IMPROVIDENT PEOPLE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3056, 18 April 1917, Page 5

IMPROVIDENT PEOPLE

i + _ ■ THE NEED FOR GEEATEII THRIFT IN AMERICA. ■ It has been estimated by the Ameri- ; oan Society for thrift that 95 per cent. ' of men in that country who reach the age of sixty lire still dependent for a ; livelihood on their own daily earningß ' or on the means supplied to them by - others. Moreover, not one man in - thirty who retires on a competence proves able to' retain that competence to the end of his life. These statistics , are, coupled by the society with 'others , showing the effect of increased retail prices of food on incomes. The average total family income, including the women and children in the family, has been found to be between seven and eight hundred dollars a year. Between 1900 and 1014 th average increase in the retail priceß of food was about 60 per cent, but the increase in wages was not than 30 'pe.r- cent. These facts are cited as convincing evidence tfc*i the average American' in these times must learn to, be more thrifty. To what extent thrift does prevail is shown by a Writer in a recent issue of "The Journal of Commerce." Savingsbank deposits . show increases, but they are Binall individually, although in the aggregate'enormous. The increases con- , sist largely, however, of interest on old deposits, ifeanwhile, the excess of -deposits over withdrawals remains relatively small. Besides this index as. to the state of thrift in this country there remain to be reckoned with the co-opera-tive building-loan which' in many parts of the couhtiy have 'become more popular than the savings-banks.' Again, there is the increase in lift insurance policies, "which has been extremelv rapid in the past twenty years." Fur>thermore,_ we have the, item of investment buying, which absorbs an immense" volume of annual savings—far more than in earlier years. An estimate once arrived at by Edward Atkinson would indicate that the nation is putting aside k for ,rain days about two billion dollars a year. ' ; Some of the viable evidences of our. thrift are cited as follows: "The incredible multiplication of automobiles is tolerable evidence of the increased means of persons in comfortable circumstances, but by no means rich. Since the war began we are estimated to have bought back a billion, and a half of our own securities. To'that extent we owe less than we used to. We ha-re to remit less interest to Europe. That interest becomes capital availablfe for investment at home and. for financing foreign projects in our effort to encroncn somewhat on the prerogatives of Londoo as the world's money market. ■ If we are not jet a creditor nation, we are mak : ing progress in that direction.