The incomes received after the disaster did not differ widely from those received before, though a larger number, it is seen, reported having merely a scant living.
Seventy-five per cent of the men in the grant and loan group worked for wages or on a monthly salary before the fire. They include artisans, men of ordinary skill, and laborers, engaged in 87 different industries. Of the 670 wage-earning or salaried men for whom data were tabulated 16 were employed in professional service, 230 in personal and domestic service, 254 in manufacturing or mechanical pursuits, and 170 in trade, transportation, or miscellaneous occupations. The wages received ranged from $25 to $200 per month. Two hundred and eighteen men received larger wages before the fire than after, but the reverse was true in 285 cases. The indication is that the abnormal conditions had made no great change in the earnings for the two and a half years after the fire.
As in the other groups, the incomes here considered are based upon the nominal wage, for no estimate of the irregularity in the employment, either before or after the disaster, could be obtained. During the period immediately following the earthquake, many men of this group could not secure steady employment. The family incomes, therefore, were for a time very meager.
Before the fire seven of the women were occupied in professional work, 137 in personal and domestic service, 15 in trades, and 51 in manufactures,—a total of 210 women[214] who received incomes with which to support themselves wholly or in part. About half worked outside their own homes, and about half, working within or without, had a business or a profession of their own. The largest single occupation was that of letting rooms.
[214] See [Table 88], [p. 264].
While the number of women that contributed to the family income decreased after the fire, from 210 to 133, the amount of income remained practically the same, and the nature of their employment did not vary to any great extent. The fact that fewer families had housing space for lodgers probably accounts for the decrease in the number of women contributors after the disaster.
With reference to the family income as a whole, a comparison of incomes of the 896 families before and after the disaster shows that 252 families had a greater income before, 347 a greater income afterwards; 129 families could show no change in income. Of the remainder, 66 did not know whether there was variation, and two refused to give the information. On the whole, the Relief Survey showed that a large majority of these applicants had, at the time of the investigation, adjusted themselves to conditions so that they were on a normal basis and were earning practically the same amounts as before the disaster.
TABLE 88.—MONTHLY INCOME BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRE OF WOMEN IN FAMILIES RECEIVING AID UNDER THE GRANT AND LOAN PLAN[215]
| Monthly income | WOMEN HAVING MONTHLY INCOMES AS SPECIFIED | |
|---|---|---|
| Before fire | After fire | |
| Less than $20 | 45 | 30 |
| $20 and less than $30 | 46 | 28 |
| $30 and less than $40 | 47 | 26 |
| $40 and less than $50 | 22 | 14 |
| $50 and less than $60 | 15 | 11 |
| $60 and over | 28 | 11 |
| “Made a living” | 2 | 9 |
| “Aided husband” | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 208 | 132 |
[215] Of the 210 women who had incomes before the fire two refused to supply information relative to income. Only 133 of the 210 women had incomes after the fire, and of these one refused to supply information relative to income.