122 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
statement seems to imply that carpenters' wages in i8gi were on the average from S3. 25 to S3-50-
It would be an endless task to enumerate the different provocations to statistical agnosticism in the Aldrich report, as quoted in the section under discussion. I do not wonder that employes who have had experiences irreconcilable with Colonel Wright's inferences in the trades reported say hard things about professional statisticians.
The author's argument on " Proportions of Skilled and Unskilled Labor" (pp. 253 f.) is another instance which tempts the irreverent non-professional to declare that statistics, like the Bible, may be made to prove anything. The proposition is : "The number engaged in the lowest walks of activity, laborers and the like, is decreasing in proportion, while those employed in higher walks are increasing in number rela- tively to the whole population." By means of a skillful grouping of persons reported in gainful occupations it is made to appear that the pro- portion of proprietors is increasing, that the proportions of clerical and skilled labor are also increasing, but that the proportion of unskilled labor is decreasing. This, again, may be true, but we must be excused from admitting that it is proved to be true by the evidence cited. If I read the census tables correctly. Colonel Wright has included in the "proprietor" class several hundred thousand whose income is within the income limits of unskilled laborers. If these classes were rearranged, not by title, but by income, the author's claim would possibly be demol- ished.
My conclusion, then, about Colonel Wright's book is that the author himself could make it a tremendously useful book of instruction for a college class. He has at command the knowledge necessary to guard against the unauthorized conclusions suggested by incautious use of the data. The professor of statistics at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell, and a few other institutions would likewise be able to make proper use of this compilation. For the teacher of sociology who is not an expert in the use of statistics, however, our American data are a quicksand. This book does not insure firm footing in walk- ing over it. The author's optimism is inspiring, but is it justified by the facts ? Before venturing to use this book, teachers should take the precaution to train themselves severely in the logic of statistical science. They should be equipped with ability to supply the qualifications which will discriminate between what is taken on faith and what is demonstrated.
Albion W. Small.
