Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-04-16

Amasa Walker, LID, was, not
long ago, lecturer on Public Eoon0-
my, in Amherst College, and is auth
or Of work entitled, "The Science
Of Wealth"--a manual of political
| economy, embracing the laws oftrade,
carrepcy, and finance, used exten-
slvely ~ a textbook ia many of the
most reputable institutions of learn
ing in .he United Statea. Now we
submit that euch a man should no5
be ignorant of tho rules ofarit hmetic,
and that it would be unpardonabIe IN
him to violate them 10 preparing q
statistical table as basis for argu
ment ; yet this is exactly what be
| has done in compiling the exhibit of
comparative prices above quoted.
Allegation medal is the process Of
finding the averagevaloe of q mixture,
when the value and quantity OF each
ingredient are known, and The rule is
TO divide the total ualue of the ingredi-
ents By the sum Of the quantities. No
sach thing has been done, or even
undertaken, by Professor Walker.
On the contrary, he has adopted an
entirely different mothQd, founded
10 error aud resulting in error. For
example he has compiled the quota-
tions OF mess beef, and 10 like manner
tho 3ltor articles specified, for each
of twenty yoars, added the prices tc-
gether, and divided by the number Of
times to obtain the average. Any
sohool-boy who had done this would
have been roprimanded by the rnae-
ter, have made himself laughing
! stock for bis fellows, and have de-
served a sound drubbing; yet the
author of "rhe Science OF Wealth"
does not hesitate TO commit this
amusing biunder, with serious face,
and ia the most deliberate and pub
tic manner, IN order TO prove ID
that farm products are not advanc-
ed in price at this time or much as
commodities in general" Couli
any thing be more supremacy ridicu,
l0us? Is such remarkable and 10.
excusable laundering any proof that
our farmers are pIundered by the
present vohme of paper money
According to Walkers method of
treating prices, the average prices Of
| so 900 barrels of mess beef, sold at
Sl5.25 per psrreI, and of 10000 bar
rels sold at S12.75, would DO exactly
S14; bat, according TO tho rulo oi
al CATION medal, the average price
would be small fraction Of cont
moro than Sl4.97. From this exam
pie it is easy to see bow statistical
table might be prepared to sustain
the most absurd proposition.
But the author OF "The Science OF
Wealth" is not content with single
series of plumbers be heaps blunder
upon bunder. Having grossly erred
in obtaining what be preleuds ia the
average price in each year, he d.
yides tue twenty years into periods
| Of fige years each, and proceeds 10
calculate the average price for each
period by adding together the G /
umns of average prices aud dividing
by five, thus again violating arithm
teal rule, and thus producing a com
plex error, at q fur hersremoTe fro m
the trath. Il all this wandering
from fsct ani from mathematical
principle any evidence either that
our currency is redundant, or that it,
volume reduced the prices OF wbai
our farmers haze 70 sell? Professor
Walker ought to DO ashamed Of him
self, parading his gross ignorance a.
the very qqintessence Of practicsI
wisdom.
We pronounce bis laundering sta
tistical table to be worthless for any
: purpose of argument, and disgrace
full to a man of his requirements
ability, and reputation. Indeed
, there is ground for he suspicion tina
: be hss been trying to bamboozi
) Western farmers. There il more o
fecol however. than of direct force