The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-09
COMMISSIONER wRIGHr"s FIGURES.

COMMISSIONER wRIGHT's FIGURES.
1t would naturally be supposed that
a government official whose duty it is
TO collect information for the public
would try to make his reports as near
correct as possible. If a statement put
out by the Democratic Congressional
Committee is correct, and We have no
reason to doubt that it is, Mr.. Carroll
Wright, United States Labor Commits
sioner, has been using his Office for
the benefit of the Republican party.
Recently he published a statement
on Wages and the Cost of Living" in
which he made it appear that the cost
of living in 1903 was 1913 per cent. high
CT than the average cost for the ten
years from 1890 to 1899. and that week.
ly wages were 1913 per cent. higher in
1903 than the average for the ten years
from 1890 to 1899.
1t appears from these figures that
the purchasing power of wages was
considerably greater in 1903 than the
average purchasing power of wages
from 1890 to 1899. The purpose of Com
missioner Wright is plain. 1t is to show
that the country is in a more prosper
Gus condition under Mr.. Roosevelt's
administration than it had been for
many years previously. OF course if
the people can be made to believe the
country is more prosperous with Mr.
Roosevelt as President than it had
been for many years under other Pres
idents, their inclination would be to
keep him in the White House.
II seems that the chairman of the
Democratic Congressional Committee
has had thorough investigation of
this subject of wages and the cost of
living made and has found sufficient
facts to justify him in saying that
Commissioner Wright juggled with the
figures in making up his report. The
charge is made that instead of con-
fning himself to wholesale prices of
food products-prices which are stable
he took for comparison prices of re-
'ailers which are very unstable, and
differ widely in different localities This
he had never done in previous reports.
And it is charged that he wouldn't
have done it in making up the report
under consideration if it had not offer
ed the opportunity of securing the re-
suit he wanted. 1t can readily be seen
that he could obtain prices for compar-
ison in certain localities in which the
percentage of profit was much greater
in some years than in others.
1t is an easy matter to prove about
anything you want with figures. All
that is necessary is to start with fig
ures in harmony with the result de-
sired.
If 1T were true that the country was
in the prosperous condition represented
by Commissioner Wright there wouldn't
be so many men out of employment as
there are. 1t is estimated that the
number approaches 100000. For sew
eral months the railroads have been
discharging men-not those engag-
ed in the operating departments,
as a rule. but those employed in max
ing improvements. Since there has
Deen a ldlilnB OH IN business tne ROADS
find they are unable to continue the
extensive betterments they had plan
ned. And there are thousands out of
employment on account of strikes.
The strikes are of course due to eff
forts to reduce wages or TO some other
reason showing the country isn't so
prosperous as 1t was a year or so ago.
Mr.. Shaw. the Secretary of the Treas
ury. has been using Commissioners
Wrights figures in his campaign
speeches. and no doubt it is the pur-
pose of other Republican spellbinders
to use them. 1t seems a fair conclusion
therefore that they were intended for
campaign purposes. .--
If it be fact that they are erroneous.
and are easily shown TO be, and, as as
serted by the chairman of the Demo-
cratic Congressional Committee. were
obtained from sources known to be
unreliable, Congress ought to take no.
tice of the matter as soon as it assem-
bles, 1t is a great outrage on the peo-
pie to have the public money used for
campaign purposes and public officials
made to do campaign work for the
party in power.