Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-10-17

establishment for The actual time the
establishment was in operation. In the
1900 census the average" number en-
pIoyed each month was taken, and the
establishment was considered to have
run the full twelve months. This sys-
tenn is bad in all cases, but 1t becomes
positively absurd in industries which
run only half the year. 1t frequently
results in averages which are less
than the least number considered. As
Mr.. III. L. Bliss, the nonpartisan Stats.
tician, says:
1T will be seen by census bulletin
No. POO, giving statistics of the can
ming of fruits. vegetables and fish, that
while the greatest number of wage
earners employed at any one time dur
ing the year was 1873, 106 and the least
number employed at any one time was
40, 1G6 the average number is reported
as but 36.4O1. In the manufacture of
building glass we find the greatest
number employed given as 1898. the
least number as 16,059 and the average
number as 1902"
Mr. Bliss says that this method of
have been planned to create a fictitious
increase in earnings between 1890 and
1900 similar to the fallacious increase
shown at the preceding census between
1880 and 1890"
He further says: ITO see how this
works let us suppose that some brick
and tile establishment employs an av-
erage of 100 wage earners for each Of
six months of the year and is idle for
the remainder of the year. Following
the new census method, we add togeth
er the averages obtained for each of
the six months and divide the total
which is 600, by u. This gives us 30
as the number that would be reported
at the present census as the average
number, a number that is just one-half
the number that would be obtained by
the method of preceding censuses. The
effect of reducing the number of wage
earners One-haIf is of course to double
the apparent average earnings"
Mr. Bliss shows that if the lumber
and timber industry be omitted from
the census of Michigan and Wisconsin
there will be shown decided decrease
in wages in these states instead of the
rise that is shown by the juggled cen
sus. He thinks that wages in this
country declined between 3 and 10 per
cent from 1890 to 1900 instead of only
IL per cent, as indicated by the Off
ciaI census.
This much for Colonel Wright's wage
statistics. His price statistics are jug
gled even more deity. Without at
tempting to explain the juggle in them,
it is sufficient to say that some of the
Republican experts in the statistical
bureaus at Washington do not hesitate
to say, though they do not publish
these statements, that Wright's price
figures are absurd, largely because they
are practically not weighted at ALL
that is, because the prices of unimpor
tant articles are given as much weight
in making averages as are the prices
of important articles. Thus the prices
of $50 unimportant articles which show
a decline will offset the prices of 100
important articles which show SINH
lar advance. Mr.. Wright quoted the
prices of go articles. He balanced the
price of nutmegs, which declined from
100 to 46.9, with lard, which advanced
from 100 to 1919. He put in blcarbo-
nate of soda as of equal Importance
with fresh beef. Soda showed de
cline of 1873 per cent, While beef rose
25.9 per cent. He put in two quota
tons of sheep, which showed a rise of
only 3 per cent, and only one of corn.
which showed a rise of $50 per cent
The value of corn sold is twenty or
thirty times the value of sheep sold.
The price of matches, which declined
10 per cent, affects Mr.. Wright's aver
ages as much as does the price of coke,
which rose 50 per cent. Wood screws,
which show a decline of 81 per cent,
affect the averages of metals and i'm
plements as much as do steel billets,
which show rise of AZ per cent. The
value of steel billets consumed is 100
times that of wood screws.
OF course an ordinary statistician
with an elastic conscience and a repu-
tation to insure the publication of his
statistics can prove anything by such
methods. Yet it is on such stuff as
this that Colonel Wright's reputation
as a statistician rests. That he still
has some reputation left is due In part
to the faithful and uniring efforts of