiefly be cause they
ha d moved to other states or to
othe r counties within the state.
Comp leted schedul es ware t ta i ne d
fo r the r ema ini ng 214 cases~ .
Co'1l') Osi tion 2nd Characteristics .
The group studied differed fro m t he
gene r al relief p opulation of South
Dakota chiefly with regard to occupa tion Bnd. r e s i den ce . Ti1e group i ncluded very f ew ca se 3 in wh i ch t her e
wan no emp lo yable memb e r. One f ami ly
h ead in eve r y f ive was recorded as
bei ng Da r t i a lly or totally disabled ,
the mos t f reque nt di3ab ili t i es be ing
herni a 2nd rh eurn2. t i sm .
Th e i ncid ence of 2dmini st r a tive
clo s ings fel l mos t heavily upon farm
t ria t i s ,
owners
and
ope r at ors ,
te nants (Tab le 1) . Farm owner s con s titute d only 16 percent of -tbe June
rel ief 102d of t rie countie s i n the
surve y bu t they comp ri sed 40 percent
of the cases ~~3,v;n f r om t he June and
Jul y clo s i ng s0 .
Farm tenRnts were
a lso ove r rep r esen ted i n the g r oup
sur veye d but to a sma lle r extent
t han the ovmers .
Fa r m lebore r s a nd
non- agricultu r al cases , on the othe r
hand , we re mu ch le ss i mpo rtan t p ropo r tionate l y i n t h e Ja mpl e t han in
the Jun e relief load .
l}
Si nce the f i 0ld rmrvey re vealed no es -::en t ia 1 diffe r ences be tv:reen c2 ses
closed by th3se tv. 0 or de r s , sepa:-ate t?bu2-2tion of t h;:;l two groups was not
undertaken . The con si de rn.ble nu.-:iber of clo3 ,~d cp,ses wh ich 18te r r eanp lied
fo r relief we , e exclud3o. f ro'.11 t his study . Hance , it may be e ssurr:eci t ha t ti:. 9
cose s surv9yed. r ep r e se i1t those who fm.121d t hems elves able to ge t a l ong ,
at
le as t terr.o or ar il:r, wi t ~1out public as s i s tan ce .
~ / The d.i st ribut ion by counties was as follows : Corson 31 , Custe r 4f> , Ha nd
51, and Hu tch i nson 36 .
y This cornpari son i s base d on a.a t a r epo rted on FERA form DRS-117 of the
1
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Fa r m opera tor s r epr a sen ted mo r e
t h an 80 per cent of t ho c1nes studi ed.
Most of t harn ceemed to ha ve bee n
r a t ne r substantial f a r mers a t one
t ime and even i n 1935 t he i r n l ant i ng s
we r e fa irly la r ge . All but 7 of t ne
1 81 ope r at or s r eported t ha t t hey ha d
p l an te d s ome a creage t h i s yaa r , and
two t h ird s of t h em had p l ante d more
than 100 a ere s .
p er i od duri ng wh ich
ce i ve d relief siL ce
41
WA s 11 months..=; •
t hey ha d re Mc::.r ch 1, 19 34 ,
Wi th r8ope ct to s i ze of f amily
and a Ge of head, t h e gr oup of 214
f amil i ec v ic i ted was , in ge ne r a l ,
re pre sen t at ive of t he en t ire r u r a l
r elie f p opul ati on of the fou r count i es (Tab le ::, 2 And 3 ), Ei gh ty-e i ght
pe r cen t f o the cases i n t h e samp le
l i ved i n t he open coun t r y i n compa r i so n with 66 pe r ce n t of t he t ot a l
r u r a l r e li ef l oad i n J une .
Compa ri son of Re lie f and Po s t-Re li ef I n_c0me sQ/ . The agg r e ga te i nc ome
of the 211 cases f or wh ich comp lete
i ncome da t a were a va ilab le de cr eased
sha r p l y be tween t he
l as t r el i ef
month and the p oet -rel i ef mon th . The
d e cl i ne i n t hei r a verage mon t h l y income
be t wee n
t h e s e peri od c f r om
$27 . 56 to $15 . 20 r ep r ese nted a d e crease of a l mos t 45 perce nt ( Table 4 ) .
