diagram contains nothing by which accurate comparison may be made. No figures are given, and it is impossible to tell whether the different money bags should be compared on the basis of diameter, area, or volume. Almost the only conclusion which can be drawn from such a diagram is one regarding the relative rank of the different expenditures. The reliability of even that is likely to be questioned because of the evident lack of accuracy in this kind of chart. Nevertheless the cartoonist style should not be broadly condemned, for it has tremendous possibilities. It is possible to combine the cartoonist's wonderful power of arousing interest with methods of presenting facts which will give a numerical interpretation that cannot be misunderstood. There is a great opportunity waiting for the man who can combine cartoon methods with accuracy of numerical statement.
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The Independent
Fig. 17. Five Forms of Our National Waste
A cartoon type of chart like this will reach a
popular audience. Accuracy of statement
should not, however, be sacrificed as it has
been here, in that there is no way of correctly
comparing the money bags
Fig. 18 gives a statement which the illustration does not support. In the first place, the dates of the two years compared are not given. In the second place, it is impossible for the reader to tell whether the diagram is drawn on the basis of one dimension, two dimensions, or three dimensions. It would be a hopeless task to fit the area of the smaller washing machine into the area of the larger washing machine. Methods like this cannot be too severely condemned.
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Good Housekeeping
Fig. 18. Illustration Intended to Show that the Sale of Washing Machines has Increased Sevenfold in the Past Three Years
In comparing the two pictures it is not
likely that the reader will obtain a
ratio of seven to one. There is no
way for the reader to tell on what basis
the drawing was prepared, whether by
height, area or volume. The title of
this chart is also poor in that it does
not name the two years for which the
comparison is made
Commercial geography, as it is now widely taught in the public schools by listing the various imports and exports of countries and the products of different cities, fails to give a clear idea of the
