ABSTRACT
T h is survey was designed as a contribution to our knowledge of poverty, its incidence, and causes. Poverty is a product of many variables, and the real significance of any ascertained volume of it is apparent only if it is understood as an expression of a complex of economic and other social forces. The study therefore goes beyond the immediate facts relating to it, and investigates some of the factors which have influenced the growth of population, the earning strength of families, and the elements of costs which attract and repel industries. But the investigations were also extended to include an examination of certain socially depressed groups, the composition of family incomes, means tests, etc., as well as certain aspects of retail distribution and crime. For the real strength and weakness of our social services will not be known without a careful study of their operation in economically diverse areas.
