Page:Graphic methods for presenting facts (1914).djvu/30

 *erates would show clearly through the colored ink used for the main divisions.

Though it would have been possible to portray the data given in Fig. 7 in the form of the square shown in Fig. 5, the square would take up so much room on the page that the method would be prohibitive if all the States had to be shown on one page for comparison. With the method of Fig. 7, it is possible to place on one page all the forty-eight States so that comparison between States can be made instantly and accurately.

Prof. Irving Fisher in the New York Times

Fig. 8. The Vote for President in 1908 and in 1912 by States

Compare this with Fig. 5 where the vertical scale is continuous, without the gaps necessary here in order to distinguish different States

Fig. 8 shows another method of analyzing to 100 per cent in each of two directions. The method of Fig. 5 could be used for these data, but would not be as easy to understand as the method of Fig. 8. Fig. 5 would require most careful cross-hatching to bring out the vertical subdivisions for each of the different States. By using the method of Fig. 8, each State can be shown distinctly even if it is only the width of a line, as in the case of Nevada or Wyoming. The wide space between the different bars showing the States adds tremendously to the clearness of the diagram. The vertical scale for the width of bars is made according to the number of electoral votes from each of the States. New York has more electoral votes than any other State, and is there