The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-10-01
THE TEXT BOOK STEAL.
What it Has Cost the People.
Mark H. Dunnell a Party to Taking
Hundreds Of Thousands of Dollars
From the PeOpfe-Read! Read!
from the St. Charles Times.1


The actual or probable cost of the
School Text Book Bill to the people of
Minnesota, we apprehendi is but partial
ly realized by the great mass of the
people. All realize the fact that it was
steal of some kind which will not bear
candid examination, and all under.
stand that an increase in the price Of
school books fall with heavier and
more crushing weight upon the poorer
class Of the community. 1t is also we'll
known that in the fall Of lS6S-directly
after the commission authorized by
the Schol Text Book Bill had complet-
ed their labors by selecting the various
school books to be used in our common
schools, and made contracts with
the publishers TO furnish them
to the schools of the State at stip.
ulated prices for the term of five years
the price Of school books advanced at
least so per cent. Under the laws Of
the State we are compelled to use the
books thus selected by the commission
and to pay for them the prices stipula-
ted in the contract. The avenues Of
competition were closed as far as this
State was concerned, for the term of
five years, and we we're forced to pay
tribute to gigantic school monopoly;
bound hand and foot by those who were
profcssedly Our friends, under the plea
that they were laboring to advance the
cause of education, and thus hampered
by these men we suffered ourselves to
be bled for five long years to build up
few Office seekers and grasping book
monopoly that it will take years Of
hard labor and toll to enable US to ex-
tricate ourselves from its death.like
grasp.
But what has been the expense to
US! It is said that figures will not lie,
and that they may not err i'll an over
estimate we will make so liberal a cal
cula.ion that the error, if any, will be
in the fact that we have greatly under.
estimated the actual expense to the
people of this damnable swindle.
We will base our calculations upon
|,the number Of scholars in the State in
in the year ls68-the year NJ. H. Dun
nell lobbied the Text Book Bill through
the Legislature. In 1868, according to
Dunnell's s report as Superintendent of
Public Instruction. there were in the
State 100, l03 children between five ana
twenty-one years of age. On an aver
age every scholar in the State would
purchase at least one dollars
worth Of school books every year
and we apprehend this is very low
estimate which would amount
in the aggregate throughout the State
to the sum Of S129,l03. [Our expe-
rience is much higher than this. We
think it would be two or three dollars
for each child on the average.-EDIToR
ANTI -MoNoPoL1sT. Of this one dollar
SO expended. on an ayerage,by each and
every scholar, at least one-fourth part
of it, or twenty-five cents, was directly
chargea BILE to the advance in the price
Of the books which was the legitimate
fruit of the infamous Text Book Bill,
the pet measure Of NJ. H.Dunnell, then
Superintendent Of Public instruction.
Twenty-Five cents OH every dollar ex-
pended by the children of this State for
school books, was bare-faced steal, in.
one year, Of the handsome sum Of
S32,275. Without, then, estimating
any increase in the population Of the
state for the next five years, by TAX
ing the school population Of 1868 as a
basis for the next five years, and the
steal Of S32,275 for 1869. aggregates
the magnificent sum offs 1878 in FIVE
years.
Tax payers Of Minnesota, just stop
one moment and consider the enormity
of the offense that has thus been com
mitted against you under the plea that
it was necessary in order to advance
the interests o. education: and you who
are not taxpayers but have children to
support and educate-and who have no
other means Of meeting the expense
except by days of weary. honest toll
as you seek your accustomed rest. after
day Of earnest 'delving in the inter-
est Of the happy group which gather
around you at the family tireside, think
Of the hard earned dollars that have
been wrung from yeu in this manner to
create and enrich gigantic book mo-
nopoly, at the expense of the best in
terests of your own dear children, and
as YOU know the effect, learn the cause,
and whoever instigated or assisted in
coasummating this swindle upon you
and your children know that he is
your enemy, and unworthy your re-
spect or support in the future.
One of the prime movers, and the
most active supporter and laborer for