Hermann von Schullern zu Schrattenhofen: Review of Statistisches Handbuch für die Selbstverwaltung in Steiermark (1900)

Schullern’s 1900 review assesses the fifth issue of the Styrian statistical office’s Statistische Mittheilungen, published in 1899. He values the handbook as a contribution to knowledge of provincial self-government, supplying extensive data, partly from special inquiries, while avoiding duplication of material published by central statistical authorities or in appendices to provincial parliamentary proceedings. His opening places it within the achievements of the office directed by Mischler:

Das unter Mischler's Leitung stehende statistische Landesamt für Steiermark hat schon eine Reihe ausgezeichneter Arbeiten veröffentlicht, von denen die eine über das Armenwesen in Steiermark ganz besondere Aufmerksamkeit beanspruchen darf.

English translation: The provincial statistical office for Styria, which stands under Mischler's direction, has already published a series of excellent works, of which the one on poor relief in Styria may claim quite particular attention.

Following the handbook’s sequence, Schullern combines an account of its coverage with selective judgments about statistical usefulness. The opening subjects include administration, public finances, landownership, and municipal surcharges on direct state taxes. He draws attention to the predominance of alpine pastures, grazing land, and forests within municipal property. This observation prompts a request for further investigation of agrarian communities, whose economic importance and historical connections with municipal ownership deserve closer attention. The review thus treats administrative categories as starting points for economic inquiry, not simply as sufficient descriptions of local institutions.

After briefly noting provincial elections, military accommodation, and education, Schullern gives greater attention to welfare statistics. Their value rests partly on the combination of continuous registration and supplementary investigation:

Das umfangreiche Kapitel über das Armenwesen beruht auf einem fortlaufend geführten Armenkataster; überdies haben die aus Anlass der Jubiläums-Wohlfahrtsausstellung gepflogenen Erhebungen Materiale in Betreff der Vereinsarmenpflege beschafft.

English translation: The extensive chapter on poor relief rests upon a continuously maintained register of the poor; moreover, the inquiries conducted on the occasion of the Jubilee Welfare Exhibition have furnished material concerning poor relief by associations.

Sections on foundations and relief stations extend this coverage. Schullern particularly praises the provincial charity association’s employment-placement statistics for distinguishing jobseekers by sex, age, marital status, children, municipal affiliation, occupation, and duration of unemployment. His approval concerns the analytical detail of the classifications as well as the amount of information collected.

The agricultural labor tables receive a more qualified assessment. Their underlying special inquiry was neither recent nor conducted by the provincial office, and Schullern considers them worthy of separate discussion. He explains that servants’ wages are district averages calculated from customary local annual wages and differentiated by occupational category. Day-labor statistics also give maximum and minimum wages, with payments in kind recorded separately. Attention to provenance and aggregation tempers his favorable appraisal.

The closing survey covers hydraulic works, roads and bridges, Graz market prices for 1866–1898, savings banks, and economic cooperatives and associations. Throughout, Schullern presents regional statistics as useful instruments of self-government while identifying where their categories, sources, and omissions invite further investigation.