Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1892-10-06
Chr 0oleklp Argus.
GoLDsBoRo. N. G.. OCT. 8, 8
THE FIGURE FIFE ID.

cation" as political ref"rmcrs are
especially fond of calling it. do not
result in a heavy increase of in~
sanity before the end of election
day, it will not be fault of the emie
nent citizens who deal in the con-
fusing business of statistics.
With Commissioner Peck, on
the one hand. dcducing ~illusory
prosperity under the Mckinley
Bill from the rose-colorcd reports
of annony NOUS manufacturers; and
with Mr.. Edward Atkinson draw
fng an opposite conclusion from a
bewiidering array of "tab'es,'
diagrams end such isoth'rmal
lines Of argument, the plain citizen
may be pardoned for longing to
take to the woods with q parting
malediction on the science of num-,
bere.
"Figures do not lie." quttha!
Possibly not; but somebody lies
when two compilers arrive at dia,
metrically opposite results by the
aid ofthe same innocent and can
did numerals. For example, some
years ago, an ardent champion Of
vaccination furnished true fignres
from a certain German district
which had. had an epidemic of
small pox. The tables showed that
while only 5 or 6 per cent. Of
deaths occurred among patients
who had been vaccinated, exactly
100 per cent. OF the non-vaccinated
and succumbcd to tho d;seaee, The
statistics were as obvious and i'm
preesive as one Of Mr.. Henry Cabot
Lodges of comparative Ability
until a special person took the
trouble to make a close inquiry,
when he learned that there had
been only q single case Of small
pox among the nonevaccinated in
the district; that the solitary vic
tim was a man over eighty years
of age; and that lie dicd-thc
whole 100 per cent. Of him-be-
yond a doubt.
1t lie quite possible that Prot. }.
j. McCook has pad more atten.
ton to percentages than to qualis
flying circumstances, in his paper
on "The Alarming Proportion Of
Venal Votes" in the September
Forum. We know of no reasp to
impeach his honesty; but we strong
~ doubt the accuracy Of his know
ledge and the value Of his deduc'
tions, when he says, substantially
that one in five of the voters in
Connecticut arc Fought and sold:
that IS per cent. of those yena.
voters are of pure American stock,
that 100 per cent. of all the Negro
voters, 100 per cent. of French
Canadian, 81 per cent. of Irish, 2e
per cent. OF German, etc are
among the purchasable element.
We doubt the figures because, il
the first place, we doubt all anony
nous witnesses, such as his author
tiles are; and in the eecond, be
cause the per centage method i
unscientific to tue last degree
When, for instance, in his fire
table, "Rural Town 1" (nane no
given), he fnis among the vena
voters rs Of American stock, ITO;
of German horn, and II 1 of Irisl
born, and 800 of English, Scotch
and other foreign born, the appar
ent inference is hat Americans
Irish and German are more cor
rnpt than English, Scotch, etc.
but he gives no figures whatever t
show how many of each race art
counted in the total of voters. Fo
all the reader knows, the to,a
number of Stctch, English AM
other foreign born voters may b
exactly equal to the number of ve
nal reported uipng them, namely
800" S., also with his othe
tables. They prove nothing. fo
they offer no proofs. We ehonl'
want much more trustworthy evi
sdence before believing such "alarm
8 ing" statistics of general corrup
ton in any class of voters.
The nan with hobby for figure
is like Senator Edmund's friend
or was it the Senator hi,nselt?-o
whom twas said that he woul
look 80 intently at a fly on a bar
door that he coald not see the bar
itself. Because a unit is mathema
tically correct and morally well
behaved in itelf it ia nc
t, be inferred, therefore. tina
large number of them will b
equally trustworthy. The emf
snent scientist, John Pheaix, ono