The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-11-22
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FIGIIRES.

It is an old saying that figures won't
lie, and yet they are often made to give
false information, or are so mixed in
the papers that they are not only of no
value but worse than an aggravation.
The figures in newspapers are often
so unreliable and loose that we gen.
orally distrust them, even when found
in our largest dailies. For some time,
out of curiosity as much as anything,
we have been in the habit of adding and
comparing fiures in the papers, and it
is really astonishing TO see what blum
ders are made, even in the smallest par
agraphs. We remember the other day of
picking up the Inter-Ocean, and seeing
therein, in an editorial item, statement
of the vote on governor in Kansas,
which was so erroneous as to be worth
less as a news item. Last week we gave,
from the Commonwealth, the vote by
counties for governor. 1t was so full of
mistaks as to be almost worthless Not
one of its footings were correct, and
there was no telling how many errors
there were in the details of the report.
We finally, after working with it half
day, and getting the figures as near cor
rect as possible, gave it to our readers.
Wednesday evening the Commonwealth
came with what it headed ''the official
vote of Kansas for state officers and con-
gressmen." We had just written an
item giving the vote of the various can
didates for congress in the second district,
and were endeavoring to revise and add
to our last weeks table of the vote for
governor. We first bounced" the Has
kell column in the Commemorative
'official" report. That papers footing
gave it at 1909. We soon found if the
statement of the vote by counties was
correct in this report, and we had no
means at hand for testing the table in
this respect, the footings should be 49,
O29-a mistake of only 1000 to mislead
those who did not stop to add up the col
umns. We almost gave up that table in
despair. Had this occurred in some
back-woods Office we would not have
been surprised, but certainly we had a
right to expect better things from the
Commonwealth. We do not intend any
unfriendly criticism on that paper at all.
We rely on it largely for our state news
and it is good paper. We merely men
ton these errors because we read that
paper with some care, and expect it to
be correct.
Next we picked up the Wichita Bea-
con, lively, well printed paper. AL
most the first item that attracted our at
tention was a statement of the number of
cars of wheat shipded from Wichita,
from July 1st to Nov. 18th. We were
hunting up items for our "Neighbor-
hood News" and were about to transfer
this one bodily, when we concluded to
test the correctness of its figures. 1t
says: 'The monthly shipments have been
as follows: July, 1877 cars; August, 919
cars; September, 998 cars; October, 615
cars; and 301 cars up to Friday, the 18th
of this month, aggregating 3,225 cars,
which at 40 bushels to the car, makes
upwards of 100000 bushels" Now,
according to our addition, the number
of cars is $3.50; 1876 less than the Bea-
con makes it, and in its mum Der of bush
els, we find an error of 46,770. This may
not be matter of any great importance,
but the Beacon could just as well have
had its figures correct in so small an
item. 1t is simply carelessness on the
part of papers Who make these mistakes
An editor who gives out copy with fig
ures in it, who does not invariably read
the proof by copy, is liable to publish
these blunders. To trust them to go to
press without careful comparison with
the copy is something which no paper
which intends to be correct, should dc
in single instance.