Living on "Six Cents a Day"

People who lived through the 1930s still talk about living on "six cents a day." This comes from one attempt to set a single rate of relief. This was done in the fall of 1931 and the winter of 1932.⁵ It was called the Magor ration after R.J. Magor, a man hired to cut costs in several areas of government. The Magor ration was made up of the items listed below.

25 lbs. of flour
1 qt. of molasses
3 3/4 lbs. fat back pork
2 lbs. beans
1 lb. split peas
2 lbs. corn meal
3/4 lb. cocoa

This was the most an adult could get for a month. A relief officer could decide to give a person less. Children got lower rations. In St. John's, vegetables were added to the list. In the outports, people were expected to grow their own. Some plans were made to provide milk for children. The cost of relief changed from place to place. But the government figured the Magor ration would cost about $1.80 a month for people in the outports. This is where the idea of "six cents a day" comes from.

Whenever there is great hardship, and many people are poor and need public assistance, there is much talk about the issues. People ask: who is really poor? who really needs assistance? why can't they work for a living? Sometimes people are blamed for their poverty. Sometimes, both government officials and the public talk about those who "deserve" help, and those who don't deserve it. This idea of the "deserving" and the "undeserving" poor has been with us for a long time. Today we often hear talk about people on welfare "abusing the system." This kind of talk was just as common in the 1930s as it is today. Mr. Magor had a lot to say about abuse.