Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/105

 ECCENTRIC OFFICIAL STATISTICS 89

whatever, or would not have given correct and complete answers." The attempt being made at the Eleventh Census to obtain this infor- mation, a number of establishments, it appears, refused to make return. What assurance have we that the remainder have given correct answers? In many industries the manufacturers have asked protection from for- eign competition, on the ground of the high wages paid their labor. What reason have we to suppose, if this be the case, that they would make return showing that they were paying low wages ?

Mr. Steuart does not state that the Lorillard establishment was one of those refusing to make return. This is a matter of interest, because from such a statement we might judge whether or not this establish- ment was omitted from the census because of the large number of females and children employed and the small wages paid, as indicated by the small wage loss from the strike of June 14 to 27, 1887, reported by Colonel Wright in his report on strikes and lockouts. That there is ground for this ungracious suspicion is shown by the returns of other localities. In Chicago, for instance, we find in the same indus- try the returns, as made by enumerators of population, special agents, and the state factory inspector, to be as follows :

Males Females Children

Census tables of occupation, - - 2,434 456 —

Census tables of manufacturers, - 2,176' 781' 58

State factory inspector's report, 1894, 2,613' 1,136' 568

As state factory inspection in Illinois was organized in 1893, we give the figures for the first year in which there was a fairly complete report. As, according to the returns of factory inspectors of other states, there was after the panic of 1893 a large falling off in the num- ber of employes in this industry, particularly of children, it is almost certain that the number of children employed in 1890 was greater than in 1894. We are unable to give the number of children returned by the enumerators of population, because the lowest age classification as published for the cities is from ten to twenty-four. By this method embarrassing comparisons are avoided. This method of tabulation, the change in age classification, particularly the change in the ques- tion from age last birthday to age nearest birthday, all tend to con- firm the suspicion of a purpose on the part of eminent census officials to mislead the public.

Of this change in the question from age last birthday to age near- est birthday, which has the effect of excluding a very large proportion

' Over sixteen. 'Over fifteen.