Evening star., 1925-12-06
MIR. AVERAGE AMERICAN
HAS JOB MEETING NAME
He's Usually Pictured as Sitting on Top
of World, But Is Really a Much
Abused Man.


expectations Of life, he may add 10
years ana approach the biblical three
score and ten by taking excellent care
of himself and following medical die
tates. For, according TO DIR. Louis
Dublin of New York, there is reason
to hope for adding 10 years to life
at birth through the campaigns TO
reduce infant mortality and the worst
diseases of adults
When his life span is run, he may
die of any disease or group of diseases,
although heart disease is listed by the
Public Health Service as the largest
single factor in the American death
rate, causing IA per cent of all deaths
in the United States in 1922. Heart
disease, according to physicians Of the
health service, is usually caused by
some heart trouble or lesion acquired
in early life, and not taken care OF
as age approaches.
Pneumonia, concomitant OF chilly
weather, takes a toll of 6 per cent
of his death rate, with other diseases
ranging downward in percentage.
He Likes the Cities.
He has more chance of being mar
ried If he lives in city or thickly
populated community than if he hves
in rural district, and, by the way,
Mr.. Average American does live in
so-called urban area. For the first
time the census figures show the
trend toward congested population
centerS has swung the average over
to the side of the cities and towns
and away from the rural communi-
ties. SO 51.4 of the population OF our
Mr.. Avarage Americans live in d So
called urban area, either in a city
or near a city or town. And If he
lives in a city or town where the
sexes are numerically equal he viii
be more apt to be married than if he
lives in a locality where one sex out
numbers the other.
These are the vital statistics. On
the more human side, or the economic
side, our much quoted gentleman is
not large money maker. His aver
age family income, among wage earn
ers and Mr.. Average American IS a
wage earner) is S1,513, OF which he
earns S1,349. Mrs. Average American
earns the balance. If he works in a
manufacturing industry, he doesn't
earn so much. for his average wage
| in industry is shown to be Sl,290.
| SO, with the three junior exemptions
which the vital statistics show him TO
have in the way OF a family, and the
| $1,000 exemption for the head Of a
! household, he does not pay any income
| tax. March 10 doesn't worry him. as
! 1t does the more moneyed gentlemen
I who fill out the income blanks with
| blank check handy. Similarly on such
| a small salary, after the butcher. the
corner grocer, and the candlestick
maker are paid off. he doesn't have
much left over to put away in saw
/ ings account. He has no money in
| bank, this gentleman with the munifi-
! cent salary of about 81 500 a year. and
| he cannot be blamed for lack OF thrift
with such a family to support. Yet
! he does have quite a few of the lux
uries of life, for he spends an aver
age of about S74 year on items class
ed as luxuries. Much of his luxuries
! go into tobacco. although a few OF
! him buy automobiles, and he spends
quite a few nickels at the motion pic
! ture shows.
Doesn't Even Own House
He does not own his own home. nor
does he own an automobile, even
though a we'll known manufacturer
has done his best to make two motor
! cars grow where one grew before.
| Government statistics show that but
45.6 per cent of the people in the
| United States own their own homes,
while 5i.4 per cent support the land
lord. OF these homes only a little
more than on-fourth are owned free OF
mortgage.
The Treasury says he should pos
sess S4219 of the total cash in cir
! culation. Yet if he doesn't put it in
| the bank, and he doesn according
| to bank figures-he carries ii around
with him. perhaps to pay a State or
municipal tax on it every fiscal year.
| Naturally, on such a salary and with
| such family he cannot well afford
| to own and operate an automobile,
| but he does ride in motor cars just
the same. For. in 1924. he rode three
| times as much in motor busses as he
| did in street cars.
Mr.. Average American, so pictured.
! is a gentleman living along from
| year to year on small salary. with u
relatively large family and little ffnan-
| cial prospect for the future. Yet the
cold, bare figures of fact show that if
| economic conditions in the future i'm
prove as they have in the past, par
| ticularly in the past six years, he has
| a brighter outlook. For, although the
| economic scale was overbalanced back
| in 1920 with prices prOportionately
| higher than salaries, the scale has
| now tipped the other way and salaries
| in the year 1925 are higher by nearly
| so per cent in proportion TO purchas-
ing power than they We're five years
ago. SO he has nothing in particular
to kick about and raise the roof, even
though he can't attend garish shows
at $3.50 a crack. He lives fairly well,
rather a care-free existence, without
much financial care or worry. and is
| happy in the midst of his family
| group of 40 members.