Compa ri s on of i nd i vi dua l ca ::;a s show:: ;
t ha t 46 of t he ce : :; e s nP- cu r ed
~
h i gher i ncorr:e i n the
po :o t -r.0 li"' ":'
p e r iod than i n t he r e li ef pe r i oa, l?
ha d a pp r oxi rr.a t ely t he same income ,
and 148 f ell into a l owe r i n come
group i n t he late r pe riod.
Only a nagl i gi b le nu.11be r of the
214 ca ses h~d eve r r ece i ved publ i c
or p r ivate n cs i s t a n ce befo r e g oi ng
The ave r age
on Ft3de r a l r elief .
Th e f ol lowi n g t a bl e b ri ngs ou t
ce r t a in ma r ke d o ccupa tion2 l d i f f e ren ce s i n t he ave r age i n comes f or the
r eli e f and p os t- r eli ef period s .
Te b l e .A.
Comp os i t i on of Re li e f and Po s t - B.e l ief I nc omes f or Agri cultur a l
~nd Non- Ag~i cultu r a l Case s
·==============-=-== I ncome f or
Percen t
I ncome fo r
Source of I ncome
I n cre8 se
Occupation
Po s t- Re lief
Rel i e f Period
Period
or De c reas e
-- - -Tota l : .Al l
.Agri cul ture
$12 . 89
$27 .53
- 53
Sour ces
+··.-44
Non- II
40 . 00
27. 33
ERA Re lie f
Agri cultu r e
II
Non
20 . 78
16 . 06
Non-ERA Acs i st ance
Agr i cul tur e
Non- II
1. 27
1. 28
0 . 99
- 22
- 100
Private I ncome
A.?;ri cultu r e
Non- II
5.48
10 . 50
11. 39
40 . 00
.f ll 7
+281
- 100
-100
i/
I nformat ion f or the :peri od u ri or t o Mn r ch 1 , 1934 was not avg ilab l e .
Q/ Thr ou 6hout the t ext the las t fu ll month of r el i ef i s r efe rred to as t he
_relief pe r i od, while t he pe ri od Sept . 1 5 t o Oct . 1 5 i s spoken of as the
pc0t- re li e f pe r i od . Regul a r i ncome i n cl ud es (1 ) ca sh f rom sales of da i r y
and poult r y :9roduc t s , p ri vate ea r n i ngs , re l ief , aid f rom r e l at i ves , e t c .,
and (2 ) each value of i ncome i n k ind i ncl ud i ng Fede r a l Sur nlus Commodi t ie s .
I ncome do as no t in clude yearl y sa le of cr op s and l i vest ock , AA.A paymen t 3 ,
and p r odu cts u s ed on the heme fa r m.
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The ave rage income for the agriculpercent
tura l case3 decre as ed 53
gricula
non
19
the
for
that
while
tural ca ses i ncre~s e1 by a l mos t 44
~he lat ter we re abl B 8 ::; a
pe rce!lt .
r ul e to fi nd fairly 3teady ~~; loyrr.ent , 1Ph i1e those eng-"ged in f 2 r mi ng
were bu3y on thei r own p laces or
unable to obtain re gul a r work.
Priva t e incorr,e, which accounted
for C1 4 perce11 t of all receip t2 i n
the JJ Ost -reli ef period , was mu ch
largs r i n that period t h2 n ~uring
The numt he last rr:onth of relief.
ber of cases re9o rting such income
was nearly twice as great in the
po:t -relie f pe riod as in the relie f
period and ti1e avera 6 e arr.aun t reported was sorne'Nha t mo r e t ha n twice
a" gr 0at .
