Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-02
DEMOCRATS DIFFER
Do Not Agree With Bureau
of Labor
AS TO COST OF LIVING
INCREASE OF WAGES HAS BEEN
INADEoUATE,, THEY SAY.
Congressional Committee Will Issue q
Statement Containing Some
New Statistics. S-,'H

The democratic congressional committee
In the near future will issue a statement
on the subject of the cost of living and the
rates of wages, in opposition to the conclu-
sions reached IN the bulletins that have
been published by the bureau of labor on
that subject.
AT headquarters of the committee conf
dence is expressed in the ability of the COM
mittee to effectually refute the claim that
since 1894 and 1895 the rates of wages gem
orally have increased in greater proper
ton than has the cost of living. This state
ment will be gotten up with the greatest
possible care and it will attack the method
of reasoning used by the bureau of labor in
arriving at its figures
1t Is not believed that there has been
any careless work in the making up of this
statement, and 1t is not expected that any
errors will be found in the compilation OF
the tables that have been put out by the
bureau of labor. The democrats who do
not like the showing of the statement, ara
do not believe that it is warranted by the
conditions that exist in the country at this
time. merely declare that the method OF
gathering the statistics on which these bull
letins based is not one that properly re-
fleets the conditions that exist over the
country.
officials Not Worried.
At the bureau of labor there Is no feel
ing of uneasiness about the criticism that
may be made of it's bulletin on the cost of
living and the rate of wages. 1t Is said
there that until that statement was COM
pleted no one in the bureau knew what 1T
would show for the reason that at one
time or another as many as 100 men were
at work on it. that until all the figures
were brought together to secure final re-
suits 1t was not possible to for any one to
l,.x do, ,trlf q
to the bureau that the rate of hourly wage
in this country since 1894 has Increased
more than has the cost of living
So far as any possible political bias on
the part of the statisticianS of the bureau
Is concerned 1t Is suggested by officials who
know the force of men who do this work
that more than half of them are democrats.
1t is pointed out that the bureau was au-
thorized by Congress just before the in
auguration of President Cleveland and be-
fore the civil service law was applied to the
appointments of members Of that force.
Carroll d. Wright was appointed before
President Cleveland came into office. but
that was the only appointment that was
made during the first four years of the his
tory of the bureau that was not made by a
democratic President.
1t is said that the men who came in dur
ing those first four years because Of their
experience to large extent are the men
who today All the places of responsibility
In the bureau. Since then there have been
many appointments of men connected with
organized labor. and it is said that many
of these have been democrats.
Bias Impossible.
But aside from the politics of the men
who constitute the force of the bureau
officials say that the nature of the work is
such as to entirely eliminate every personal
bias on the part of the Investigators
1t would be unreasonable. they say
for them to attempt to influence the results
10 De secured from their work as II would
Tor any other class of men engaged In sci
entihc work investigation. They have to
stand or fail in the Estimate of the world
by the integrity of their efforts Their
methods of reasoning, to arrive at the re-
suits they attain, are known to statisticians
everywhere and they are judged according
ly- These methods also are such as have
been approved by statisticians generally
Representative Cowherd, chairman of the
democratic congressional committee was
told today that at the bureau of labor it
was claimed that more than half of the
force engaged in statistical work were
democrats.
To refer to the appointment of men 20
indicate their politics.. replied Mr. Cow
Eerd. us so apparently lacking Of sound
reason that is hardly worth discussion
We all know that with this government.
under republican rule for eight years what
the politics of the government empIoyes
Is 1t would operate according to the 81 ne
IA Nipie II the CONDITION were reVerSe al
with the democrats in control of the gov
eminent. $500
Until the employees of the government,
here are thoroughly convinced that Parker
and Davis are to be elected next Noyembe,
II VIII be hard matter to find any demo
Gratis. When it becomes appa rent to them
that Parker will be lected there will prob
ably be found that three-fourth of all tn,
employees Of the government are demo.
cratic When he is elected 30 per cent OF
them will be democrats.
Now, what is the use of talking about
the politics of the men employed in the
bureau of labor o. any other bureau In
this city, concluded the chairman