Individual letters will be addressed to families of married salaried employees living in rented premises snd within certain income ranges, Inviting them to ce-operate in this community effort. During this week, firms. institutions and. organizations will be asked to give the names and home addresses and nationalities. of foreign married employees to whom letters of invitation will be sent. There wil be no cost. to the cooperators who will be asked to keep records of their expenditures during year in record books specially ared for Shanghai conditions, "No names will be used: the names of those ce-operating will not divulged. All information supplice will of course be kept strictly con-Adential.
The letters "of invitation "will asia the homemaker to fill in a card and return it to the Industrial Section fof the Council, which has been instructed te carry out the work. Full directions will then be mailed, The Industrial Section confidently looks forward to being joined by several hundred families in this study, and hopes to make the personal acquaintance of ce-operators in the neat future.
Why Study Necessary Why is the study of income and expenditure necessary? Because it Grst necessary to know the relative Importance of commodities and services purchased in the average [Shanghai budget. Then, as prices of these move from month to month by differing amounts and in. different directions, the total effect on living costs be worked out. By any other way, attempts to assess increases costs of living are mere guesses.
The average family uses many more items than would be thought. Certainly several hundred, The Chinese working class families ware found to use over $00 items. The [most important are discovered, and the price changes in these followed.
The official study can be made only it the householders keep records and send then: in. It is felt that oner this is understood, assistance will be forthcoming.
Index figures for the cost of living for Chinese working class famille: are published monthly in th "Municipal Gazette."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.