Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-11-19
american Incomes.

There is no table OF the average dura-
ton Of fortunes; but the statistics of
business failures in the country since
1866 show that the average yearly fail
ures ranged from l in 1913 in the
year 1871, to l in - in the year
1876. How many business men in q
thousand fail, once or more, during
their business lifetime, cannot learn.
The proportion used to be estimated,
for New England, at 81 per cent. That
is probably too high 4 figure for the
business OF to-day, conducted as it is
upon much shorter credits than former
ly. But the proportion Of traders who
fail is probably not lower than - per
cent Of tue whole number.
How many OF our people live upon
their invested means In 1866 our
income-tax returns showed ~ 900 in
incomes of $500 per year and over. and
Six million incomes of less than $500.
But these were not incomes from CAPT
tai: they were mostly earnings or wages.
Probably not one in hundred of
these smaller incomes, and not over 10
per cent Of the incomes over 500, rep
resented the interest upon investments.
In France, ten years later, the census
returned no less than two millions Of
people, renters, who live entirely upon
their invested means. In 1877 seven
and half millions of the people Gone,
fifth of the population--wcre enrolled
rs rentes-holders or savings. banks de-
positors; but it must be added that the
savings-banks do not often fail in
France, and that sooner or later they
are apt to fail with us. Most of these de-
posts are small ones. But no less than
two millions of the French can say
with Petrarch, Para Sed apt1 mill:
" 1t is little enough, but it will do for
me-"
Thus, in spite of the resources of the
country, in spite of the almost univer.
sal search for wealth, and in spite of
the fact that We have a great many ric h
men at any given time, we still do not
have large class of permanently rich
men; we do not even have, like the
French, II large class of persons who
have permanent though small compe-
tence. The rich Americans wealth is
extremely volatile; in nine cases out of
ten it is fairy gold" The old land
ownors form the chief exception to tue
rule; especially in our large cities,
where the increase of value has been
great.
| But if our class of permanently
wealthy people is small, so also is our
class of destitute people. We are for
tunate in having few of the very rich
or the very poor, in having no such
immense and harmful inequality OF for
tunes as we see in modern England.
Our i'll fortune is this, that our class
OF moderate completeness is also small,
that so few of us, in spite of our OPP
portunities and our labors, have seized
the good of even small assured com
petence. The land 10 full Of people
who have not, on the other hand, and
who are not likely to have, any assur ed
competence. however moderate, but
who have nothing to expec. but labor
to the end. That is, indeed, the APP
pointed human lot for the majority in
any community. but need it be, in n
country of resources like this, so near
ly the universal lot? Might not many
of us avoid it by greater care for a
moderate competence, u lesseped ambi-
ton for fortunes ?-T. NJ. CoAN, in
| Harper's NdqQzine,