The fav or abl e a3pects of t h i s
comp8- ri3o n must be q-u2lif i ed -by the
sea:::;oua l character of the p riv2 te
i nco~e s of f a r m operato r s and labo r lost of t he farm cas es iner s .
cluded in the ::;amp le derived t he
bulk of tt.eir i nco;ne f rom the sa le
of da iry and. poul t r y p roducts , :mch
~n le s bei ng conside r ab ly lar ger i n
t h e early auturrill th9 n in Jur.e and
Among those who re ported
July .
ea r n i ngs f rom p ri v3. te e::ip l o;,, -.non t ,
ne a r ly one half sta ted t hat their
emJ lo;yment during the p os t -relie f
pe r1 ou was part ly or who l ly seascnal i n c:1aract8r , as ,vou l d be expected
since the em~loyment wc1 ::; usuq lly i n
agri cultt:.re . Only o~e case in every
twenty of a ll those rep orting employment h&d he ld a ny portion of
this emplo;yment p rior to t he ac:ni n i st r at i ve closL1g .
Non-ERA 2s s i s t ~n ce wn s relat i vely
uni mportant both i n the relief a nd
In t he
t he p ost-relief periods .
earlier mon t h it consisted largely of
Federal Sur p lus Co~.modities and in
the lattsr, most of the &id wa~: furni shed by rel8tive s . None of the
C3SG3 i ncluded in the s2 mn le re ce i ved a id fro m 3ny pub lic or p ri ·1a te
f r om the ERA
c3 g r-m cy 8fter r emov3l
rolls .
The co~pa r2 ti ve s ituAt i on of the
egricultural Ceses d-G.ri Eg the relief
and u ost - relief pe ri od::; was somewhat
less serious tha n would ap"'.) ear si mply
from 211 exa.rr.inat ion of the i ncome
W.Any of the fa ~ili ec we re
fi 6'Ur 0s .
eble to p ro vide a cons id ~r ab le amoun t
of tne ir o~n f ood during th3 e~r ly
fa ll , even thou;o;h drought ;:,nd ha il
Thr ue fourth 3
i njur 0d many gq rd qns .
of th0 f om i lie s cov-3 red by the s t u dy
ob ta i ned two or three va rieti e::o of
vc get 2bl es from t he ir g~ rdens du ring
the rr;onth ending Octob or f if teen th ,
Livestock n ro i~cts a l s o ware a more
i m~or t ant ::; ou r ce of food for agricultural cases du ri ng the p ost- relief
peri od t han d 1ring t he last r el ief
The home consrunpt i on of milk
month .
and the sa le of l i vestock p rodu ct3
b oth t ended to i ncrea:::;e between t h e se
t r,vo period s .
A t h ird f a ctor tending to offs et
t h e re ported decr e s e i n agri cultur a l
i nco~es was rayrr.ents made oy the AAA .
Such payments were r eceived by about
1 0 perc 1rnt of the caseG ciurin g the
post -re lief period but were not inc~udel i n t he month ly i ncome data
ci ted above beceuse taey were ra Alt hough
C3i V3d on an· annual basis .
i n a l most a ll i n s t8nces most of the
r eceints from -~ti pay:nen ts were i mmed i atel ,y t uri1ed over to cr aditors ,
:::;o;ne rr.a;:,' have be,m used to mee t curr : m t ne ed s .
Revenues
fro□
the ::,a le of crop s
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and of l i vestock were al3 0 ex~l uded
fro m the i ncome data . s~ch re ~ei~t3
were fairly Grr~ll fo r most cf the
One s ixt~ of the
f a r m ope r a tor s .
i n:om3 of thi3
no
ported
re
g r oup
ki ud 2nd leG::; than 112lf of the fc1 r m
o, e r ato r s had a g r oss farm i ncom9 of
$150 or mo r ~ f rcm 1935 cro~ and liv9
1
The seasona l V9r istock ~ales- '
a tions i n tha t pa rt of f a r m in come
w!lich
i3
rec\1rrent
montl1 by month
anci. the non-recurrent cha r acte r of
re ceip t s fr om t he sale of livestock
and cr op3 or of A.fl.A p&yments rr.ake it
di ff i cult to re ach rlefin i t e conclus ions wi th reg~rd to the sta tus of
Viewed in the
the se farm families .
li t;ht oi' da t q on cur re nt assets c1 nd
c~rren t i ndebtednes s , ~owever , the
i ncoine f i g,1J.re s i nd i cr'lte t:1e se r i ou::;
econ omic situat ion of this gr oup .
