"It is only," says Dr. Devine, "when individuals or individual families for personal or exceptional or temporary reasons fall below the standard, that charitable assistance can effectively intervene. In other words, as has been pointed out in other connections, the relieving policy cannot be made to raise the general standard of living, but it should be so established as not to depress it"[35]. Here, then, the point is, whether those who are otherwise able to come up to the standard of living in a given community take advantage of this form of charity, or whether the customers of the Salvation Army's stores are living below that standard. To just the extent that the former is true, this part of the work would be pauperizing and retrogressive, but we do not consider the former to be true. Naturally, we have no statistics on this point, but speaking from general observation, we should say that the customers of these stores are needy poor, who are living below the standard, and hence, the store is a boon to them in aiding them toward a realization of that standard. Let us now sum up our conclusions regarding the industrial work of the Army. Regarding the industrial colonies, we would say that, while doubtless responsible for good and reformation in certain cases, nevertheless, owing to their cost of maintenance and the fact that the work can be done without them, they are not a practical form of charity deserving the intelligent support of the public. Regarding the city industrial work, including the employment, amid a good environment, of men out of work, including also the turning of much otherwise waste matter into an economic good, and the assistance of deserving poor by means of second-hand stores, we would say that it is commendable and deserving of support. This latter conclusion is made in spite of three objections: first, that there is a tendency to lower wages, which objection we do not consider as important for reasons given; second, that underselling of certain commodities by the Army takes place, which objection we admit to a limited extent, and third, that the standard of living is interfered with, which objection we do not consider valid. Examples of Men in the Army Industrial Homes.