HOW THE COTTON FARMER LIVES 241 



worth while to examine the bearing such a charge has 

 on the farmer's standard of living. A likely procedure 

 in arriving at real expenditures would be as follows: In 

 the budget of farmer's living during the growing season 

 on consumption credit, the items headed "family living 

 purchased" should be credited to the family living at 

 from 75 to 85 per cent of their money value. In other 

 words, if the family while making the crop ran an ac- 

 count of $100 at a supply store, they may be considered 

 as having consumed $75 to $85 worth of goods. The 

 other has been paid for interest charges. To this extent 

 the figures given us on livings of southern farmers are 

 padded with high interest charges that do not represent 

 goods consumed. For example, the average amount of 

 credit advanced to 1,330 Negro families on cotton plan- 

 tations in 1920 and 1921 was previously cited at $289 

 for croppers and $555 for tenants. It may be safely as- 

 sumed that these families consumed goods to the value 

 of from 75 to 80 per cent of the sums mentioned, the 

 remaining being interest charges. This fact must be re- 

 garded as of particular importance, because the lower 

 income groups, such as the croppers, tend to buy a large 

 percentage of their food and are less able to pay cash 

 for it. It is thus extremely likely that their living stand- 

 ards are even lower than the low figures secured suggest. 

 It is desirable that future standards of living, studies 

 among farmers in the South take this factor into account 

 and estimate the percentage of the living that is bought 

 on a time basis. At that, such a study will leave out 

 of consideration the poverty of resources of the small 

 town store in supplying a varied and healthful dietary. 

 It may also be suggested that clothing cost will be found 

 less likely in the Cotton Belt to come under merchant 



