1907

[JesusA (imported)]

We've come a long way--sometimes in the wrong direction. ----Jesus

THE YEAR 1907

This will boggle your mind. I know it did mine!

The year is 1907.

One hundred years ago.

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1907 :

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There were only 8,000 cars in the United States

144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1907 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year,

a dentist $2,500 per year,

a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,

and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard." (This was an improvement, though, over the earlier practice of young boys apprenticing to a doctor and then striking out on their own when they thought they had learned enough.)

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

(Remember the average wage of 22 cents per hour, though.)

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death, in order, were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." ( Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE USA !

I forwarded this from someone else and sent it to you and others all over the world, in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years!

[Bagoas (imported)]

The wages and prices are misleading. The buying power of $1 in 1907 was about equal to that of $48 in 2007. Multiply the wages and prices by 48 and you will see that most people were no worse off in 1907 than today.

As indicated in the article, probably the greatest difference between 1907 and 2007 is the quality of medical care. Remember, there were no antibiotics in 1907. You could die of a sinus infection or an abcessed tooth. The validity of diagnosis was based primarily on the doctor's experience.

As late as WWII, deaths were still being attributed to "acute indigestion". If there were such a thing, its symptoms would be indistinguishable from myocardial infarction. In 1907, tuberculosis was known as the "white plague" and a major killer. Despite the invention of salvarsan, syphilis was often fatal. Death from appendicitis was commonplace.

Of course, with a life expectancy of 47 years and high infant mortality, the danger of overpopulation was less than that of today.

[Dave (imported)]

48 times 22 cents is just over $10 an hour.

A certain political party is fighting over raising the minimum wage above $5.15...

No state has a minimumwage higher than $8 or $9 dollars.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm

So how can you make that statement that most people are no worse off for wages than in 1907?

Facts prove you wrong.

[Bagoas (imported)]

Dave, that's not what I said. I said that most people in 1907 were no worse off for wages than the people today. So, the facts prove me right.

[skivvynine (imported)]

There were 46 states and stars on the flag in 1907. Oklahoma was admitted in 1907. As far as the wages and prices they go up constantly. The wages paid and the prices paid are just about comprable with each advancing year. My father made only $400.00 a month as a Master Seargent in the Air Force in the early Fifties. But we were able to buy a house for under $4000.00 in Nassau County New York(Long Island). In the early part of the History of this country there was a half cent coin which bought something. Presendent Reagan was the first president to be born in a hospital.

[Dave (imported)]

Dave, that's not what I said. I said that most people in 1907 were no worse off for wages than the people today. So, the facts prove me right.

That's like saying that the upper 50% of the population make living wages, eat regularly, and generally aren't struggling to survive.

OK, I'll agree with that.

[Riverwind (imported)]

I remember my father talking about being born and raised in Oklahoma. My grandmother drove the wagon and grandpa was on horse racing to claim there land in the land rush of 1892. I remember my father saying that he remember his mother asking his father for money to buy supplies, flour, sugar, coffee. My grandfather took out a dime and put it on the table and said for her to buy some chewing tobaco as well. Even in 1907 this was not enough money. Grandma who was about 90 lbs and almost 5 ft tall, took a bucher knife and pointed it at grandpa who was well over 6 ft. and said turn out your wallet. My grandfather was a nasty tightwad his whole life and lived well into his nintys. My father was born in 1898, mom was born in 1909.

Oh yes, Oklahoma became a state in Nov 1907

I am an old fart.

River

[Patient (imported)]

. . .

most people were no worse off in 1907 than today. .

.

In 1907 there were no Federal or State income or sales taxes and no very expensive social programs. From the stories my grandparents told me I think that people who were healthy and employed were probably somewhat better off than they are today, but the poor, ill and unemployed were much worse off.

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