I think that " every statistic tells a tale in shorthand" means statistics can tell a brief summary of a story or anecdote with included evidence.

I think he means that when explained from a graph combines with a story, having it show a more clearer version of it

I think he means that statistics show what would take a whole paragraph in one image/graph.

Statistics are a visual representation and simplification for readers to understand the numbers that effect something as in an event or test. A good example is a Codon Chart. It has three sections that the reader must follow being the three bases. Then that reader must find the appropriate bases to find that protein. As shown, statistics can be a great way to have a reader deeply understand a change, graphing or an idea that proves an author's or writer's point.

I think when Lindblom says, "every statistic tells a tale in shorthand", he means that every statistic has a story behind it. Statistic don't come up out of nowhere, it's data obtained from a series of people that all have their stories regarding whatever data is being collected. A statistic is comparable to proof that there are people out there that have the characteristics which fit the data criteria.

I think he means that statistics tell a story or a message whenever they are presented, just like an anecdote would.