Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 135, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1915 — DEBT AND POVERTY. [ARTICLE]

DEBT AND POVERTY.

Inquiry by Massachusetts Board Reveals Distressing Conditions. That many people are living beyond their means seems settled by the evidence gathered by the Massachusetts State Bureau of Labor Statistics. It relates to non-collectible indebtedness as found from an investigation among dealers in groceries, clothing, furniture and real estate in the city of Boston. The conclusion seems to be warranted, says the report, that no less than 10 per cent of the people of Boston are owing for such necessaries of living as clothing and food, which debts are held by the dealers as hopelessly non-collectible, for this was the only kind of indebtedness considered in the inquiry. There is no reason to believe that the people of Boston are any more extravagant than those of other cities, and doubtless similar conditions exist everywhere. The question is: What makes these people contract debts they cannot pay? Our boasted prosperity must be a myth to at least 10 per cent of the people, for to be in debt that one cannot pay' is not prosperity, but disaster. As much more than half of this indebtedness stands against the wage-earn-ing class, it implies that conditions of labor compensation are insufficient to meet the bare necessities of living.