Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-07-03
school Books.
Disnatnh. June o.

Chattanooga Dispatch, June 81
Memphis, we note, is threatened
with a raid of the peripatetic agent
of the school book publishers. The
philant8ropic publishers have con-
Guided that the youthful Memphian
should have a change in his bill OF
fare. And SO the collective parental
purse of the Bluff City is to be
leeched Of some twenty or thirty
thousand dollars, to furnish new
text books to the children, all for
the good of the rising generation
Of course.
Seriously, dropping all special
reference to this particular instance,
these constantly recurring changes
of textbooks in our public schools
are sheer calamities. They confuse
and set back the children in their
studies; compel extra and needless
labor by teachers that should be de-
voted to other business than mas
tering mere notions and qualities of
authors; they infict a burdensome
tax on parents are, in short, a
nuisance, considered in any aspect
or from any point Of view. And
the only reason that the iaaietion is
constantly recurring is to be found
in the enormous profits realized in
the school book publishing business.
Out of this speciality alone several
houses in the Northwest and North
have realized great fortunes and
retired partners by the score rural
ize about Northern cities, on their
hundreds of thousands made in the
school book manufactures. 1t is
not putting it too high to say that
millions have been made in the
business west of New York, since
1915. The Eclectic series, COM
prising McGuffey's readers, Rays
mathematics, ETC., has made several
large fortunes for dealers and
agents. 1t has had a long and sue
cessful career, has held its way
against many powerful combina-
tions, and is still, after three de-
cades, very popular. A dozen times,
in different localities, have we seen
this and other strong, ably compiled
series of books, displaced by some
handsome adyenturer, only to see
the gilded usurper thrown aside the
next term of school, and the old
dog-eared volumes brought forth
triumphant over their enemies.
There are several Of these series
Of school books adapted to different
localities. On most of them the
authors royalty and publisher
copyright has expired. And still
these publishers 60 on making huge
incomes out Of these publications,
charging nearly double the price Of
the same books before the war,
thus i%nlicting a most grieyous bur-
den on parents generally, and espe-
cially on the poorer classes.
Add to these exactiOns by the
publishers of good school books the
successful raids of the oily-tongued
agent of some Eastern house, who
would supercede the standard Yves.
tern books with his gilded and
worthless trash, and the expendi.
ture.for this purpose alone is swol-
len into the largest item in the
general educational account.
Why should not the State, which
supplies the teachers, the house:
and other appliances, also furnish
the books? Certainly with thC
splendid series Of Sargent, Harper.
the Eclectic, and SO on, our practi.
/, cal educators can construct such
books as will be adapted to differ.
ent sections Of the country. The
State can as safely print a series Of
books asst can dispense millions fol
other educational considerations.
If it can more cheaply suppl,
everything else there is no reason
why it should not more cheapl,
| supply the text books. GERMANY
has followed the plan of a uniform
State series Of text books, even il
her high schools and colleges; anC
it will hardly be pretended tina
! Germany elementary instruction i
9 less thorough than ours. The as
tonishing knowledge of geography
engineering and other highe
| branches Of learning displayed b
the common soldiers of the Germa
e army, in the Franco-G German wa
Of 1871, proves that empire to b
the most enlightened in the worlC
a and demonstrates its commo
school system the best and mo
. thorough in existence.
Ia II ~ H. .1sll III