Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-28

and contradictory statistics, which is mUoh
worse The criticism is commonly heard
their own untrustworthiness by the fact
that often they cannot be reconciled with
each other.
"A private manufacturing establishment.
If carried on with the lack of cooperation
between it's several departments that marks
our governmental statistical factory. would
be quickly added to the list of involuntary
bankrupts. 1t is very much as though such
an establishment, making agricultural i'm
plementS. for example. was unable or un-
willing to supply interchangeable parts. 1t
seems a safe proposition that no governs
ment has any right, in justice to itself ana
it's citizens. to publish figures, labeled Of
fetal statistics, which are irreconcilable
with any other statistics bearing the same
label, under the name of another federal
official. Whenever this occurs the govern
ment discredits itself and juStifles suspicion
of its good faith.
Easy to Exaggerate.
''It is easy to eSaggerate the discrepancy
which thus occurs. But it is true that no
man can obtain from the reports of the
bureau of statistics of the Treasury Ee-
partment the same conception of the guam
tity and value of our foreign trade which
he will get from perusal Of the reports CT
our bureau of foreign commerce. in the
State Department. 1t is difficult for the
layman to understand why flour, bread.
molasses. wines, canned meats and vege-
tables, and many other similar articles,
should be classified as products of agricul-
ture in the export tables of the treasury
bureau and classified as products of manu-
facture in the census reports. There are
either one thing or the other and they
ought to be the same in the reports of all
the bureaus of the same government. Inc
census office reports the growth of wheat In
the census year at COS, 534 252 bushels. and
the Department of Agriculture reports the
quantity grown in the same year at ILL.,
go, 4O6 bushels less. These are illustrations
of discrepancies which constantly occur
discrepancies which discredt both sets OF
figures and which would not be possible II
there was proper cooperation between the
several bureaus and desire on the part OF
all of them to investigate the sources OF
difference and definitely determine, in ad-
vance of publication. which was right"
Mr. North thought the concentration of
many of these statistical bureaus under the
supervision of one cabinet officer a long
step toward the reform of these inconsist-
encies. Cooperation and consolidation be-
tween the bureaus will bring about
remedy of these defects. While the scope
of federal statistics may be extended their
actual bulk will, perhaps, be reduced and
order and consistency will be impaired to
them. The logic of the situation requires
that all the strictly statistical investigation
of the federal government, except such as
is drawn from departmental records like
should be concentrated in one department.
subject to the unifying supervision of one
responsible statistical chief, cabinet Off
GER in charge Of all the separate statistical
bureaus. He saw no insurmountable OBJ
stacle to such a concentration.
IAN extraordinary development has taken
place. said Mr. North, '1n the official
statistics published by the several states of
the Union, SURPRISING in bulk and variety
the simultaneous growth in federal stat
istics. This development dates from about
1869, when the first bureau of labor stat
istics. that of Massachusetts. was organ
led In the intervening thirty years thirty
such bureaus have been esta blished all of
them engaged in statistical work within
their state limits. along lines more or less
similar to those of the census office and the
of Labor. and together turning
out every year. a mass of material almost
as large as that of the twelfth federal
census.
But Small Portion of Work.
"These bureaus of labor statistics repre-
sent only small portion of the statistical
work regularly done by the state bureaus,
much of it touching closely, at some point.
the work. assigned by Congress to the per-
manent census Office. There are mining
bureaus, or boards of mining inspectors, in
many states; boards of agriculture; state
biologists; state boards of charities; boards
which compile statistics of the criminal de-
Inquent and defective classes; railroad and
electric light commissions; forestry COM
and boards of vital statistics. The
details regarding the statistical work of
these numerous state boards and bureaus
have been carefully compiled in the census
office by Mr.. William A. Countryman of the
division of manufactures, and they are sub
mitted in the form of an appendix to this
paper"
While there is a certain general similarity
in the kindred statistics of the several
states their striking characteristic is a lack
of scientific homogeneity. The suggestions
springing from meetings Of the officials Of
bureaus Of labor statistics had improved
the manner of making these statistics
Mr.. North referred to various difficulties
met by efforts to secure statistics and sug
gested means for overcoming them.
Difficulty in Securing Data.
'It is now fifty years since the historian
Buckle. paid that splendid tribute in his
History of Civilization to the influence of
statistics in uprooting the traditions and
superstitions of the past and developing
our knowledge of the great laws which
underlie all human progress in civiliza-
ton. said Mr.. North "'Statistics.' he
concluded, though yet in its infancy, has
already thrown more light upon the study
of human nature than all the other sciences
put together In the Intervening half CEN
fury what a tremendous advance has been
made in the scope, the methods, and the
trustworthiness of statistical data! In the
interval the entire branch of Industrial
statistics. as we understand 1t, has been
conceived and developed to Its present
stage. There is now an opportunity to ad-
vance this branch to point of practical
utility hitherto impossible BY co-opera-
ton. coordination and unif1cation we shall
save great sums of money; we shall in
crease administrative efficiency; we shall
bring official industrial data into harmony
and consistency; we shall eliminate dupli-
cation and remove irritation; we shall in
crease the intrinsic value of our work and
we shall build up public confidence in the
accuracy and utility of industrial statistics.
These are ends worthy of our best en-
deavOr."
The reading of Mr.. North's paper was
followed by general discussion of its sug-
gestions by the delegates.
Cooperation Suggested.
The report of the committee on co-opera-
ton Of the federal and state governments
in the collection of statistics made by Mr..
Horace c. Wadlin, chairman was then read
by Mr. James M Clark. secretary of the
convention. The committee making this
report was appointed at the last meeting
of the convention at New Orleans
1.-The committee suggests" the report
stated. collaboration and coordination be-
tween the census office and the state bu-
reaus, with a view to unification in the
similar work Of thaaa of3oas Tho can