Poor Law statistics. While in many ways the conditions of the working classes improved during the second half of the nineteenth century, it cannot be admitted that the technical reduction in pauperism is a true index of the improvement. The figures of "legal pauperism" tend to give too rosy a view of the real situation. Owing to insufficient information as to the extent of true destitution, one must rely to a large extent on Poor Law and similar statistics for material relating to the problem. Yet the caution that these statistics under-estimate the gravity of the situation cannot be stressed too much. The Poverty The question as to what constitutes the poverty line, i.e. the level of income below which a man is in poverty, has for long exercised the minds of social reformers and statisticians, but the estimates have varied widely. This is to be expected, having regard to the variance of opinion on what the term "poverty" really signifies. Thus the poverty line of one investigator rules out anything over and above the bare minimum of existence; that of another would take in a fair proportion of the comforts of life. Of the inquiries into poverty conditions in different towns, the best-known are those of Booth, Rowntree, and Bowley and BurnettHurst, whose general findings are considered later. Most of the reports, however, on the subject of the poverty line are now a matter of history, and as economic conditions have so materially altered in the last few years no useful purpose would be served by attempting to apply the majority of those estimates to present conditions, unless important modifications were made. But such investigations are still useful in that they furnish a basis for further inquiry, especially with regard to method. Investigators into poverty and pauperism now and in the future can gain valuable hints from the published reports of their predecessors as to the proper lines to pursue and the pitfalls to avoid. In investigations into the nature and extent of poverty it is necessary to obtain information on many points, of which the following, perhaps, are the most important. Requisite (a) Wages. This is obviously the first information to secure. But nominal or money wages do not mean anything without reference to (b) Prices. The necessaries of life should alone be considered, and it is advisable to refer where possible to retail rather than to wholesale figures. It is only in recent years that a cost of living" as well as a "wholesale" index number has been constructed.* The cost of travelling to the place of work is also an important factor, especially in large towns. (c) Rent. Statistics of rent are not so generally representative as those of wages and prices. They are more subject to local conditions and are arbitrary. While rents in London are at least 25 per cent. higher than in any other English town, the prices of goods are often lower than elsewhere.† (d) Dependants. The number of dependants manifestly affects a person's standard of life: an income which would maintain a single man in decent comfort might spell poverty for a married man with several children. Statistics of other dependants-aged relatives, etc.are also necessary but are more difficult to secure. * See below pp.68-9 for account of index numbers. more † It has been maintained by some authorities that rents and prices tend to be regarded as a single unit, and that if one part is low the other tends to be high, and vice versa. towns, rents are relatively low and prices above, the reverse is the case in London. many exceptions. In many provincial high, while, as stated There are, of course, (e) Regularity of work. This is of utmost importance; estimates based on earnings at a particular time may be wide of the mark, especially in the casual and seasonal trades. Even if the aggregate earnings over a period are known, they cannot be strictly compared with a similar sum earned in regular amounts by other workers. Precariousness in income has usually a detrimental effect on a person's manner of expenditure, and even on his character. Of two men with equal gross incomes, one man may be in destitution while another manages to carry ondue partly to the difference in regularity of the income and the manner of spending it. (f) Extent of State subvention. The extent of State subvention is increasing, but it does not apply equally to all families. State aid in the form of old age pensions, meals for school children, provision of maternity centres, etc., should all be taken into account. Booth's Booth conducted his investigation into London conditions mainly during 1886-8, and his conclusions, therefore, would not apply to the conditions in London at the present time. His methods of inquiry and classification, however, are still of interest. With the help of School Board visitors, Booth inquired into thousands of cases, obtaining information on the extent and regularity of income, the family budget (over a period of five weeks), and other matters. (He relied too much on family enquiry, with the result that his conclusions were not truly applicable to non-family people.) He drew the poverty line at 21s. His well-known classification of the people of London is of more than historical * Booth: Life and Labour of the People of London, 1891. value, especially as regards the proportions of the several classes. He divided the people into eight groups : A The lowest class of occasional labourers, loafers those verging on the criminal type. B Casual earnings-the "very poor." C Intermittent earnings D Small regular earnings together the " poor." E Regular standard earnings. F Higher class labour. G Lower middle class. H Upper middle class and above. The divisions indicated here by 'poor' and' very poor' are necessarily arbitrary. By the word 'poor' I mean to describe those who have a sufficiently regular though bare income, such as 18s. to 21s. per week for a moderate family, and by 'very poor' those who from any cause fall much below this standard. The 'poor' are those whose means may be sufficient, but barely sufficient, for decent independent life; the very poor' those whose means are insufficient for this according to the usual standard of life in this country. The 'poor' may be described as living under a struggle to obtain the necessaries of life and make both ends meet; while the 'very poor' live in a state of chronic want." Booth distributed the population of London among the eight classes as follows: Classes A and B constitute 8.4 per cent in actual distress, and this percentage will be taken for purposes of comparison with the results of later inquiries. How to deal with class B is one of the most difficult questions in Social Economics. An investigation into conditions in York was made by Rowntree in 1899. He caused every houseRowntree's hold to be visited, and made more allowance Investigation.* than Booth for differences in the size of a family, recognising that immoderate families might drop into a grade lower than that first indicated by the family income. His classification was in many ways similar to Booth's. A. Total family income under 18s. for a moderate family. B. Total family income 18s. and under 21s. for a moderate family. C. Total family income 21s. and under 30s. for a moderate family. D. Total family income over 30s. for a moderate family. E. Domestic servants. F. Servant-keeping class. G. Persons in public institutions. By a moderate family" is here intended a family consisting of father, mother, and from two to four children.† In classifying, allowance was made for families which were smaller or larger than such moderate" families. Thus, if a family had an income of 22s., and consisted of * Rowntree, Poverty, A Study of Town Life, 1901. † According to the 1891 Census, the average number of persons per family in England and Wales was about five persons (4°73). The "moderate family here taken as a basis for classification allows for a margin of one person above or below this average |