The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1874-06-06
LABOR STATISTICS.
SPEECH or THE
HON. MARTIN A. FORAN,
In the Constitutional Convention in Favor OF Establish
inq Bureau Of Labor Statistics.

The journal Ut the London Statistical
Suuiyly SAYS that ia ali things On earth
acre -l,eu Iu man Ior his use and all
things iu creation Nerc So ordained rs to
contribute ru MA advantage and comfort.
lnd rs y hat affects nan Individually affects
also man 10 q state ri society, 1t follows
that statistics cutter mur, ur less mtn every.
branch IT science, ana forms that part 81
each which Immediately connects IL with
human interests have already stated
that the bureau proposed 10y this prufosI-
luu las a general ami not - special bear
mg. ANA have shown Uhy. My object l.
IN, happiness uf man. ! always believed
that the elevation and advantage If each
class is best served by the elevation and
advaucemeut ii All classes, and ou that
ground alone desire To- base my argument.
III wss NIth that vIew introduced .hi-
argument Hence clam. for the proposed
bureau the broad definition gwen statistics
by thr journal Uf The London Statistical
Society. Il embraces a wide field com
prch-uds au endless variety # subjects.
lts purpose IL. ia addition a. what has been
already saId, the collection and argument
If facts from which may bc dcduc,d mfr
nation showing Just the hiiid and quantity
uf legislation best calculated to adNanc,.
the condition, character AMI happiness IF
each and every citizen ut our Statc. II
will also enable the law maker, the p,liti
cal economist, or the historian, by a sys-
tematic examination Of progress ia cIvlilzA
ton, its industrial and natural resources
and its social condition o. estimate and
determine at any gwen time the power s..a
& NIL h.
and force of those circumstances which 60
u form the character oi its people. Ii will
enable the legislator to understand and at
tain t. a comprehensive knowledge Of
those fixed social laws which form the
character and determine the ornditifu "f
the citizens, ,rhose progress ~ c'c,i'-.'f,on As
aitrdyS acceierdtp.i, and ui,"s, general hdpgt-
ness IS ai,rdjS Increased ~, The ertrf ftt,0
that these liars are understood tuia dcteti
upoH
IL may be- said that these laws can be un-
ders:oud, or ascert AIMED without the Ill
Of a bureau, that each legislator may study
them from social phenomena coming within
ls own observation but this reasoning ls
not sound. and those who indulge III II
forget that these laws ale numerous and
complicated, that they act and React upon
each other under different conditions IN
many different ways, so that It Is utterly
impossible t. trace or analyZe their work
ngs in individual cases, and there is no
method by which We can reach satIsfac
tory know ledge Of them, or estimate their
effects upon the State, except by taking
large bodies Of men in similar circnm-
stances if, tor instance, two large cities
IN our State. enjoying the same natural
advantages, whose people resemble each
other lli All social, moral aud physical re-
spectS, Vh h"su laws, usages. habits ami Gus
toms are the saue, except that one has
adopted more literal policy towards man
ufacturers. towards iab"rers and artizans,
and If it be found that the latter city en-
joys greater prosperity than the former is
1t not positive proof that the difference IN
prosperity Is the result of the difference
~ industrial policy found existing m each
The legislator from one county may
know something Of his own people but
AS he has 10 means Of comparing their con
dItlon with the condition Of the people Of
other counties. similarly, or nearly SINH
larry situated, he is unable to rightly de-
termine the causes v hIch produced differ
ent effects, providing different effects exist
The insurance actuary does not pretend to
say that certain man will die within a
certain specified time, bat by taking ten
thousand individuals he can tell almost to
certainty the number, over OF under
certain specified age, that will die annually
under similar circumstances.
This is accomplished by extending the
range Of instances, and the more the range
Of instances is extended, the more are the
disturbing elements counteracted. What
is true Of this branch Of statistical science,
is true of the science as a whole. The laws
of the science are themselves liked and
complete as those Of astronomy. We can
not, however, predict the history Of society
as accurately as All astronomer can an
eclipse Of the sun, thousands of years be-
fore it occnrs. But, as MIR. Mill says
''The difference of certainty is not in tho
laws themselves--it is in the data 10 which
these laws are to be applied" In astronomy
the data are as fixed a. the laws, while in
society they are perpetually changing.
Statistics may never enable us to % thor
oughly understand social science al to be
able to predict CT anticipate history with
uufailing accuracy, but | do claim, and the
claim 1t supported by Mr.. Mill, Mr.. SPen-
Ger and Mr.. Compte, that comprehensive
knowledge OF sociology will enable states
man To understand, or detsrInire by or
through what causes State has been made
what it is whether it is tending to any
charges, and what these changes may be !;
what effect existing conditions will have
upon the future, and by what means, or
what Legislation is necessary to prevent or
modify these effects, or produce an entirely
different class of effects. l claim this much,
at least, can be accomplished by statistical