Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-11-12
William H. Allen Wants Cities
and Counties to Have Clearing
House of information
FIGURES ARE NoT+APPREclATED
Efficiency Doctrine Man Shows Sta
tistics Are All important in Ac-
complishine Municipal Reforms -
New York Men Learned Importance
of Posting Up"
Special to Times-Republican.

Clpdl TeSeatcil Ol New 1oEk, ilatS QOSI-
poned the lecture he was to have deliv-
cred here tonight. He will come later.
He comes to preach the doctrine of
efficiency" in all human activity.
From the expenditure of public money
to the making OF requests; from the
experimenting of Sunday school to
laying down a pavement; from con-
babies" to assessing property for tax
alton purposes and from conducting Il
ing municipal statistics he breaches
the doctrine of efficiency as the one
test OF worth.
Copies OF Efficient Democracy
have reached Des Moines and have
been read by number OF public men
and persons interested in public af
fairs Universally the doctrine has
touched q. responsive chord every
where. The method by which Mr.. AL
len would secure efficiency" In all
human activity is by the aid Of statis-
tics. On this point he claims that sta
tistics have been ostracised because of
the ignorance of the people as to the
use and Importance Of statistics. To
the oft repeated statement that by
statistics you can prove anything, he
answers that it is not the fault of the
statistics but the Inference that is
drawn from the figures that is at
fault. FIe claims that statistics are
too often q. collection of figures. Where
,tention Of showing what has been &C
iconplisled for the money and effort
expended they will show it exactly and
those interested can judge for them
selves whether it is sufficient or not.
He claims that the statistics should be
gathered in the first place to answer
the desire to know and that in pre-
pairing the statistics there should be
unit of inquiry, count and compari-
son, because only by comparison can
efficiency be Judged. His idea is that
frequently showing can be made
that a great deal has been done when
in fact that which has been accom-
plished is only a small per cent of
For instance Mr. Allen refers to a
published statement taken from a
newspaper that it costs 5000 to save a
soul in Chicago and rs cents in At
lanta, Ga. Then he discusses the
question. Some shudder at the thought
and grow angry at the comparison.
They seem to think that there is no
limit to the worth of soul and that
a soul saved for eternity outweighs all
earthly considerations. Yes, says Mr..
Allen, in effect, but since money is
more or less scarce and lost souls are
in abundance the efficiency test should
be applied and the money made to
save as many souls as possible.
Mr.. Allen advocates that every
county, city and township should have
clearing house of statistics and in
formation for the public on the man
agenent of its public affairs, official
and charitable and benevolent. He
would have a bureau, organized similar
to that in New York, known as the
Bureau Of Municipal Research. Here
he would have the same efficiency"
test put on the work. He would have
the workers gather not "what they
thought was worth publishing but ev-
erything. He would have them pub
lish from time to time statements con-
corning the various lines of public ac-
tivlty and he would have this bureau
at all times equipped with information
for the benefit Of the public.
When New York state passed law
90, -, n a
New York city board of aldermen, q
day when the taxpayers could come in
and enter their objections to the pro-
posed butget for the year and offer
suggestions for the expenditure of their
money, it was found that none Of the
taxpayers had the information neces-
s;ary to base an intelligent objection or
suggestion. Then some of the public
men got together and equipped them
selves with information. The result
was that when they next appeared
before the city council on Taxpayers
Day they demanded that the appropria-
ton to the health department. be based
for the coming year on the amount
of work that had been done the past
year, instead Of a mere guess at
the council looked up what the health
department had done the previous year
the committee was able to supply them
with information that the council and
even the board Of health did not know
and it was found that the health de-
partment was chiefly characterized by
what it didn't do, and the committee
was able to give the mayor and city
council explanations much clearer than
they were prepared to expect.
The Allen idea of municipal research
and efficiency is the result of years
of growth in New York. In the first
place Boston secured an official sta
tistics department thru act of the leg
islature. 1t published much statis-
tical information which thru the oper-
alton of the boss system In politics was
characterized by what it didn't
show. TIE figures that would show
the efficiency" idea We're left out.
The result was that Boston led all the
cities of the country in the percentage
Of backward pupils in the public
and this statistical department
failed to discover and show the fact.
In the same way this Boston statistical
failed in publishing its sta
tistics to connect up the fact that
there was decline in the efficiency of
milk inspection during a protracted
period of extreme heat, which resulted
in marked increase In infant mortal
ify There were other holes in the sys-