Poor Man’s Income

IT is interesting to find out what is the average income of a poor man in India having a family and children to support. In Madras, some sort of investigation was made by a Sociology Society recently, the results of which have been discussed. One investigator has come to the conclusion that “for a labourer and his family, to keep up an average amount to efficiency, the annual income must be at least Rs. 230. If the income is below this, either the family must suffer or it must simply leave the city.” This does not mean that a good many labouring people who live in Madras earn this amount. There must be tens of thousands of the very poor people who earn Rs. 100 or less a year and are unable to feed and dress and live efficiently on their earnings.