Although not claiming exact accuracy, such figures afford strong evidence that the volume of poverty in Britain has continued to diminish throughout the first quarter of the 20th century. Prob ably the proportion of the population living below the primary poverty line in 1925 was less than half the proportion in 2900. At the same time the gravity of the position should not be under estimated. Taking 6.5% of the working-class population as rep resenting 4% of the total population, we had in 1924 in the Brit ish Isles practically 2,000,000 persons living below the standard necessary for the maintenance of mere physical efficiency. More over, the number of different individuals who at one time or other fall below the poverty line is much greater than those who fall below it at a given moment.
From the national standpoint it is serious that in any given family the period of greatest want occurs before any of the chil dren begin to earn. At that time those living near the poverty line are liable to fall below it, and the stress is most severe upon the younger children, and women who are bearing children. Accord ing to Bowley and Hogg, even in our improved post-war con ditions, more than one child in six lives below the poverty line at some period, while a smaller proportion of children live below it for many years together.
Nevertheless, there has certainly been a striking reduction in the proportion of primary poverty. One of the outstanding char acteristics of post-war conditions is the rise in the real wages of the lowest paid labour. Between 1913 and 1924 the wages of un skilled labour approximately doubled, whilst the cost of living was only 70% higher. A second characteristic is the reduction in
the average size of the family. The census figures of 1921 showed the average number of children under 14 years of age per "family" to be 1.12 against 1.29 in 1911. Thus, the effect of increased wages in reducing poverty appears to be twice as great as the reduction in the size of families.
All the above figures refer to Great Britain only. There are no comparable figures for other countries--though undoubtedly the proportion of people below the poverty line is less in the British Dominions and in the United States than in Great Britain. It may possibly be less in Holland, Denmark and Switzerland; but, in the absence of figures, this is only guess-work. It is almost cer tainly greater in the other European countries, while in Japan, China and India it is enormously greater, even after making full allowance for differences in climate and national customs. To raise the standard of living in the East is perhaps the most urgent material task confronting civilisation.