~mplo;y m8ut _j.n_J;he Ha rvest Fields
D~spite the f3.ct that the July :losi ns·s were made in r esronse to c1F1i m3
of sh ort ages of ha rvAs t f i Rld labo r ,
only 11 percen t of the 214 cases repor ted empl oyment i n the ha rve s t
Fa r .n
f i elds :9rior to Septembe r 15 .
opera tors we~e p r obably s o bu :y on
thei r own fa.r:ns that t~v~y wo~L: 11c.ve
been w1c1b le to acce9t ou t s~_r~a ein pl oyrnent , e ven if it hao. be rm ;::, va i laThRt t her e actually were few
ble .
o:pportun i ties fo:c thi::l k i nd of employment i s suggested by the fact
ttat even among the far m labo r ers
families
and t h e non-agricultura l
re lat i vely few r.:err.be rs secured emp lojrlent i n the ha rvest fields . 0ome
of the f a r m 01Jer3.to r s 11 t r aded wo r k 11
i n or der to avoid de ple t i ng the ir
small casi1 assets through the p&y ment of wages and others me ~ely
p ro mi sed payme nt when thei r crou s
were sold .
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':'he nwnber ofl i vestock hs.d ree n
dr 9 stic~lly r educed as a re sult of
t he p ro l onged drought of the past
several years and the AAA live stock
purchase p r ogr am.
De't_~nd Ca sl· .A,sset s . The d3. ta
on de b ts of the cases re moved fr om
in Ju.~e and Jul y re veal the
r elief
seriousness of thei r econo~ic s i tuThree fourths of the f a r m
,at i on .
owners had all or pa r t of t heir l,,._nd
mor t ga[ed and the a verage s ize of
t hese i ncumb r an ce s was in exc8 ss of
$4 , 000 .
Short -te r m debts d.ue in t he i rr;me dia te fut ure were rep orted for
2b out 97 percent of al l cases (Table
5) . The ~verage s ize of these sho r t
term ob li gat ions was in exce s s of
The bulk of the debtr he d
$1 , l CO .
been incurred fo r farm operation s ,
i nclud i ng r1navy inve stments in farn:
mach i ne r y , a~d c ene r al expenses , but
deli nq~ent t&xes , i nte r 8st and r 8nt
we r:e c?lso r eporte d f requ.:m tly . Deot:::
ne0a.,
contr 3ct3ci to rrse t me dica l
were r epo rt 3d by more t~an half of
tne ca s es .
The cash assets of f a r m operato r:::,
i nclud ing Co :oh on hwd and expe cted
i ncoma frc~ s8 les of 1935 cr op s and
li ve::; t oc:c , wera corr.1:a r 2 t i v3ly smal l .
farm
Fi fty - thr P-e pe r cent of t he
operato r s r epor te d ca sh ass3ts(Table
~) , t h~ avera 6 e amount be i ng only
$123 .
Conven ie nces . Four f ifths of t he
f 9mili·~; - owneJ automobiles at the
ti me of the i nter-v ie,;-, and ab out one
Most
fo'.lrth of them owned radios .
of L'1e automo bi les and r ad i os we r e
fi ve or more years old and were
when
p robab l y purcn2sed at a time
the f 2milie s were in rel a tivel y goo d
circU'ns t8nce s . Few of the househo ld s
hoTie ver , had such conven i ences as
e l e c tricit y , ges , and r unn ing wate r .
lief
betwe en Re
i ~n .rDiet
Chan£:es
- - -- -·~~-:::r....~~ , ~
'
t he
On
and Psi,A-:-?.elief Period s .
wh ole the d ie t of the ma jo ri ty of
t he f amili es survey ed was ab ou t as
p os t - reli ef
sati sfact ory in the
period as it ha d bee n in the l as t
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8131
relief month .
