The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-15
POOR In ENGLAND
Wealthy Men Not So Numerous
as in America
NoswithstandirS which the Wealth Oh
This Country l. More Evenly Dis
tribrted-Fscts Cleaned
from Figures

II the evidence Of the British govern
rent returns showing the number OF
persons assessed for the income tax -
trustworthy the number OF very rich
people in the United Kingdom IS small
Only ESQ, coo subjects Of the queen con-
fess 10 an annual income OF over 81 .OCO
a year derived from trades or profess
siors. The whole number Of them who
lsTe en- the scale ~ represented by fam
lily income above the 81 200 mark. de-
rived from anv source, Is set down q.
about 2,Coo, 90. or one in nineteen OF
the population. In other words. SAYS
the Baltimore sun, not moro than . per
cent. Of the inhabitants OF England.
Wales. Scotland and ireland arc living
in the moderately well-to-do state. i'm
piled by & family income Of so per
week Going up in the scale Of in
comes we learn from these official re-
turns that 1928 600 British families. ag-
gregating 6I5,o 200 persons, are all who
are in receipt Of incomes of s., 500 a
year and over. Commenting on these
figures the Westminster Gazette SAYS
of the limits % wealth and income in
the realm of Victoria: THE possession
of what is ordinarily termed modest
income, Of anything, in fact. above
$50 lOr $50 is rare stroke Of fortune.
which comes 20 very few in this world.
while the chance Of becominga Crusus
Is SO wildly remote that II will hardly
enter into the calculations Of a reason
able man" 1t appears that about
5000 persons in the whole United King
dom have incomes OF over $4,000 a
year. Gen. Booth some time since took
a servant girl census Of London and
found that only O.. 900 houses in that
city hired any servants at all. and that
in one-haf Of that number there was
only one maid-of-al work employed.
And this in the richest city Of the coun-
try, containing one-ninth OF its entire
population.
Making due allowance for the fact
that Britishers, like mankind general
~, can be trusted not 20 overstate their
incomes for purposes of taxation, it is
still evident that the wealth Of this
country is not only greater than that
of Great Britain, but that il is better
distributed. Far moro American fami-
lies than British have incomes exceed
ing any given figure above II COZ a
year. As against the ) 900 British fam
HES with incomes of S25,O 900 a wear OF
larger, the famous tabulation made by
Thomas G.. Sherman shows that there
are more than twice as many American
families possessing that degree OF
wealth. These Sherman figures have
not been disputed by anybody. and, II
true, they show that at least 4OO. 600
American families, or 1000, 600 persons.
live on n level of comfort represented
by an income Of s., 900 year or more.
as against the same number living on
the 81 900 a year plane in England IL
is estimated that 81, 900 persons will be
called upon in this country 10 pay the
new income tax on incomes exceeding
81 900 year. The British parliament
tary returns indicate that this is three
times as many persons ns are assessed
over that figure by the queens tax col
lectors. On the whole il seems safe Z
eonelede that the average incomes of
families IN the United States are still
higher than in the most favored, or at
any rate the best governed, country in
Europe. Wealth is still distributed
moro evenly here than anywhere else
In the world