CONFLICT AND RECONSTRUCTION 61

(d) Contributions to churches and labor or beneficial
organizations;
Simple amusements, such as the moving picture once
in a while, occasional street-car rides for pleasure,
some Christmas gifts for the children, etc.
(f) Daily newspaper.

(e)

THE STANDARD FAMILY
This budget has been worked out for a family consisting
of husband, wife, and three dependent children—a boy of
11, a girl of 5, and a boy of 2 years of age. The number in
the family and the ages of the children conform closely to
the standards used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and
other investigators in the past. The determining factor in
selecting the standard family, however, was the fact that a
family of this particular size and composition represents
actual existing families in the United States. The average
number in the white families scheduled by the Board of
Labor Statistics was 4.9 individuals (equivalent to 3.33 adult
males), which corresponds very closely with the standard
family of 5 individuals (equivalent to 3.35 adult males).
The assumption that the three children of the family are,
respectively, a boy aged 2 years, a girl aged 5 years, and a
boy aged 11 years, is, of course, arbitrary and is solely for
the purpose of making precise calculations as to food and
clothing consumption. The children in this standard family
are growing children, not yet able to add anything to the
family income, and not so expensive to maintain as they will
become a few years later. This standard family is about
half way between the family with no children and the family
with grown children capable of self-support.

BupcGeT oF HeaLTH AND DECENCY Not
INTENDED AS AN IDEAL
It needs to be emphasized that the budget level adopted
n the present study is in no way intended as an ideal budget.
[t was intended to establish a bottom level of health and