Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 August 1889 — THE STATE CAPITAL. [ARTICLE]

THE STATE CAPITAL.

The corner Stone of the State Soldiers’ monument will bear the following inscription: Erected by virtue of an act of the General Assembly, Approved March. 8. JBB7, appropriating $ Xu,ooo. Contributions by the G. A. R, and ei'izens, *32,000, August 22,18 W, President Harrison has indicated a desire to be . present, and writes that if he can arrange his engagements he will come. John Coburn has been added to the list ot orators for the corner-stone laying. The State officers Wednesday elected General Tom Bennett, of Richmond, a member of the Soldiers’ Monument Commission, in place of D, M Ransdell, resigned. The board of monument commissioners have prepared the following program for the camp-fire, to be held on the evening of Aug. 22 at Tomlinson hall: Music; prayer, “The Monument,” 8. B. VoyleB; “The Private Soldier,” Dan Waugh; “The Commanding General,” Gen. Jasper A. Packard; “The Prisoner of Wa%” Gen. A. D. Straight; “The Sons of Veterans,” A. J. Beveridge; “Indiana in the War.” Capt, W. R. Myers. Commander Travis will preside over the ceremonies. • A general circular has been issued by Commander Travis to all the G. A. R. posts in the State, giving general information as to railroad rates, etc.

The Attorney General has given the Secretary of the Treasury an opinion to the effect that there is no legal objection to the transit through the United States territory of the Chinamen who recently arrived St New Orleans from Cubaen route to China via San Francisco. The Chinese Minister has asked that these men be permitted to cross the United States on their way borne, and it ia probable, in view of the Attorney General’s opinion, that this request will be granted. 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 whieh were taken for the standard of comparison. They are poor in the quality of paper ana binding and engraving, and the readers are poorly classifiea, and contain lessons which are not what boys and girls should read in school. The arithmetics and writing books he thinks equal to thoae now in use. Mr. La Foilettesaya 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 huki. They aak what the penalty is if the law ia disobeyed. He says there is no penalty provided for violating the law. He does not think this an oversight, but that the legislators desired to make a popular law by which counties that wanted cheaper books coaid get them, bnt which allowed any which desired to nse the old books. He thinks a great deal of official pressure ‘ will be required to 'HgT the new books generally adopted. Hi does not propoe*- to make his oilca 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. Bome Trustees have written as though they will fulfill their duty by ordering the legal hooka according to the law and then just hold them to mu 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.