About one third of
the farr.ilie s mentioned no important
change i n this re spect , while another
thi r d report ed _decrea.s1?s i n one it em
o f die t , most often ~eat , wh ich was
not of fset by an i nc r ec.se in other
it e:ns .
'Jne third of tne f2m ili es
report ed a d~cre ase in two or mo re
items of diet .
Despite the r ather
mar ked decre~se i n th e a~ount of
foo d. c on sum ed by the l atter group
there was appa rently no considerc1.ble
suff erin[ . At the t i me of i nterview
onl y twenty- s i x f ami l i es
r erortid
food anong thei :c- i mmediate needs2 .
F iv e s i xths of
I 1nrrediate lJee-i_~ .
the fanilies renorted one or mo re
i mmeclia te needs . Clothes and b edding
were the most f r equent needs , but
the r e were many f2..rnil i es requiring
']_/ '.i:he d i et of tirn rural famil ie s
studied in th i s survey c ont r ?.sts
r ather mar kedly with that of t~e
rural famil i es r emoved fo r :1C:.m i nist r at i ve r easons fr om r el i ef rolls in
Geo r gia .
I n th e Geor g i a study i t
was found th2 t after 1· emoval the
d iet of the s ases 11 was unsatisfacto r y
both with r eFpect to que.nt i ty and
qualit y 11 •
For a maj ority of the
Geo r g i a famili es 11 meat , f r uit , and
dai r y p ro ducts were absent f r om the
diet" .
'Jh il e it i s t rue that app roximately hal f of the Sout:n Da...1<:ota
families expe ri enced a dec r ease in
the amount of meat , apn ro x i m~tely
nine i n ten fam ili es had as much , or
more , milk anQ mjny had a variety of
f r esh ve::;etab l es .
See "Su r vey of
Cas es Removed f r om Relief Rolls i n
S event e en Rural Counties in Georgi a
for Awninist , a tive E.e?.sons i n May
an d June , 1 935 11 , Research R-..illetin ,
Se ries II , No . 8 , November 4 , 1 935 ,
~ . E. R. A. Division of Resea r ch , Stat i st i cs atld Fi nance ,
medical c a re a s we ll as dental and
optical wo r k .
The needs f or f ood ,
h ous ing , and furn i ture were not reported to be especially p r ess i ng ;
l a ck of fuel , howeve r, ' was a se ri ous
p:,:-oblem for
some
cases in the
easter n counties .
Extent of Ass is tanc e Needed . Many
of the Lm1 ilies evi d ently felt that
tho ir i Qffi ediate needs cou ld be met
wi thout r ecour se to out side ass ist:1nce s i nce less t:i.1an half of them
r eported t :i.1at tr. . ey would need ass iswi nte r .
t anc e duri ng the corning
Nec,rl? a thir d of the fRrm operato rs
repo rted t11at they would n e ed government assistance i n farm i ng
n ext
spring , l ack of seed being the p robl em most f r equent ly confronting th em .
P r osuect~ fo r the Future . All but
a few of tLe agricul tura1 f am ilies
stated. that they p l anned to continu e
Fo r a maj ority of thes e
f P..Tming ,
f~~ ili es , t his i nvo l ved no program
other than t o 11 t ry aga in 11 •
While
many famili es wer e pess i mi st ic ab out
the c rop 1-:- rosnects for 193,::; ,
a few
w8re optimist ic c.nd i nt ended to expand their crop a creag e a nd i nc rea se
t~.e numoe r of thei r li vestock .
The non- agri cultur al fa~ ilies a ll
planned to continue a t occupat ions
other than farn: i n 6 . A fe,1 of t he
wo r ker s h oped to r eturn to the i r
usua l types of em~ loyrr;ent .
the
S 8r i ous p r ob l ems confront
agri cul tur al fcun ili es .
