448 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Looking at one part of the foregoing table, it will be seen that 

 between 1850 and 1890 the population increased 170'45 per cent, 

 while the expenditures of the Government for the same period 

 increased 338'3G per cent, the percentage of increase in expendi- 

 tures being enormously in excess of the increase in population. 

 If, however, one should examine the business side, which offers 

 the truer basis of comparison, so far as expenditures are concerned, 

 it will be seen that the percentage of increase in 1880 over 1850 

 was 426"89 per cent. The figures for 1890 are not yet available. 

 Taking the same year, that is, 1880, for the three elements, we find 

 that the population increased in 1880 as over 1850 116'26 per cent, 

 expenditures for the same period 218*17 per cent, and the value 

 of manufactured products increased 426*89 per cent. To carry 

 this illustration to its logical completeness, the statistics of valua- 

 tions and some others should be added, but they would simply be 

 accumulative on the business side of the comparison as against 

 the simple comparison of expenditures with population. 



Criminal statistics are, perhaps, the most misleading, even 

 when absolutely correct. The attempt is often made to compare 

 the criminal statistics of one State with those of another, in order 

 to determine relative criminal conditions. Such a comparison is 

 and must be thoroughly vicious in every element. One illustra- 

 tion will be sufficient. Suppose one should undertake, as has been 

 the case, to compare the criminal conditions of Massachusetts and 

 Virginia by means of the statistics of crime. Such a comparison 

 would lead only to unjust conclusions, to angry discussion, and to 

 general ill-feeling, for the reason that the criminal codes of the two 

 States differ widely. A few years ago I had occasion to examine 

 this subject, and I found that the criminal code of Massachusetts, 

 at the time the study was made, provided for the punishment of 

 158 offenses designated as crimes, and the sentences under the 

 statutes of course appeared in the criminal statistics of Massachu- 

 setts. The code of Virginia at the same time recognized but 10S 

 such offenses as crimes punishable at law ; that is, there were 50 

 distinct offenses known to the Massachusetts law which were rot 

 to be found in the criminal laws of Virginia. No honest compari- 

 son, therefore, could be made between the criminal statistics of 

 the two States, and a truthful statement of such statistics in com- 

 parison would lead to the most dishonest conclusions. Even with 

 parallel codes and with accurate statistics of the number of per- 

 sons in prison for crime, no conclusions would be justifiable, for 

 of the offenses common to both States several were punishable by 

 imprisonment in Massachusetts, but by fine only in Virginia. So 

 the prison statistics would show sentences under grave crimes in 

 Massachusetts, while the prison statistics of Virginia would show 

 that no one had been sentenced for such crimes. The grave 



