Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-13
WEALTH OF WORKING PEOPLE.
Accurate Evidence of Thrift Among
the Tcilcrs.

the Tcilcrs.
Philadelphia Record.
An advantage attends an outcry about the
distressed condition of the working people in
that such claims are seldom verified, and
seldom can be. When automatically examined
most statements OF general poverty disappear.
These statements increase in extravaganza
and yehemencs as elections draw near, for
when his vote is needed 1t Is the easiest thing
in the world to persuade the average man
that he has hard lines" and has not come
to his rights.
1t will astonish many to know the condi-
ton of the toilers in the United States who
eat their bread in the sweat Of their faces.
They are probably the most prosperous body
Of toilel's in the world Take, first of all, the
farmers whose terrible grievances excited so
much pity during the presidential election of
last year. From computations made in the
Agricultural department last year the farms
of this country are valued at over $1300O,-
900 900 and the average equity of each owner
in them Is over 81 800 This class of property
Is mortgaged for only third of its value at
a rate of interest small fraction over Z
Der cent. In other words the farmers own
in realty, clear of all incumbrance, nearly
5000, ,0C0, 900. Half of this immense wealth
has been created since the civil war and that
very largely by men who went onto new
lands with hardly enough money to reach
their destination 1t has been made out of
the public domain by pre-emptors, home
steaders and men who purchased under long
leases from railroads disposing of their land
grants.
The condition of mechanics operatives and
other wageearnerS cannot so easily be ascer-
taiLed, because there are no known records
of real estate proprietorship in towns and
cities by classes. The number of such per-
sons who own their own homes is very large,
ss the operation Of building associations has
been working this result. The chief recourse
H.. Ia,,
their incomes is to savings banks, building
as eOciations and fraternal or mutual proy-
dent societies. Let II be remembered that
the reports of such organizations show avail
able cash saved out OF income. We shall
handle these reports so as to exhibit what
has been done by these people in a single
year. In 1896 there were:
Depositors in savings banks in this
Members Of ifraiier,nnai beneft socie- 49, 49, -,
shareholders IN building associa- o.o ose
ionS QS9D ..,...,....,.........,.... l,353, 365
Now it is se1dbihJ that depositors in saw
ings banFs art1 hls5 shareholders in build
Ing societies; but probably most OF the men,
bershIp of fraternal associations Is drawn
may estimate BaE, that there are 6.414s6o
wageearnels in the country who invest a
part of their incomes every year In 1896 the
Increase of y3sl y the savings deposi's of
returns of building associations come from
Mr.. Carroll D.-'Nfreht of Washington, and
the latest OF thss ,-ss for 1894 In that year
these organizatiola had $3.50 .6G7 5s4 in assets
The average duration OF a share 10 eleven
years, and hence one-eleventh OF the total
eessta may be yQJlpdly taken as the savings
BY this agency f,ia single year The result
Is $40 96o, Isl. Rortport embracing forty-four
fraternal societias sahd these the more popu,
lar and best knS dn In the country, shows
that they dlsbGIsed in benefits of various
KINDS in their fiscal year ended in 1896 the
large sum OF $39.lsS.227, and this had. as a
rule, to be obtained from income TEese are
rot all the ways In which town wageearners
save but they may be the chief ones. Here.
then, is a total annual saving OF $l76 TT 262,
or S2s for each depOsitor and shareholder.
The per capita saving may not seem large,
hut these returns are for years proclaimed 10
be especially daastrous-yCars when the un-
employed were rated by millions. and when
the working claEses were eating up their
savings and running into debt. The show
ing would be much better II 1t could include
tho moneys invested in life Insurance and
contributed to trades unions and labor fed
ratlons. But II embraces more than half
u all the persons in the land who earn
anything whatever In any way. No country
can be considered imprOsperous In which
more than half OF it's breadwinners are
thrifty, intelligent, and paid enough to lay
5y something every year.