The record-union., 1896-07-15
THE AVERAGE MAN.
One Coming Within That Clause Can
Consider Himself in Luck.

TITS pleasure to fit you," said the
smiling salesman to his customer
'Why?" queried his patron, as he
| looked complacently over his shoulder
| at his face reflected in long mirror.
because you are an average man. I
mean that your hight, width of shoul-
ders, chest measure, length of back,
width across the hips, length of arms
| and legs, and general set conform to
| the average dimensions struck off by
| the manufacturer of ready-made cloth
| ing
Il thought you could fit any sized
man"
$50 we can, but to do it sometimes
we must break up three different sets
of clothing; take the coat from one, the
vest from another and the trousers
| from another. Now, with you it is diff
ferent. I simply took your chest meas
ure and found the coat in a few minutes
| made for their measure The vest and
trousers were all right, of course, for
you are lucky man. too, according to
my way Of thinking. 1 know that when
it is said oh, he is an average man.
the term is used in the deprecatory
sense AS matter of fact, to say that
man is an average man is to say that
he will go through life easily, with less
friction, with more pleasure, and less
annoyance than the man who is above
or below the average. Everything made
| in quantity is made to fit the average
| man. A door knob is placed where it
| is most handy to the man of average
hight A letter box is put so that the
average man can mail his letters with
the least difficulty. Car straps hang
| down far enough for the average man
to clutch them with the least effort. Car
steps are placed so that the average
man can get in and out of a street car
| easily.
Hats, shoes, shirts, collars, cuffs.
stockings, clothing of every sort, are
| made of average sizes. If a man of
certain hight is too fat or too slim for
the average build of that hight, he is
in trouble as soon as he enters cloth
ing store. If his legs are too long or
too short, the salesman must overhaul
his stock and try on number of trous-
ers before he finds pair that will fit,
and frequently he must have them al
tered after all.
Nov, it's the same way with other
average brain from average schooling
thlngS. The man of average intelli-
gence, average morality and average
religious ideas would get along in the
world better than men who stand high
above him. Men above the average.
have added responsibilities thrust upon
them. They are supposed to keep up a
fast gait, and if they do not the world
finds fault with them The average
husband, average father, average man.
is happy, because he is inconspicuous
He goes along unnoticed, as he is
neither a fool nor a genius. He attracts
no attention, and finds ten times more
solid pleasure in life than those who
are highly gifted IN one way or an
other. You see, the average man is a
Well-baianced man, ana balance means
stability, and stability means rest.
have figured this thing out, and have
come to the conclusion that the world
IS better because of the great majority
OF average men, who go steadily and
quietly along, not because of the few
geniuses who flash up and blaze like
bonfires for time and then lie down to
have their ashes blown into everybodv's
eyes to annoy and poster them. Chi
cago Record.