Evening star., 1928-03-11
BY DON g. WARREN.

AN 1t be true In this country
which boasts of its almoS
boundleSS and still rapidly in
> creaslng wealth, that SIS PEE
exS OF The men who help pro
tssce this wealth reach the end of theil
working years at the age Of IS, f1nan.
cially distressed, broke" and depend
ent or friends, relatives or charity?
Tie statement is often made. fire.
cuently quoted and generally accepted
but can it be true?
The question is asked with real con-
Germ and some amaZement. and is er.
phstically answered in the negative, by
Alba NJ. Edwards, Phi. D., special
agent Of the United States Bureau oi
the Census, who has made a protractec
study of old age dependency and re-
lated subjects He challenges the truth
of the statement which has been en-
pioyed 10 good advantage for many a
year by banker. broker, insurance agen,
and even officials of the Federal Gov
eminent.
A careful analysis of figures taken
from the past three official census re-
ports. Dr.. Edwards declares. viii show
clearly that the percentage of men liv-
ing at the age OF 65 who arc totally
dependent could not be higher than 4o
per cent, and. in all probability would
b. lower than that if all circumstances
we're known.
Still Too Many Poor.
Such a percentage OF dependency still
Is too high. and certainly Is not thing
OF which a modern nation could we'll
boast, but yet is tremendously better
than the IS per cent dependency figure
which commonly has been bruited about
the country. and certainly is much
nearer the truth, DR.. Edwards believes.
The question is far from being a
theoretical one, or a matter Of i'm
portance or interest only to the social
worker or statistician, for not only has
1t been the prevailing belief generally
throughout the country that IS out OF
every 100 become dependent at age
e5. DR.. Edwards points out, but evil
cence shows that many interests have
made Official use Of the statement in
urging investments. insurance and saw
ings against Old age. The purposes TO
which the old belief was put were
worthy erlcugn the census official ad-
nlits, but in the light Of Official. census
figures the United States has been sadly
nlisrepresenteo In the matter Of the ex-
tent Of old age dependency. due to the
popular use OF "hearsay" evidence.
Today may be the age Of youthful
AE6IELS, UHk ~ SkIUulO VIC NAACCi hAS W
know that this Nation does not have
such a black record Of dependent old
men who become paupers because Of
their inability or unwillingnesS TO pre-
pare for the later years CT life. ne con-
c.udcs.
DR.. Edwards discusses the old age
dependency question in report pub
Nslsed recently By the National Civic
Federation. The Edwards article all
ready has aroused widespread interest
= in insurance and banking circles. and q
DAY or two ago one insurance concern,
after a peri!sal Of the matter. published
frank admission Of the inaccuracy
Of the e5 per cent dependency figure.
Ehich il had used as sales argument
end characterized the old formula as a
fable" that had been shattered" by
the census figures produced By DR.. Ed
wards.
Difficult to Trace Source.
The task Of running 70 its original
source the once generally accepted be-
lief about dependency, DR.. Edwards
found. was like trying to find the
p-oveTbial needle ii haystack- Many
pxrsorS had made use OF the state
nnent. but all "sidestepped" the query,
and referred the census officiai TO sec
on6ary sources" as the originator OF the
CAs AS6N6A3S t~fSs &Ah4
the secondary sources. when pursued.
proved 20 be quite elusive" After
persistent effort. covering period OF
years, ne was able 10 trace such state
ments 10 their original source in but one
case, and found that the original fig
ures and statement concerning old age
dependency had been misinterpreted.
And yet
Prom the Atlantic 10 the Pacific, on
chautauqus and other platforms. in the
daily press. In magazine. In pamphlet
and IN scientific treatise" Or. Elwards
declares. ''it has been stated that al
65 years Of age. IS per cent OF the men
OF this country are dependent on
friends. relatives or charity. This state
ment. varied slightly sometimes. has
been uSeG by insurance agents as argu-
Ylents TO induce men TO insure; by
banks az an argument for starting saw
3ngs accounts: by thrift associations ar
IN argument for the general practice
OF Thrift: by a Liberty loan committee
ss sn argument for buying Liberty