grew deeper. Although private contributions grew steadily in
the early years of the depression, their comparative importance
dwindled due to the even larger increases in local public expen-
ditures. This fact is brought out clearly through an examina-
tion of statistics furnished through the Children's Bureau. The
statistics cover relief expenditures from January 1929 through
1932 of public and private agencies in 120 major city areas.
The urban areas represented in these series include 99 cities
with populations over 100,000 in 1930 and 21 cities with popu-
lations between 50,000 and 100,000. They represent two-thirds
of the total urban and somewhat more than one-third of the
total population of the United States. The following table indi-
cates that although private relief increased fivefold between
1929 and 1932, expenditures by public agencies for general
relief were approximately twice as large as those of private
agencies in 1930 and about four times as large in 1932.

Unfortunately, there are no reliable statistics for the country
as a whole to show the full magnitude of the relief problem of
1930 through 1932. Accurate figures on expenditures and num-
bers aided are both lacking. The table on expenditures on the
following page, although limited in scope, gives some idea of
the tremendous increase in costs of relief. Statistics on num-
bers receiving relief are limited to certain areas. Some indica-
tion of the rapid growth of the problem can be had, however,
by reciting statistics furnished to the Children's Bureau by 108
public agencies in 70 urban areas. The combined totals for these
areas show 52,698 families and single persons receiving relief
from public funds in December 1929. By December 1930, the
totals had reached 141,640. For December 1931 and 1932
respectively, the totals were 288,119 and 666,370. ¹⁹

The quality of relief offered in the early years of the 1929
depression naturally varied widely from area to area in the
United States. In those sections where strong and well-organ-

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