WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 3 February 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

VALUE STATISTICS. (Special to “ Guardian WELLINGTON, Feb. 1. A wonderful use is now being made of statistics and this is particularly the case in the United States. In that country the Bureau of Statistics deals with figures of all kinds, and the latest to lie dealt with arc those bearing on machinery and the effect of machinery on the cost of production, etc. Of course other countries engage in statistics hut do not go so thoroughly into the matter as the United States, possibly because of the costs involved, in the United States (ilteeu economists were engaged by General .Motors, Ltd., to study the question of instalment buying. A conference of statisticians was recently held in Hobart, Tasmania, when "Major L. F. Gihlin. Deputy-Com-monwealth Statistician, who was present, spoke highly of the New Zealand method, and said: "New Zealand leads the world in its statistical methods, and we in Australia are out to emulate her.” The compliment no doubt was well deserved, and it must he admitted that the New Zealand Government Statistician (.Mr .Malcolm Fraser) is particularly careful and gives us a wide selection of topics, considering the limited amount of funds at his disposal.

It is a pity that we cannot spare more money for this work because a great deal more would he done and gladly done hv the statistician. Compiling statistics is hard and slow work, hut accuracy is essential and therefore it takes a number of statisticians to <lo t.-e work. Statistics are now regarded as just as' important as research work, indeed one is complementary to the othei Every business, observes a contemporary. which hopes to succeed must have an accurate costing system and periodical taking of stork. Ihe work ol the statistician combines the two things hut the great difference is that it is lai more complicated and has to take account of values which cannot he entered mechanically in columns of figures. And out of that mass of facts and

figures, in many respects necessarily incomplete, and often with no appearance of inter-relation, the statistician has to build up something which can he presented as a whole. Naturally, the more complete his information, the less need is there for Hie use of imagination to fill gaps and the more obvious the relationship existing between these separate sets of facts and figures, the easier it- is for him to establish the oorelation. Perhaps the strongest evident o available of the advance in public appreciation of the work is that some of the principles of statistics are now taught to the hoys and girls. Blit there are statisticians and statisticians and some are really clever. But unfortunately some statisticians prepare their facts, and figures according to order. That is so in the United States, 'flic General Motors engage a number of statisticians to study this problem of instalment selling. Now it is a well known fact that fully 7o per cent of the business done in motor cars is done on the instalment plan. This plan is of the very essence of business life in America, for a good many other articles are sold on this plan. The Americans have become obsessed with the idea- that instalment buying fs necessary for the industrial progress of the country and to prevent business depression. Some authorities say that America is beginning to feel the effects of trade reaction, hut as against this it is pointed out that present business though no longer proceeding at hooin levels of a year is by no means depressed in the ordinary sense of the term. The statisticians employed hv the General Motors have conveniently found that instalment Inlying is quite

sale if properly applied. We want t< encourage sta tistieans to he fair and t undid in their views and not to take sides to suit those who pay them.