USEFUL HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 183, 2 August 1913, Page 13

USEFUL HINTS.

' t m , a - ■ • ■pX TJSIHC STATISTICS. !, A JBy DOG TOBY.) '■- "■"-[ In spite of the dictum of a famous English Lord Chancellor to the "effect that one should never give reasons, "the directors of the View's Supply Company believe that there ia a "good prospectfor the department ' they have established for the purpose of supplying peopla with reasons for holding-any particular views they may fancy.- If all the testimonials are genuine it would certainly" ■seem that "a brisk and satisfactory "busi-" ness X being done "in this direction;' I The little, pamphlet dealing with- tha, subject is moat attractively, got up. -it begins with a shorit essay on how to find reasons for yourself. First, you must decide what yicw you "wish, to' adopt. Having, done"' this,'y'du ' KditC: round for reasons why 'you hold ' this" view. Host people are unable, to rind any, so.it. is here, the .company,comes. in, and ejther supplies, you with hints for' finding reasons for yourself or else sotk". plies you with reasons ready made.-lor people desiring to make their -own reasons it gives the following .

First, get together* a' few statistics;Any statistic.-; will do, as long-.u theyhave name remote bearing-on the matter in hind, If they have no bearing,- theycan be made to bear on- Hie-subject-by. statistical experts. The important thing is not. the collection of statistics,, but. the proper manipulation of any materialto hand... As an inst-ince of what canbe done in- this- direction; the writergives the- following;—A meeting-is attended hy two people.only. On a resolution being submitted,-one person, votai for ii and another ogam.-t it. So you can. a .iy, "Oh the motion being submitted to the meeting only one h.ind' vras lielrt tip ng.iinst it."' Or, of course, you coull reverse it, and say, ' '-On the motion being put, only ono han.l was held up in its fivour." The main thing in'dealing #ftb~ statistics" ia" M omit nee.dlcs.l dclr.il. Statistics may be made much more useful if you deal in percentages without actual figures. Thin if,there .wore only*, four people art church, three mc*i and, a woman, instead of"stating the bald you would say that it was gratifying to oh.ierve that of the congregation fully seventy-five per cent were, men,. If tho position was. reversed,, and there-wen three women snd one man, you would, say that the male portjpn. of the congregation represented twenty-live ..per. cent. Another point on which the writer" lays stress is this. Always ■ remember to.skilfully-manage aggregates and averages. ..A certain club decides to meet OBfe. a.. week, instead of fortnightly, as hitherto. You arc then enabled to. say that the total attendance.- at the club* meetings show the gratifying increai* of over a hundred. • If, on "thn contrary, the club meets only once a month instead of once a fortnight, owing to tha difficulty members experienced in getting o(T once a fortnifht, you can aay that the average attendance shows an increase of fifty per cent. It should b* remembered that it is better to say over a hundred than to say a hundred and

' one. The writer gives a useful piece of ! ndvirc when he says that if you quote, ■r person in support of your views j, it is just as well to remember that ha is either the well-known authority, "or ' tho world-wide authority,' or the eminent expert. Thus, if you have reason to quote your next .'door neighbour, Jones, who is trying to rear a. sickly geranium in. a flower pot,, ha. becomes. famous for purposes of quotation, if ho U on your side; "the 'world-Ei to Qui .authority on .all that pertains to horticulture." If he is agaiii3t yon, you refer to him as a man wito potters about with halfdead plants in- cracked 'flower-potsi— The testimonials given all say that tho writer, always knew that he was right, but lie did not know why till the company enlightened him. This is as it should be. Specimen reasons are given for all sorts of views. They, certainly secra 'convincing'whichever.side'yo'ii take. They"be-. Ifa'y the Unerring hand of. the expert.. A,B. write_j.tasay. that ic.docs juC.bcs lieyc, in vnecinatipn, and wishej foi*-si*c gooi reasons. He .gets the following.-;-*. Because statistics prove that vaccination does not cither prevent or modify smallpox. (A- small extra charge is made for supplying tho statistics, or -for- making any you may.have'support thit view.) Then, much disease lias been caused by vaccination. (Here." again;'StalistTci caTT be' supplied- if desired.) * Sanitation is better than vaccination, ■■ Eminent ansf world-wide authorities condemn vaccina. tion. Tho town.of Leicasterahire shows

the. uselessness of vaccination.. . JBfct Royal Commission condemned it, - CD,, on the other hand, wishes '•!* good reasons in favour 'of "vaccination! Ho gets' the "fonfewing:—Statistics pro-fl that vaccination froth prev'ents'ah'dWddJfie.i smallpOx". Any disease following *«*'• cinatiotrc.in'bc proved'to'hayebeen dow toother causes; Sanitation baa-not prevented outbreaks of smallpox. Eminent and world-wide authorities strongly'support vaccination.. Thi; town of .Lekeste* shows..the perils oL^JdWting. y»e*»ii»ttion. .The Royal Commission was }n fa*s» our of vaccination. In the pamphlet-na artunl statistics are given, but w# ara asnured that they can lie. supplied t-d prove either side beyond fear of, contra* diction,.. .. ■ _„. • .;. :. ..;, Z'J.^Z.

- Extracts .from.- the Commission ar« carefully culled for either side. A. apecip men statistic i« given...ln 19W .there* were two soldiers »t.the village of Chan} in .Somersetshire. One was and the other was unvacninated. To A.IS. this appears thus:-Of the military ' stationed at Chard fully, fifty, per .cent were unyaccinnted,. Yet there waj*, n0;.,-, I single case of smallpox. To C.D. it pro- > sent* itself thus'; Amongst the eoldiert stutioncd at the important town" o'i , Chard there was not a single case in , which a vaccinated' soldier contracted , smallpox. O-T. wants reasons for- supposing that there are two moons. He is told that he has the evidence "<i> I hut, senses, "as he "distinctly saw ~twe moons when he was returning* frore working late at -the oflice, For* lone; time it was believed that Jupiter had only four moons, and people, who saw eight were laughed at. Science has not? shown that Jupiter has eight moon*. .. As the diameter of Jupiter is about four times -*he diameter of- the earth, it is reasonable to suppose the earth hs-e two moons. A correspondent signing -himself X. receives, however, a somewhat different answers... (He.asks, the same question, and is told " Because, vonwera drunk. You were too drunk to .remember to enclose a fee with your letter," This is brief -and to the point. One cannot help, noticing that- no letters have been received from...women. They seem to stick to the best of all reasons for holding any opinion under the sun—"Became I do." It. fs unanswerable-