FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS OCTOBER, 1919

Research Report Number 22 November, 1919

Copyright 1919

National Industrial Conference Board 15 Beacon Street Boston, Mass.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Foreword vii

Purpose of the Investigation 1

Method 1

Fall River and Its People 2

Cost of Living in October, 1919 3

Food 3

Shelter 6

Clothing 6

Fuel, Heat and Light 8

Sundries 9

The Complete Budget 11

Increase in the Cost of Living Since 1914 13

Food 13

Shelter 13

Clothing 14

Fuel, Heat and Light 14

Sundries 15

The Complete Budget 15

Conclusion 17

LIST OF TABLES

PAGE

Table 1: Minimum Food Budget for a Week for a Man, Wife and Three Children under Fourteen Years of Age, Fall River, Massachusetts, October, 1919 4

Table 2: More Liberal Weekly Food Budget for a Man, Wife and Three Children under Fourteen Years of Age in Fall River, Massachusetts, October, 1919 5

Table 3: Cost of a Liberal Allowance of Clothing for a Year for a Man, Wife and Three Children under Fourteen Years of Age in Fall River, Massachusetts, at Prices Prevailing in October, 1919 7

Table 4: Average Cost of Sundries in Fall River, Massachusetts, October, 1919 11

Table 5: Average Cost of Living for a Man, Wife and Three Children under Fourteen Years of Age in Fall River, Massachusetts, October, 1919 12

Table 6: Average Increase between October, 1914, and October, 1919, in the Cost of Living for a Man, Wife and Three Children under Fourteen Years of Age in Fall River, Massachusetts 15

Table 7: Comparison of Distribution of Expenditures for the Separate Budget Items in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1914 and 1919, with the Average Distribution in the Country as a Whole in 1914 16

Foreword

THE accompanying study of the cost of living among wage-earners in Fall River, Massachusetts, aims to establish the cost of maintaining a wage-earner's family at a minimum but reasonable standard of living in this textile manufacturing center; also the cost of maintaining such a family at a somewhat better standard.

The Board has already made several broad surveys of changes in the cost of living in American wage-earning communities since the outbreak of the World War in July, 1914. These cover the entire country and are designed to bring out the extent of change during the periods studied, not the actual cost of living. The results of the present investigation in Fall River, made independently of these broader surveys, throw an interesting sidelight on the wider studies and also permit of a valuable check on them.

It is intended to make similar intensive studies from time to time in other representative industrial communities.