Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 May 1889 — THE SEW SCHOOL BOOK LAW. [ARTICLE]

THE SEW SCHOOL BOOK LAW.

Indiana School Journal. In another place in this issue of the Journal will be found the full text ol the new school book law. Every one wi.l read it tAictny because of its universal interest,, and because of its possibilities, probabilities, and uncertain! es. T e great central purpose of the law is cheapness of book®.-' A secondary one is uniformity of books, but this was not much considered by ihe legislature. Since the passage of the law it is being widely discussed, and a great variety of opiniona are expressed. The law will not go into affect, until all the laws are printed and the Governor issues his proclamation, which will be about June 1. After the law takes effect the State Board of Education has to meet w.thin thirty days and advertise for bids, and then these advertisements have to run 21 days. After the bids are in, the great work for the State Board begins. To examine and compare and make a wise selection_involves a vast deal of labor and imposes a great responsibility, and of course cannot be done in haste. Besides, the members of the State Board are all persons holding other responsible positions that cannot be neglected, and their State Board duties must be done piecemeal as time can be secured. After the contract is awarded the publisher must have time to make ready and deliver his books. If all parties concerned consume all the ume that the law allows it will take about ten months to make the books reach the children; and if all parties shall make all the haste possible, or probable, it seems absolutely impossibly for the books to be reaay by the opening of next school Vear. The probable time at which the books can be ready ur use is not far from the middle of next school year. Inasmuch as it would be a -great wrong to the children to allow them to pur chase books at the beginning of the school year and then throw them aside and buy —others without completing them, the strong probability is that the Etale Board wid recommend that the new books go into use at the opening of the school year, beginning September, 1890, or one year from next September. The advantages of the law are the two name 1 above, cheapness and uniformity. The disadvantages are: 1. The value of the school books now in the hands, of . the children is estimated to be nearly |l,libo,ooo. These become comparatively worthless, except in so far as they may be re adopted. 2. The very low prices fixed render it probable that the nest books will not be offered, and thus quality will be sacrificed to price. 3. The law requires a bond of 150,000 that the bidder wdl enter into contract in accordance with his bid, bat it does not require any bond that he will faithfully carry out his contract when entered into. 4. As the contract is made by the State Board and the books are shipped direct to the ninety-two coiinly siipuxintendents, there is ample room and great temptation for the contractor to let the quality of material used degenerate lar below the standard agreed upon. 5. The law makes the trustee the custodian of the books. Hence, if a child wants a book—even a 5 ct. copy book—he must make atrip to the trustee’s book store, which may be in an extreme part of the township. The trustee may arrange to have books at the school houses a< d make the teachers his clerks at, the opening of school, but can hardly afford to leave them there, as he is personally responsible for their safe keeping. 6. The adoption of new text-boo-s will involve new courses of study, new manuals, new instructions to teachers, etc., all of which means time and expense. 7. While uniformity is secured, there is lost the privilege of selecting books adapted co different Realities-- the city and the country must-, use the same. 8. The cost of distributing these books and getting them into the hands of the children is likely to be much greater than the authors of the law anticipated. As the county superintendent is made personally responsible for all books he will have to receive all booksand verify all bills, and this means that he must have a storage room. His correspondence will be greatly increased with publishers, trustees and teachers, and his book-keeping duties will be quite heavy. (And all this in the face of tne fact that in many counties the superintendent has to furnish his own office, if he has any, and pay all his own postage and stationery bills; and in the face of the other fact that the late legislature killed a bill which proposed to provide an office for the superintendent.) In addition to the largely increased duties of the county superintendent, the trustees must add many days’ service to what is now required of them, in order to discharge well all the increased duties imposed by this law. When the loss of old books is taken into consideration. and the largely increased pay of ninety-two superintendents and over a thousand township trustees is added, there is serious doubt as to whether there is really much saving to the people in the actual cost of books, even at the prices named. 9. In the larger cities and towns, trustees, in order to accommodate the children with books, will have to open regular book stores, unless each school house is made a store bouse, and each teacher a book-seller, and each township trustee must keep a stock of books ana provide for their rale. IP. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the law is compulsory as to the use of the books selected. One view is that the law is mandatory, and that the contractor can compel the school officers to ore the adopted books. The other is that the purpose of the law Is to supply cheap books for the benefit of the people, and not for the benefit of the publishers, and that if other books more desirable can be had, the school authorities are at liberty to take them. It is afftted that there is no penalty affixed foriflot using the books, and that if the trustees of a county should refuse to carry out this law, they could not be compelled to do so. * % 11. Section ten, of the law, is simply nonsense as it stands. It requires tne county superintendent to bring suit on his own bond in case he fails to do his duty in accordance with the law. Whether the law will prove satisfactory or not must be left to the future The great fear is that the beet bookt will not be offered at the low nricee

fixed. If satisfactory books can be secured, doubtless, after the first year or two, there be some saving on the cost of books, but the question arises, has the State a right to interfere in any kind of trade for the sake Of saving the people a little money? If# so, why not provide for cheap clothing and, cheap shoes as well? The great, natural law that should govern all prices is free, open competition. When the State has secured this condition it has done its full ditty.