Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-11-07
Is LABOR BENEFITED2

L
Extravagant Increases in the Bureau of In
dustrial Statistics-Factory Inspectors
Department and Mine Inspectors De-
partment.
Under the guse of protecting en-
ployes in mines and factories, Repub-
lican legislatures have added to the
heavy tax burden of the people, with
out in any way ameliorating the hard
ships of those whom they professed
to assist. Notwithstanding the crea-
ton of special bureaus to compile in
dustrial statistics, to investigate the
working of coal mines, to eradicate
sweat shops, to prevent the employ
ment of children under the statutory
age, and to guard the lives and the
health of mine and factory operatives
by the erection of certain safety appli-
ances. there have been no satisfactory
and valuable statistics gathered, no cor
responding improvement in the workings
of coal mines, no decrease in the num-
bers of children employed in mines and
factories, and no earnest effort made
to secure inside safety appliances or
the erection of fire escapes of known
practical good. A few sweat shops
have been obliged to change location,
but the number has increased. rather
than diminished, and in no particular
instance where factory inspectors have
made themselves prominent have con-
ditions for workingmen and working
women changed materially for the bet
ter.
INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS.
There was a time when the bureau of
industrial statistics compiled matter
of interest and mportance-under Hon.
Miles Humphries, Republican, and Hon.
Joel B. McCamant, Democrat. the bu-
reau was conducted on lines which
gave the employer and the employed a
really intelligible account of the rep
resentative industries of the common
wealth. After Governor Beavers cleo
ton the vagaries of the Republican
statistician, Mr.. Bolles, We're substi-
tuted for methodical tables of employees,
wages, products, etc.
A MODERN ECONOMIST.
His successor assumed charge of the
bureau Of Industrial statistics under
Hastings. Since his appointment to
the position he has been employing
himself and his bureau assistants in
political log rolling for the Republican
machine, giving his odd moments to
the duties for the supposed perform
ance of which he draws a salary.
But, If not statistician, he is gifted
with an amount of local pride sufficient
to cause him to have compiled and
published at state expense 81 pages of
matter, highly and extensively illus
trated, of tin plate concern located in
his little city of New Castle, Lawrence
county. AS an advertisement of the
tin plate concern it is a creditable pro-
duction, and one for which the state
should have charged the tin plate COM
pany few thousands of dollars. The
balance of the report of the bureau
under his supervision contains 1874 pages
of what printers call "phat," a term
which, in this instance, would mean
that the statistician's 1874 pages of sta
tisticS could have been condensed into
less than one-half that number with
profit to the state and no loss to the
seeker after information.
On page 242 of his report for the year
1895, discussing the NUMBER of strikes
he says: I'm presenting the table of
strikes for the year 1895, 1t has been
deemed proper to make the number of
strikes to equal the number of estab-
lishments involved. For instance
where a strike occurred effecting five
establishments. the strike. al
though but ONE in FACT is COUNTED
as five. And when one establish
ment had three strikes during the year
although but ONE ESTABLISHMENT
IN FACT, vet 1t is counted as THREE
ESTABLISHMENT BY THIS PRO
CESS 1T WILL BE SEEN THAT THE
r1Es
THE NUMBER OF ESTABLISH
MENTS."
The capitals are not the statistician's
but the genius which conceived this
simple arrangement of forcing the num-
ber of strikes to agree with the num-
Der of establishments and vice versa is
the sole and undisputed possession of
this remarkable economist from Law
renee county.
According to his economic vagaries
should a cyclone sink one ship at sea
and four ships in a harbor adjacent. 1t
would count as five cyclones, and
should one ship be struck at three diff
ferent times by three different cyclones
1t would not be one ship but three
ships.
He draws a salary of $500 per an
mum.
FROM $1,000 TO $17,5OO.
Under Democratic rule from 1888 to
1886 inclusive, the total annual expense
of the bureau of industrial statistics
was $1,000. This amount paid all sala-
ries and contingent expenses. Under
the present rule the cost to run the
bureau one year exceeds $17 500, the
contingent expenses alone exceeding
the total sum paid for salaries and
contingencies under the rule of the
Democratic party.
FACTORY INSPECTION,
The Office of factory inspector, Gre
ated in 1890, cost the state for that
year for salaries and contingent ex-