The dr ought
ana dust stor ~s of the past sever a l
years reveal
tl1at some of the l a nd
t~1ey occupy shou.ld p r obabl y never
have been put under cultivat io n but
should ~a ve been r etained as r a n ge
count ry . The l ack of cash resources
and the accwnulat i on of heavy d ebts
Digitized by
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NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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- 6-
a r e f u r t h e r obs t &,c l es to t he e3,r ly
r estora t i on of t h es e f ami l iE' s t o an
in depen dent s t a tus .
Tn ei r s nvi ngs
a r e a lmos t en tir ely go~e ; mos t of
t h e f ami li es hav e borro we d t o the
l imit on the i r life i ns~ranc e p olici es .
Unde r t h ese c i r cums t anc es ,
a s s i s t anc e, a t l ea s t i n t he f or m of
c r edi t ,
seems to be n ece s s ary f or
s ever al y e ars to c ome .
A c omp r ehen s i v e p r ogr am for me e t i ng t1.e nee ds of t hese af ri cultural
f ami l i es - dif fe ri ng in no i mpor t an t
r e spec ts fr om hun dreds of ot h er
rur al hou sehol ds i n South Dakot a -i s
s til l to b e dev el op ed . Les s tl1an
one- tent h of t h e c a s e s ~a d b een
ce rtif i ed a,s el igibl e fo r ernploymer. t
on the Wo r k s P r ogr am by Dec embe r 1.
Such empl oyri1en t , i n any E-ver. t, mi:iy
not be the mos t effi c i en t ~e t hod of
h el p ing f ar m ope r a to r s bec a~se it
t akes them away- f r om tl.1. e l ar,d 311d
ordi n a r ily does n ot solv e t he i r lo~g
t i me p roblems .
8131
The F.i1ral Res et t l '3n1en t Admi n i stra tio n , a cc ording to pr es ent i ndi c a tio ns , will acc ep t a numbe r of
rural r eli ef f a:nili e s a s II er.ie r g ency
c a se s 11 , bu t it i s n ot c er t a i n t ha t
C8,: 3S whi cL. hav e r ec ei Yed no r el i ef
sinc e J une or J uly wi l l b A el i gib l e.
Th e p r osp ec ts fo r effectiv e lo ca l
a s s i s t !lTlce t o f ami l ies of the typ e
c ov er ed i n this su r vey a re defi ni t el y un ce rt a iL .
Th eir
sub sis t enc e
noeds ar e l e ss cr it i c a l than t h ose
of h ous eho l ds wit~ n o empl oyable
membe r s .
Ca ses of t h e l a t te r type
have be en l ef t to st a te and local
c a re , and th ei r needs wi ll probabl y
r ece i v e fir s t cons i de r -<J,ti onv Pe r hal) S
t he s t a t e and cou nty au t hori tie s of
South Dak ot a c a-11. a1 s o c ar e for t he
employ ab l e c ase s cl osed f ro m the r el i ef r oll s l a s t summe r, but
the
amount of p ro ~er ty t ax deli nquenc i es
over t h e past sev er al y ea rs and t he
pro sp ec t s f or thei r fu r th er i nc r eas e
t h i s y ear r ender th e outlook a t
l ea s t uncert "li n .
Digitized by
Original from
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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8131
- 7-
Two Hund r ed Pnd Fourteen Cases :rte:noved f r om Relief
Classified AccordinF to Usua l Occ·,_10.i3 t i on?. .../ of Hee d ,
Te ble 1 .
- - - - - - - ·- -- - - • -
- - -
• -
· T- -
-
--
··- - • -
· -
·
·
Usual Oc..:\xoation
of Hea d
he:d d,=rnce
· ---·- - - - - -Total
Open
Village
B:0 1J_se h olc s
Country
-- - -·- -·
------
---- --- 214
Total
.Ag ricultu re
Fc1rm owner
fform tena.ntSJ.../
Fa r m l ab orer
Non-Agri ~ulture
1
11
' Whi t e Co lla r £/
3killed
3emi-skilled
Unskilled
138
195
86
95
14
1 85
83
10
91
4
11
3
19
3
16
3
4
3
5
4
3
4
3
5
7
e:./ UsUE l o ccupa tio n i s t h e same as current occupa t ion
fo r a ll nead ~; , with the exce p tion of 13 fa r m 9nd nonfa r m 18.borerc; w~10 \·,ere u 21e mp loyed throu6 hout t h e month
p re ce rLng the sn rvey , 2nd. 2 h e aas v.rh o r:.ave re ce n tly
changei occuuations .
