Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-11-12
AN ERICAN INCOM rs.
The Average Duration or Fortunes
Figures OF the Income TnN.
IIarpcrs magazine

The Average Duration OF Fortunes
Figures OF the Income TaN.
llnrpcrs Magazine.
There is no tablc of tho average dur-
alton Of fortunes; but the statistics ol
business failures in the country since
1866 show the average geafb failures
ranged from in 1863 in the year 1871
to in rs in 1878. How many business
men in n thousand fail, once or more,
during their business lifetime, cannot
lcnrn. The proportions used to sc Is
tilnatcd, for New England, at ~ per
cent This is probably too high II figure
for the business of to-day, conducted
ns it IL upon much shorter credits than
formerly. But the proportion oftmdera
who fail is probably not lower than -
per cent. Of the whole number. How
many of our people live upon their in
vested means? In 1866 our income-tax
returns showed III 900 incomes of $500
per year and over md six million in
comes of less than $500. But these were
not incomes from capital; they were
mostly earnings or wages. Probably
not one in II hundred of these smaller
incomes, and not over 10 per cent. Of
the incomes over 5000 represented the
interest upon Investments. In France
ten years later the census returned no
less than two millions of people,
nntiets, who live entirely upon their in
vested means, In lS77, seven and
half millions ofthc people onc-lifth Of
the population enrolled aS
rentes-hodcrs or saving banks de-
posltor5; but II must he added that the
Hnvings-bnnks do not often fail ia
France, and that sooner or later they
are apt To fail with Ms. Most of these
deposits are small ones. But no less
than two millions Of the French can shy
with PCtrarch, Ptuqu @d upta mimi, at
is little enough, but it will do for me,
| Thus, in spite of the resources of tho
country, in spite Ofthc almost universal
search for wealth, and in spite of the
fac; that we have great many rich
men AT nny given tlmc, wcstll do not
h"Sen large class of permanently rich
mon; we do not have, like the French,
u large class Of persons who have n
permanent though small competence
The rich Americans wealth is extreme
| y
| il is fury gold Tho old landowners
form the chief exception to The rule,
especially in our large cities, whore the
increase Of values have been great. But
-four class ofpcrmancntly wealthy poo-
pie is small, 81 also is our class or des-
titute people. We are fortunate in
having few of the very rich or the very
poor, IN having no such immense and
harmful inequality uf fortunes ~ We
see III modern England Our ill(ortuuc
IN this, rs our class OF moderate COM
pctenrcs is also small, that 50 few ot
MS, in spite Of our opportunities and III
bors have seized the good of even n
small assured competence. The land
is full Of people who have not on the
other hand, and who are not likely Ia
have any assured competence, however
moderate, but have nothing 10 expect
but labor IN the end That II, indeed,
tive appointed human lot for the ma
Ijority III amy community but need il
he III Il country with resources like this,
SO nearly the universal LOTT Might not
many of lis avoid it by Il greater care
for moderate competence, II lcsscned
ambition for fortunes
Ar the present time the German emf
pire is represented abroad by IL CON
sulgcncrnls. II consuls and J vicc.cun-
sulS, while in addition to those Ger
many has gu so-called merchant con.
suls or vice eonsuls, and ST consular
agents. The greater number 81
these cunsuls are in European countre,
there being ~ in the United Kingdom
alone q in England, Is in Scotland
and III Ireland Onc only If these
however, namely the CONSUL III l.ondol
-helong tothe regular consular service
Next III number come German cunsuh
III SwcCdcn and Norway, the consuE
in Stockholm and Christlana belongings
to the regular consular service, Aftel
Sweden and Norway, Spain an1
Russia are most plcntitully provide,
With German consuls, there being 81 ii
each of the two countries. In til,
whole Of France on the other hand
Germany has only Il consuls the com
merciNl intercourse between the tw,
countries being At the present time ol
n very reduced scale. Attot Europe. ,
greater number of German eonsuls III,
to be found in America than on an,
other continents, Asia, Africa, an,
/, Australia following IN the order named
| lnthc I'm Cd States there are II con
suIates, the consuls ut New Nerl
Chicago, Cincinnati, san Francisco, IN,
81 Louis belonging e the regular con
! sular service In Brazil there are Ms,
, Il eensuls, but all Of them belong I,
, the merchant class In Asia the larg
cst number Of consulS are III Furke.
I and China, and iii Africa III Egypt.
- $50
William i. Spooner, u Boston mer
chant who gave AWAY 100000 whit
, alive was Noted asa temperance inal
!. is dead 1T the age Of IL