Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 August 1889 — THE NEW TEXT-BOOKS. [ARTICLE]

THE NEW TEXT-BOOKS.

Superintendent LaFollette Expresses His Opinion and Talks Abont the Law. Indianapolis News. State Superintendent LaFollette desires to go down on record. He wishes it to be distinctly understood that in the vote of the State Board on the adoption of the Indiana School-book Publishing Company’s text-books, he did not vote in favor of the readers or geographies. He regards them as in every way inferior to the books whioh were taken for the standard of comparison. They are poor in of paper, and binding, and engraving, and the readers aie poorly classified, and oontain lessons which are not what boys and girls should read in school. The arithmetics and writing-books bethinks equal to those now in

use. Mr.: LaFollette says he has received several hundred letters, chiefly from township trustees, asking whether the law is mandatory or simply directory. The letters come from every part of the State,, and all breathe hostility, to the law. They ask what the penalty is if the law is disobeyed. He says there is no penalty provided for violating the law. He does not think this is an oversight, but that the legislators desired to make a popular law by which counties that wanted cheaper books could get them, but which allowed any which desired to use the ole bookß. He thinks a great deal of official pressure will be requirec to get the new books generally adopted. He does not propose to make hisoffice unpopular by bringing a host of mandatory suits against county boards of education, and does not know yet what action he will take to enforce the" law. Some trustees have written as thongh they will fulfill their duty by ordering the legal books according to the law and then just hold them to sell if anybody calls for them, but make no effort to enforce their use in the schools. They write that teachers generally are opposed to the law.