35 
One of the most significant things brought out in Table 11 is the 
downward trend in the percentage of the total value or cost of 
living devoted to food, apparently most pronounced with the farm 
families. Another interesting thing is the upward trend of the per- 
centage for clothing, probably most pronounced and most regular 
with the industrial families studied in 1918. There is a noticeable 
downward trend in the percentages for rent with the industrial 
families studied in 1918, in comparison with practically no trend in 
either direction with the other industrial families or the farm fam- 
ilies. Another similarity is the upward trend in the combined per- 
centages for all other purposes for the three groups of families. 
In general, the trend of the distribution of the value of goods 
used by the 2,886 farm families is the same as for the 11,156 work- 
ingmen's families studied by the Commissioner of Labor in 1902, 
and it is about the same as for the 12,096 families studied in 1918, 
except the percentage for rent which decreased rather regularly with 
a rise in the average cost of living per family with the 12,096 work- 
ingmen's families. 
RELATION OF SELECTED FACTORS TO THE STANDARD OF LIVING 
By way of recapitulation, the analysis thus far embodies an at- 
tempt to determine the standard of living which the farm family 
enjoys. Primarily the standard of living has been defined and de- 
scribed in terms of " the value of economic goods used, the distribu- 
tion of this value among the principal groups of goods and the 
percentage of the total value of these goods furnished by the farm 
and purchased." Comparisons of the standards of living of fam- 
ilies of different districts, different tenures, and different occupa- 
tions, have been made in so far as data are available. 
It would be of interest if the data at hand could be made to show 
some of the factors which are most closely related to the standard 
of living. It would be of further interest if the data could be used 
to indicate something of the relation of success in farming, and con- 
sequently of the ability to provide the standard of living desired by 
the farm family. 
Many advocates of a higher standard of living among farm fam- 
ilies hold that, if the farmer's income could be increased, the standard 
of living of his family would rise accordingly. It is doubtless true, 
generally, that increased incomes are reflected in higher standards 
of living. This does not mean, however, that increased incomes pro- 
duce the higher standards of living. It may mean that they make 
possible of attainment the higher standards of living previously 
recognized as desirable or essential. 
Briefly, the question of whether the standard of living is de- 
termined by income or whether the standard of living is the dynamic 
factor influencing the income calls for further analysis of the in- 
formation available. The data on some of the factors selected for 
consideration of their relation to the standard of living are limited 
to less than the total number of families represented in the foregoing 
summary. The results of tabulation with regard to each factor are 
for the number of families giving the information on the factor 
involved. 
For convenience the factors selected for study of their relation to 
the standard of living are grouped under three heads: (1) Those 
