River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-11-03
Another GIaring Instance OF
Democratic Juggling with
Government Statistics.
LABOR BULLETIN IGNORED
In Order to Make Political Capital and
Also to MisrepreSent Conditions
and Deceive Voters Cam.
paigu Textbook Trickery.

democratic newspapers Tor the past lew
weeks and of the recently issued Demo-
cratic Campaign Text Book discloses a
disposition on the part of the managers
of the Democratic campaign to discredit
the report ON wages and cost Of living
made by the Bureau of Labor in its July
Bulletin (No. So. In view of the repu-
tation of Commissioner Wright for abso-
lutte fairness in the collection and pres
entation of statistics it is of some in
terest at this time to review his report
in the light of the indignant criticisms
which it has brought forth, and it may
be said at the outset that careful eX-
animation of the report reveals the some
what remarkable fact that practically
every criticism made has been answered
in the Bulletin itself. Indeed it would
almost appear that the compilers of the
Text Book either did not make use OF
the Bulletin or had no desire to be con-
WINGED of the truth of the figures pub
lished therein, and that their insinua-
tions and clumsy miscellaneous of fact
were made for the purpose of mislead-
ing the public mind. Let us proceed
to the most specific of the somewhat
vague charges that are made.
1t is first charged that the report pub
Text Book prepared ostensibly as an
official document, but i'll reality, it seems,
for the special use Of the Republican
Campaign Committee" The "well-nigh
conclusive" evidence submitted in sup
port of this charge consists Of a state
ment by Secretary SHAW III June last
that such report would be published.
AS a matter of fact. it had been known
to the public for several years that the
Bureau of Labor was engaged III collect
ing data for such report and the por-
ton of the report relating to cost OF Nv
ing was actually published III Bulletin
40 as early as November, l903-nearly
eight months previous to Secretary
Shaw's statement.
Not What Democrats Wanted.
1t is clearly stated in the Bulletin
itself that the investigation was begun
in the winter of 1000-190l, and without
doubt the records OF the bureau and
the testimony of hundreds Of manufac-
turers whose pay rolls We're examined
would have proved the truth Of the state
ment, had the truth been desired in Dem
ocratic quarters. But no---for political
reasons, the facts disclosed were not
pleasing, and it seemed necessary to
adopt some method apparently any
method that would detract from an eX-
hibt of a remarkable condition OF indus
trial depression was desired Conclusive
evidence is at hand that the gathering
OF these statistics was begun in the win
ter of 1900 1901, and that they were
not cook ed up" for the occasion as
charged. but it is not to be expected
that this absurd charge will be with
drawn, although as 4 matter OF fact the
figures as to wages and cost of living
referred to have been corrob0rated 10y in
dependent Investigations which have been
concluded by the State bureaus OF sew
eral important States.
1t is charged also that by giving equal
weight to unimportant articles Of con-
sumption and articles OF prime nece5-
sity an unduly small increase in cost OF
living is secured. 1t is grayely asserted
that nutmegs, pepper, alum, etc. are
given equal weight with such important
articles as lard, beef, eggs -four, etc.
This charge might indeed. be conyinc-
ing if it contained even a slight element
Of truth. Unfortunately for the'criticism,
however, the Bulletin itself states that
all articles of food are weighed exactly.
according to the amount consumed In the
average workingman's family. In this
Bulletin the exact quantities are given
and the method clearly explained, so
that the charge can only be construed as
a deliberate attempt to mislead the vot-
ers of the country and not as an error
Oh the part Of the compiler Of the text
book. AS a matter Of fact the most
careful search of Bulletin 53 shows that
the unimportant articles referred to, such
as putty, nutmegs, alum, pepper, etc,
are not even mentioned therein These
articles are found, however, among the
2GO articles entering into al index OF
wholesale prices which has been publish
ed annually by the bureau for the past
three years, but this index mas no con-
nection whatever with the report on cost
Of living. One pauses to wonder ut the
fact that the Democratic managers are
50 lacking in resource as TO adopt the
clumsy trick of injecting figures from
another report into a discussion of the
report on cost Of living, and pretend that
they were a part of the latter report. 1t
must be assumed that in this section
there was the studied intention to mis-
represent and convey an impression to
the public utterly contrary to the truth
and entirely unWarranted by the facts.
The entire portion of the Text Book I'M
der the caption ADSuFuIby Oh hepuDIA-
can Averages" pages ia and 125), and
much that follows on pages 1913 and 127,
is of the character just mentioned.
A Ludicrous Complaint.
The further complaint that the figures
for cost Of living are based on retail
pricas instead of wholesale can only be
understood by assuming that the use OF
the latter would have given the Demo
cratic campaign managers little less
discomfort Bulletin SO clearly explains
the reasons for the use OF retail prices
as basis for cost of living in prefer
ence to the wholesale. 1t is true that
wholesale prices have been used at times
to indicate the trend Of cost Of living,
but they are considered by economists
as unreliable for the purpose Of indicat-
ing the extent of the increase or 1e-
crease. Until the present day investiga-
ton by the Bureau Of Labor no records
Of retail prices covering any consider
abIa pariod had over bnen poliactpd Ovy.