Q}In cludes far: n :-e nters E,nd cr0poers .
..£/Include s ::p ro fe sr,ional , p rop rie t e ry, -"'nd cle rical wo r ker s .
Table 2 . ~wo Hu.!1d r ed nnd Fourt08n Cases Re~o ved f rom P.el ief ,
Classified Ac c ording to Numb a r of ?e rsons in House h old
and UsU2 l Occupat i on of H ~&d.
1
il;~b.". ~ .
I Tot r l
a
!
I
f . Househ O Ld.e__0 f .Ji:fle C in ed Si ze A V~ rag e
7 - 9 110 - l? Size of
4 - 6
1 - 3
eersons persons p er s on sj-r er s ons rtousehold
- - - ·--r-·- L
Usu.al Occupation
of gea d
0
II
7 -
.
I
I
Total
214
82
195
3G
95
14
73
31
Non-Agriculture
--
-- ---
I
95
31
6
4.4
86
7
30
1
f.
4. 5
5
4.7
1
4. 4
3. 9
,.
'1
Agriculture
Farm owner
Fa r m tens.nt
Fa rm labo r e r
I
19
- - - -- -- __ =-1=_ ___
36
6
~ 9~
l
~1~
3. 6
=±:.---=-=-=-===:-::.-=-==============~::.::--===-=-=--
Digitized by
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NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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- 88131
TA.llle 3 . Tiro Hund. r'3 d -':lild Four t ean Cases Removel f r om Rel i ef ,
Classif i ed Ac cu r 1 iri. !'; to P_g;e end Usu.a 1 O::c·c..:'."a tion of h8"'d
===
=-=-=- --= - - = = =-=--=-~--- - - 1-- --0
Usuo.l Occ-~:pa t ion
, tJ·wnb r; r: __U
f r1 He?-:4;c::: iin Sp,e c i f 1· e d 1~~ G~ o~1&p_:3- i Ave re g8
4 5 - ,1 :::i ... - i r 5
5
Total
n~ -ff 10..,- 3,a r:e
of Head .
- - - - - - - - - - --+--. --+_2_5_--1 24
44. ~~
ove r
of J:.ie a d
_
Tot3l
Agri culture
Farm owne r
FA.rm ten:::.nt
?9.rm l ab or e r
lJon-Ag ri cul t,.1re
214
11
5h
58
55
1 95
8f,
95
14
8
1
5
2
50
15
2Fi
53
21
30
2
53
28
25
19
3
5
2
27
7
42
25
lFi
I 8
1
h
5
1
43
47
40
31
2
1
37
J
I
~
j
I
·- ·===--
==========='===·a===·-
--
Tab le 4 . I ncome for Last .,I cnth of Re li e f (Jur.e or July) .cmd fo r
the Period .SAp tA moer 15 to October 15 of 2lle:../ Ca ses P.e ino ved
====f=r=c=
m=·=R=-e l ief , Clas s i fied Ac orn i!_l.d- ~ -~U.~~~f I nco ,ne _____ _
j Cs~ r; s Re po r t i n
Arno:uc'1t_Re12_~o_r_tA_,d._ __
! Pe rce!1 t ! Ave r a ~e
Sour ce of I ncome
I
~ ~re ~a tel
Nwnte r Per c'3 nt
I of 'totc1l 1 amount b/
a
.
