Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-26

BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

The average New Yorker or Cali
fornian who talks about the cost of
living means something entirely differ
ent from the average citizen of South
Carolina, Alabama or Mississippi. Cost
of living usually Is interpreted to mean
the amount of money which people pay
to buy the articles which they consider
they require for their support. What
this sum Is In different rarts Of the
country is a changing story.
Much is heard in political, economic
and sociological discussions about the
American standard of living in the
United States as compared with the
European or Asiatic standard Of living.
1t Is generally boosted to be a very
much higher standard. On an average
1t Is much higher. But II some of the
States, especially If some of the regions
OF the United States were to be re-
garded as separate countries, as much
dinerence would be found in their
standards OF living in terms Of money
spent as between the American stand
ard and the European standard AS
matters now are figured, the average for
the entire country is taken as repre-
Senting the American standard of
living" This. probably, is fair enough.
Nevertheless, every man, woman and
child in California spends $575.73 q
~,
every New Yorker spends $575.12. This
must be contrasted, TO obtain q clear
idea OF the differences in the many
American standards Of living, with the
$17l.98 which every person in South
Carolina spends in retail stores in a
year, with the $19819 spent by each
Alabaman and the $205.92 spent by
each dweller in Mississippi
The Californian, the greatest spender,
m hn knA H. 81,
times as much as the South Carolinian,
the poorest. Yet both are States of the
American Union.
When the retail expenditures in all
States are added together it is found
that the total amount of money spent
over the counter Is $5OO33 $50. 1872.
This gives an average per capita ex-
penditure Of $407.53. This is well above
the European standard of retail expen-
dtture but this average also is far above
the standard in the three Southern
States mentioned-100 per cent above,
in fact.
The Bureau Of the Census has made
thorough survey Of both retail and
wholesale distribution in the United
States, and has turned up these as
standards Of living in the different
parts OF the country.
Public Well Served.
1t is shown that the country is we'll
served with retail stores. There are
1,549, 1913 Of them and that means that,
averaged for the entire country, there
are 1875 retail stores for every / 1000 in
habitants. Averages may be very de-
ceptive although it Is difhcult to dis
penSe with them in discussing a matter
in broad national terms. There are
many cities in the land where every
door for many blocks opens into a re-
tail establishment of some kind. There
are other places where one must ride
100 miles to flnd any kind Of a store.
The big cities, naturally, are the best
served In this matter. They have more
retail stores. but also it must be remem-
bered that the retailing Is more strictly
divided by commodities. There are re-
tail stores dealing In nothing but books.
There are others which specialize In
meat, others which sell only bread. hats.
rubber goods, flowers, notions. and so
on. To balance them are the great de-
partment stores in cities and the other
type OF department store, the rural
general emporium, which purveys every
thing TO the countryside from cream
SeparatorS to common pins. from lunn-
Der wagons and threshers and binders
to Shoestrings and store teeth.
New York has ISL stores for every
1000 population, but does not stand at
the head of the list. Florida leads in