New-York tribune., 1885-02-20


consumed on farms, the amount OF the pron''oi
capital the savings of labor. the average SALARIES
of brain workers serve to the mathematical Ihio
ne a demonstration Indeed, the statistical lhior-
nation riyen is so mixed up with pure Assumptions
on the mart of the writer that even trained expert
| in such studies, upon perusng the essay '"9 ~
| sometimes puzzled to distinguish fact from fancy.
The estimate that the cost of food for the whole
| people is not far from20 cents day, inc average
| cost in a female factory clearinghouse III Mary
land. though 1t is innocent enough because II au-
| mitted. it fails to establish any theory. may DC
| noticed as an instance of Mr.. Atklnsons methods
The cost of food in farmers houses is less than any
| where else Official reports show that the farmers
i ia hiring hands, reckon the cost OF boarding them
at 27 to 40 cents per day IN the Northern otatcs'
and even at the South. where the coorcd laporcrs
accept cheaper food, the difference between wages
with board and without board ranges from Is 10 81
| cents per day. At the West, both the farmers ana
| the workers consider a difference OF $S OS per
| month IN monthly wages, or 80 to 80 cents oay
! in transient daily wages a reasonable allowances
| for board, the current rate OF wages IN 1907
| clearly shows Other working people rarely get
board as cheaply If Mr.. Atkinson is trying to show
what the cost of living might be. if all families
would consent to live in great board'ng-houscs and
could cOntrve to secure honest ana sAlhui
| stewardy. his evidence has weight
| Perhaps as good an example as any OF Mr. AT
kusOn's peculiar statistical methods Is his estimate
that the entire sum to be allowed for interest rent
and profits of capital amounts to only $ioo,OOOooo
yearly To reach this conclusion he entirely REJECTS
the estimates of aggregate wealth of the country,
according 10 the census reports of 1850 and leoo'
and sneers in particularly ill-manncred fashion at
| Mr. Blaine for having treated those reports as
reliable evidence of the increase in wealth With
Atkinson
that the census of 1850 was entirely unreliable In
respect to the aggregate wealth of the country ana
thereupon. without any evidence whatever. pro-
ceeds to substitute his own naked guess that the
sum earned by capital each year does not exceed
$3.50 OOO 900. There are two ways of dealing with
this assumption. OF the earnings OF part oil the
capital in 1850, exact information is given by tho
census of the latter year. the saccuracy'of which
Mr.. Atkinson does not dispute, and upon which
indeed he relies for the greater part of his concu-
slons. The aggregate investment in railways
reporting earnings, according to that census was
S5OOi, ,52l ,606, about one-ninth of the aggregate
estimated wealth of the country. The interest
actually paid on debt $135,4S0,107 and the
remaining profit for stock was $l3i,O59,09s. so
that $269.539, ,205 was earned by about 5000
O0o, ,O00 Thus one-ninth of the wealth actually
earned 60 per cent of the entire amount allowed by
Mr.. Atkinson for interest on all the capital in the
united STATES lNat Is 10 say, according W thiS
statIstician. while $4,000. 100000 earned in year
$270. .000O0G 50 per cent, the remaining
S3s, 600 100000 in the whole country earned
81 900 000 or less than half ofOne per cent. One
feels tempted TO quote against Mr. Atkinson himself
his remark designed to apply to Mr.. Blaine, viz,
that he would be obliged to defend the honesty OF
his purpose by admission of his utter ignorance
of the subject"
1t is not known to statisticans that there is any
where better evidence of the wealth of the country
in 1860 or in 1850 than the Census Bureau has
furnished. The current rate of interest indicates in
measure, least what returns capital is able
to when employed In different branches of
industry Men do not borrow with intent to lose
money Men do not hold property. rs a rule IL by
selling and lending good security they can
secure q larger yearly return without risk or toll
Daring period of twenty years the average rate
of interest throughout the country has certainly
been above per cent. 1t is somewhat lower now,
and during the first decade was much higher 1t
is lower at all times in NewYork than IN most other
monetary centres, and lower at such centres than
in the rural districts or the small towns. But ac-
ceptlng the current rate at NewYork. though it Is
usually near the Minimum as some test of the
wages which nancy has been able to command il
is found that the rate has been fully per cent
yearly If all the property in the country exclusive
of slaves in 1862 had increased 6 per cent yearly
| for twenty years, the increase would have been
| from Sl4 59,00D,000 in 1850 to $45,40s, 100000
in 1880 But Mr.. Atkinson thinks it safe TO
at public man who accepts the census estimate
that the increase has been about 10000, 100000
in.the twenty years.
Another branch of evidence n competent statis-
tcian would not overlook. The assessment of prop
erty for taxation Of late years has notoriousy been
far below its value in certain Southern States,
whore reputation of debt has been the fashion. In
those States larger crops grown than in 1850;
they support in greater comfort a much larger pop
! ulation; and the value of crops 10 the producers
has been enormously increased by cheaper trans
potation Yet the assessed valuation CT real estate
in 1880 was 81 per cent less than it was in 1860.
Such valuations obviously have no statistical value,
though Mr.. Atkinson relies upon them in part as
evidence of the inaccuracy of census estimates.
But the valuation of real estate north of the
Potomac and Ohio, and in Missouri, Texas and the
West, was 1852, 1885, IN 1850, and in $50 it
was 81 .56l ,f2SG01. In spite of marked de-
crease in the rate of assessments in some Of the
Northern States. this indicates increase Of
1873 per cent the value of real estate. If the
assessed valuation were GO per cent Of the true
value in each year. the increase in that kind Of
property alone would be over 81 900, 0OO, ,OOO
70 this must also be- added the value of new rail
roads and improvements In $50, according to the
census, 10000 miles of railway had invested therein
81, 151 100000; In 1850. less than $4,000 miles
bad invested therein 1886 OOO, 900, including
cash assets Here increase of 81 400 OOO, 900 |
appears. Another item, estimated by the Census |
Bureau for 1850 at So 000,0 100000 includes house
hold furniture and supplies. paintings books, cloth
ing ana jewelry Mr.. Atkinson will not believe |
that in this item of wealth the increase during tho
past twenty years ihas not been than 900 per
cent. The .uncOnsImed products of manufactures
4
wealth. The value of products according to the
cen Sua of St;O was 0OO O0O oOo ond acoorJ;u,