WHAT WOMEN SPEND IN CLOTHES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 7, 9 January 1912, Page 2

WHAT WOMEN SPEND IN CLOTHES.

HALF A DAIRYMAID'S SALARY GOES ON DRESS. In a book issued by the British Board of Trade appear some interesting details as to how working women and girls spend their wages. Since the summer of 1909 various women's societies have been inducing wageearners to send in weekly detailed accounts of their expenditure to the Labour Department, and the information published relates to thirty correspondents. The average weekly income ranged from 28s lOIJd to 46 10id, the latter being earned by a girl of seventeen. Sho lives with her mother.^ and her average weekly expenditure in given as follows ; — c. d. Towards board and lodging, it home i v... ... ... 3 02 Dresi 1 4 Holidays and picnics ... ... ] Insurance ... 2£ Pocket money 2 Sir G. R. Aekwith points out in an introduotion to the volume that "nearly all living at home with parents were quite self -supporting ; some paid considerably more than, their cost to their parents." There are one or two glaring cases, however, to the contrary. One is that of a^ cotton-winder, living at home with a widowed mother. She gives all her wages •(120 7jfd" a week) to her toother,' and receives from' her^ everything she 'needs. And this is how it works out each week : Board and lodging ... 1 11§ Food away from home (5 dinners) 2 4£ Fares to work, etc. 10J Dress „._ 4 1 Holidays, picnics, and amusements 11£ -Educational 9j Books and papers ... „ .. ... 3 Stamps and stationery ...' ... Zi Presents and collections ... ... 5£ Trade union ... ... ... ... 6 Miscellaneous ... \ 1$ "Dress figures largely, indeed, in nearly all the accounts. A dairymaid, for instance, who gets 7s 5Jd a week, spends' 3s Bid a week on drees^— £9 11s 3d out' of a total of £19 9s. MORE WAGES, -MORE FOOD. One of the .most interesting accounts is that of a, booksewer machinist, who shares expenses with" two sisters. Each quarter the income increased, and there was a coincident rise in the amount spent on food. Tho 'following was, the amount of income per head on food: — " - , "Food. Income, s. d. c. d. First quarter «< ».. 3- 6i 8 7 Second quarter ... ... 3 9i 8 84 Third quarter 4 5f 9 7f Fourth quarter ... - ... 5 2j 9 8§ The weekly average of 4s 3id per head was spent as under: — c. d. Bread, flour 1 , eto. ... us ... 011 Fish and . meat , ... 0 101 Eggs, butter, dripping, eto. ... 1 4* Vegetables and fruit ... ... 0 5| Tea, 1 coffee, and coooa ... 1 ... 0 4 Sugar, preserves, eto. 0 3i Although one' sister was in delicate health, and another had influenza, nothing was spent on medical attendance, and only ls> ll£d on medicine in the year. Tho generosity and kind-heartedness of the women and girls is repeatedly manifested in ' the accounts. One girls' expences included: — Two new shirts for sick boy, who s. d. met with an accident ... .... 511 Flowers, fruit, and biscuits for him 1 6 To help a poor woman 5 0 Bolton Colliery Disaster Fund ... 2 0 Tho Board of Trade wish for more people to send in weekly accounts in order to find out : — The advantages received by a girl living at home. Increased cost of living ,and decreased social opportunities of self-supporting women wwhetn t excluded from family life. _ Deficiency in food, clothing, etc., necessitated I y low wages. 1 Relative importance to the worker herself of ' tho present compared with the future ; of dress compared with food ; of decency compared ifcith warmth; of giving to friends compared with saving for oneself.