! q;;1?unt_ lpe r ease-:-__
'
~r;~,mt
I
Last Mo nth
- of
--- Relief
--To t c1l
EEA Re li_ef
Non - ERA Ass i 3 t a nee
P r i vat e I nco"Ile
211
211
110
93
100
l GO
52
44
~5 , 815
I 4 , 299
·,
~f 9
1 , 247
I
100
74
5
21
. $27 . 56
20 . 37
1. 27
1
5 . 91
100
1 5 . 20
. Jl
14 . 2<J
!
Se:Qt . 1 5 - Oc t , 15
Total
Non- ERA As 3i stance
P ri V E, t e I ncome
!
174
12
170
83
n
81
I
I 3 , 1207
92
I 3 , 0 15
F,
94
_
__
__ _
- --~
- -=-=--===-===
--------__j_-_ _-·-_ ····--·- -·-1 --~
·- ·- - --
§;} co,n!) l8te i ncorr,e da ta n0t a.sce rt &i nr.b le for 3 cese:o .
Q/Averages a re ba s e d on 211 cq3e3 .
Digitized by
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NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
8131
- 9-
Ta-b l~ / 5 . Debts (Othe r than Real Estate Mortgage:;) RP-po r ted by
213:::.. Cases Removed f rom Relief , Cla3sified by T;,-pe of Debt
Type of Debt
Numbe r
Total Sho rt Te r m DebtsQ/
Farm o~e r 2 t i ng loansd
and e.xpense s
In terest arr ea r s
Texes a rre2 r s
Re nt
Med i cal c,c:1 re
Grocerie3
Othe r
==========
Debts
Ave ra t e
-,------, De b t per
Per cent
.Amount %of
Case
of Total
R~
r t in g
----r----97
206
$1,124
78
153 , 0 4
l FF,
E6
7
32
43
16 , 48
120
56
1 2 , 18.·
5
7
71
33
14 , 637
1 17
55
11, 85
5
78
37
2, 55
1
79
37
20 , 77C
9
::..:~~
;==--:.::·===__]_ ·---==
--=-==-=-=-========
---
=
922
179
10 2
206
101
33
263
~/Data on detts not ascertainable for one case .
Q/Includes debts tot9ll i ng $7 , G50 which were contract ed by 95 ca s es
s in ce a dmini s trative closings .
.Q/Includes feed and se ed lo2n s , chattel rr.or tgage s held by i ndividuals ,
banks , r-upply merc.i.wnts , etc ., and farm operat ing expense debts not
secured by cnattels .
Table Fi . Debt s (Other t han Real E$ t a te Mortgages) and Ca::,h
Ass et s~/ of 17r=,Q/ Farm Onerator s Re~oved fro m Ral i ef
::::lassified Acco:ro i 11g to 1'e. n-u.re Status
-=========-== -= -
. - · ·-·- ·- ==-=-=-==';'
-"===--=;=-=-=-=--Med ian
Ce s c s_ ~1eportin&_j 1,; c;roea te Ave r age
---r .
fNo . cas es
_________I ____
j r ,3p r8 -
,__
::ien te d
Short Term Debtn:
Tot a l
Farm owne r:-,
Farm t e n3.nt::i
I
Ca sh Asset::, :
'Iot2l
Far m owner::;
Fa r m tenants
-- - ·
No .
I
?e r sent ~rinount
.,._
I
j
I
172
84,
j 8c3
i
I
98
100
96
176
84
94
I
53
92
47
17F,
84
92
1·
47
I
II
i
pe r case
repo rting
I
56
51
j $217 , 150
11 9 , 20 9
97 , 41
l
11 ,521
6,Fi 72
4 , 849
II
$1,263
1 , 419
1,113
880
1 , 06 5
848
123
142
103
68
60
100
= - = - - - - - --- - - - · _ _I - - -···- --·
--=--=--=--=-======
·- fi./ I nclud ing cash on hand c=ind e:irnected i ncom9 f r om sale of crops and
li ve stock during the remainder of th~ yea r .
Q/ Complet e data on debts and cash a sset::; not ava ilable fo r 2 f a rm
owne r ::; and 3 farm tenant3 .
Digitized by
Original from
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Digitized by
Original from
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
@FedFRASER