Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 206, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1918 — WIZARD WITH FIGURES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WIZARD WITH FIGURES

Joseph S. McCoy, statistical expert connected with the treasury department, is by education and training an expert mathematician. But much of the most valuable work Jie accomplishes for the government is less due to his mathematical knowledge than to his rare ability in utilizing the simple, elemental, commonplace facts that everybody knows. One of his most important duties is to tell the revenue committees of congress how much money may be derived, from any proposed taxation. In this work of forecasting McCoy has done wonderful things. For example, he estimated in 1913 that the income tax from corporations for the year ended June 30, 1915, would be about $39,000,000. He came within about 1144,000 of absolute accuracy. Every year he makes an estimate of what the total census of the country will be several years ahead. In 1901 he figured the

population of 1910. Nine years later the census bureau made an actual count. Allowing for the inevitable element of error in making such a count, the result jfliowed that McCoy’s figures were probably as nearly correct as those of the bureau; .