Evening star., 1940-12-29
By a Staff Correspondent of The Star.

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 28.-An age
factor in making million a year
was revealed here today.
The peak number of Americans
getting from $4,000 to 100000 an
nually falls between the ages of SO
and ST, of those getting more than
100000 between 54 and So, and of
those getting s1,0O0,OOO and above
between so and "a. according to a
study reported to the American As
sociation for the Advancement of
Science by DR.. Harvey E. Lehman
of Ohio State University.
In the past DR.. Lehman has made
studies of the age levels when sue
cess Is most likely in various lines.
The most favorable ages for success
in money-making or a grand scale,
| this study shows, are much higher
| than for success in any other line.
Thus, he found, scientists are most
likely to do their great work between
the ages of 80 and 35.
In the same period writer's are
most likely to produce their best
books and artists to paint their best
pictures. Movie actresses, his latest
study shows, usually do their best
work between % and 27, and actors
between IS and 90. After these ages
they tend to be more and more
washed up," and, while they may
remain productive for many years,
the quality of their work tends to
decrease. Politicians usually attain
the summit of their careers between
40 and so.
No Effort to Define Ability.
DR.. Lehman considered money
getting a specific kind of ability, or
constellation of abilities, in itself
regardless of how a man comes by
a big annual income. For the pur-
poses of the study it made no diff
ference whether he earned it, in
herited 1t or stole it. He makes no
effort to define the ability, and, so
far as the general average is con-
SCiliOd, Vic fC1 1dCb VI S1oNlilS OlQ
may be an essential part of it.
Thus, it was pointed out, man
may get as an actual salary between
$4,000 and 100000 a year. The
chances are that he could have per-
formed the actual services for which
he is paid much better few years
earlier, when he received much less
compensation. But length of serv-
ice and the death of persons ahead
of him in line boost his income, even
though his actual abilities are de-
clining.
The same is true of inheriting
money. If fellow has rich rela-
tives they begin to drop of fast
when he himself reaches his fifties.
Moreover, income from investments
and savings begins to amount to
something at this time of life. All
these factors must be considered as
part OF the money making complex,
he pointed out. just as the beauty
of a movie actress in her middle
twenties must be considered part of
her box office attraction.
Luck a Factor.
This is far from the whole story,
DR.. Lehman believes. Somehow or
other the whole complex of things
that enters into making
luck among them-seems to come to
climax in the mid-ffties. These
statistics, it was explained, are
compiled on q basis of the American
population as a whole. When spe-
cific age groups are considered, the
money-making age becomes some
what greater
Thus there are more men getting
over 100000 year between go and
SO, in proportion to the number of
persons alive in that age bracket,
than in any other age group. The
greatest number of persons with in
comes of more than a million a year
are in the age group of 80 to 80, in
proportion to the number of per-
sons alive at those ages.
The average age of Union soldiers
in the Civil War, DR.. Lehman point
ed out, was 18 and of American SOL
diers in the first World War was %
while the average age of 284 men
with incomes of more than a mil
lion year in the years Immediately
after the wat, presumably due to
inflated values arising from the
struggle, was 85.
DR.. Lehman made no attempt to
define money-making ability. The
only measure of it, in the final
analysis, the report pointed out, is
| the amount of money a man gets,
regardless of all such factors as per-
sonality and intelligence. Luck may
play major part in 1t, but If so the
luck comes late.
| Individual Exceptions Found.
All his studies, DIR. Lehman point
ed out. are based on averages and a
great number of individual excep-
tions can be found. There have
been many meteoric careers in
which a ST ,O00, 900 income has been
achieved in the early sos. There
are fewer exceptions, it was stressed,
in the theatrical field, although
there are such striking cases as
Shirley Temple, whose greatest Sue
cess came before she was 10, and
Marie Dressler, who reached the
height of her career after go.
Income in general, it was pointed
out, does not follow the same curve
as big income. Thus the craftsman
or run-of-the- mill businessman Is
apt to find his income dropping at
the very age peak when the man
destined to fall into the above-$5 50,-
000-a-year class first achieves that
level.
The desirability of similar studies
tc determine the age levels at which
military leaders are most likely to
be successful was stressed. Nothing
is known of this at present. There
are .rumors, according to DR.. James
P. Porter, who presented the paper
by DR.. Lehman, that the Germans
already have made studies of this
sort and are assigning leaders to
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