In 1910 the Associated Charities, a group that tried to address the problems of the poor in Bloomington-Normal, published a report of their work that year. The work was performed by non professionals for the most part -- with their own prejudices. Friendly visitors were assigned to visit poor families every two weeks. Several families had been earmarked as being in need of visits, but many of their targets made it clear that the visits were unwelcome and part of the work was not completed.
The visitor report in this publication reported on the work with just one family, which was composed of one older, crippled woman (Mrs. L.) who lived with her lame 19 year old son and a 3 year old grandson. (She had been deserted by her husband a few years earlier) Mrs. L was essentially unable to leave the dilapidated shack, which was heavily mortgaged. Her son worked a part time job and was the only support for her and the grandson. She had two married sons and one married daughter living in Bloomington, but according to the visitor, none of her offspring were willing to help this woman except the two unmarried daughters, one of whom had left town for parts unknown and the 19 year old, who had a very low paying job. The visitor was indignant that the children did not support their mother, but failed to address whether the married children had any actual ability to do so.
The 19 year old was working in a local factory, where he received one dollar a day, but was frequently laid off. As part of her work the visitor spoke to the factory owner about the situation of the young man. As a result, he was given a full time job at seven dollars a week. The St. Louis Federal Reserve website has economic data showing the Union Scale wages for various periods of history in different regions of the United States. In Chicago, union wages per hour varied between 29 cents and 33 cents per hour between 1907 and 1912. Even given the possible difference in cost of living between Bloomington and Chicago, this boy was making a low wage for the time, especially considering he would have been working 5 and a 1/2 days a week. What a bargain for McLean County factory owners -- their products sold all over the country, but their labor costs seem very low. However, when told of this young man's situation, the factory owner was willing to make a significant change in his employment and should be given credit for this amount of generosity.
In 1915 the Cleveland Foundation, a community charity, suggested this budget for a family of five:
$28 a month for food.
$4 for utilities, including fuel, light and ice for the ice box
$1 for insurance, presumably life insurance.
$1.50 a month for streetcars.
$9 a month for everyone's clothing needs.
$1 a month for general household expenses
Seven dollars a week was not going to be enough for these three people who lived in a heavily mortgaged home.
A third daughter of this woman was the mother of the illegitimate grandchild and was a maid in a local hospital, working for $2.50 a week. Her wage would have been so low because 1) she was performing unskilled labor, 2) she was a woman and 3) she would have been living in the hospital (thus her child was living with the grandmother and not his mother). She was willing to share her wages with her mother. The daughter however, was expecting a second illegitimate child, and the visitor thought she could ill spare her wages, which would barely support her. The visitor did say that the unmarried daughter was being "carefully guarded from further temptation and downfall." She was probably being lectured about her life choices and urged to go to church.
The report was supposedly enumerating the services that were extended to this woman by the Associated Charities. No mention was made of foodstuffs given to her, milk for the child, or medical care for the woman. Why was she crippled? Why was her home so heavily mortgaged? The visitor's work seemed to be a matter of haranguing the married children, coaxing the factory owner to give the son steady employment and "guarding" the unmarried daughter from premarital sex.
This was the state of social services at the time. The work was the unpaid labor of women, except for the police matron and the Officer of the Humane Society, who was an attorney. All of the workers were non professionals, except the attorney and the work was performed when the visitors found time from the household duties and social affairs. The women would have been the more affluent women of the community, who had the social capital to give them the influence to urge others to donate time and money to the work and the leisure to perform the work. They may not have understood the problems the women faced, never having experienced poverty and the living conditions poor people experienced. Of course the poor people resented being told how to live their lives, and were sometimes hostile toward the "friendly visitors."