December 20, 2006

Century Old Statistics

Miner Institute

Looking back to 1906:

Only 8% of homes had a telephone; just as well since a 3-minute call from Denver to NY City cost $11.

There were only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved road. Maximum speed limit in most cities: 10mph.

The average wage was 22 cents per hour and the average worker made less than $400 per year. By comparison veterinarians were rich, earning between $1,500 and $4,000 annually.

90 percent of doctors had no college education, attending 'medical schools', many of which were condemned as substandard by both the press and the government. Perhaps not too coincidentally, over 95 percent of births took place at home (Better a competent midwife than an incompetent doctor).

Top three causes of death: Pneumonia/influenza, tuberculosis, diarrhea. Most folks didn't live long enough to die from cancer or heart disease. Average life expectancy was 47 years.

Not everyone was poor: 18 percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

Go west, young man, but not north because Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering their country for any reason.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee all had more people than California; the 21st most populous state. Population of Las Vegas: 30.