Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-02
THE AVERAGE MAN.
The Advantages of Being the Right
Size and Not Too Smart.

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Size and Not Too Smart.
From the Chicago Record
It's pleasure to fit YOU" said the
clothing salesman to his customer.
"Why?" quer.ed his patron, as he guanc-
ed complacently over his shoulder at lis
figure rejecting in long mirror.
Because you are an average man.
mean that your height, 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
men ions struck off by the manufactures
of ready-made clothing
Il thought you could fit any size1 man.
so we can. but to do 1t sometimes We
must break up three liffaren. sets Of
clothing take the coat from enc, the vest
from another and The trousers from an
other. Now, with you it is different
simply took the chest measure and found
the coat in a few minutes made for that
right of course, for you are man Of aver
age build. And you ara a lucky nan, too,
according to my way of thinking. / know
that when it is said, On, he is an average
sense. AS matter Of fact, to say that q
man is an average man is to say that he
VIII go through Life easily, with less fric-
ton, with more pleasures and less anuoy-
ance than the man who is above or below
the average. Everything made in uuanti-
ties is made to fit the average man. A
door knob is placed where it is most handy
to the man of average height letter
box Is put up so that he average man can
mail his letter with the least difficulty
Car straps hang down far enough for the
average man to Gluten them with the leas
effort. Car steps are placed SO that tie
average man can get in and out Of a street
car easily.
Hats, shoes, shirts, collars, cuffs, stock
ings, clothing of every sort, are made of
average sizes. If man Of certain height
fS ton fof Sfp,f nr fh., =,
of that height, he is in trouble as soon as
he enters clothing store. If his legs are
too long or too short, the salesman must
overhaul his stock and try on 4 number of
trousers before he iihdsIoa pair that will
fit, and frequently he must have them al
tered after ALL
Now it's the same way with other
things. The man Of average Intelligence,
average brain power, average schooling,
average morality and average religious
than men who stand high above him. Men
above the average have added responsible
ties thrust upon them. More is expected
OF them. They are supposed to keep up a
fast gait, and If they do not, the world
finds fault with them3 The average citizen,
average husband, average father, avera ge
man, is happy, because he is inconspicuous
He goes along unnoticed, he is neither
a fool nor a genius. He attracts no atten-
ton and finds ten times more solid pleasure
In life than those who are highly gifted in
enc way or another. You see, the average
man is well-balanced man, and balance
means stability, and stability means rest.
l 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 a time
and then lie down to have their ashes
blown into everybody's eyes to annoy and
poster them"