The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-28
tions that l am willing to vol.
unteer the prediction that if this

tions that l am willing to vol
unteer the prediction that if this
unWise measure, as / conceive
it to be, should be inaugurated, it will
be repudiated and abandoned before
the end Of three years, to the disgust
and chagrin of all who had anything to
do in launching it upon the state. Like
the question OF the old railroad bonds,
in less than five years, there can not
q man be found in the state who will,
possess the courage to acknowledge he
voted for it.
At the beginning of che present ses.
sion of the Legislature I had several
conversations with Senator DOnnelly
opon the subject of devising some plan
Tor reducing the price OF our school
books. also talked with Mr.. D. D.
Merrill freely upon the same subject.
| wrote to one of the leading publish.
ing houses of the country to obtain in.
formation in regard to the rules of the
School Book Board of Trade. received
a long and very frank letter in reply
giving the information asked for, viz:
why the price of school books is so
high! and what could be done to make
them cheaper! In the answer to my
letter there was a printed pamphlet
containing the constitution and by
laws OF the Publishers Board of Trade.
| read the letter to Messrs. Donnelly
and Merrill. l also gave them the
printed pamphlet to read. I then set
down to draft a bill to carry out the
purposes had in view, viz: the cheap
ening OF the price of school books. I
wrote five sections of the proposed
bill; got the books into the State, in
the bulk, at much cheaper rates than
we were paying for them. had them
in the office OF the State Superindent.
then went to work to devise a plan to
distribute them among the pupils of
the state. The more thought over
the matter, the more [ became con.
WINGED had n'elephant' on my hands.
The difficulty of carrying the plan into
execution, in detail, have partially
enumerated in this speech. 1t is
sufficient to say that after bestowing
much thought upon the matter, |
abandoned it as utterly impracticable.
then concluded to introduce us Il sub
stitute for my bill, and the next best
thing, II. F. No. 1925 which has been
printed and is now on the members
desks. This bill leaves the whole
school book matter just here it ought
to be left, in the hands Of the people
of each district, town, city, village or
borough, to select, and purchase their
own books, ii the legal voters so elect,
and instruct the school authorities to
purchase them, and sell them to their
school children at cost.
The authorities Of any city or town.
ship can 6" into the city OF Chicago,
and purchase Clark's Grammars, or
Cornell's Biographies, or Robinson's
Arithemetic' just rs cheap as Mr..
Merrill can; and l can not see why
they should not be allowed to do SO, if
they SO desired. They can afford to
retail the books to the pupils of the
district just as low, or lower, than this
bill proposes to furnish them. The
high price of books does not result
from the rate they are furnished to
the book trade by the manufacturer;
for they sell them at 40 per cent. below
heir wholesale prices: they are high
priced because the retailer demands
such an immense profit. Now, Mr..
Merrill has been for many years
a school. book jobber. He has sold more
books to the retail trade of Mime
sofa, perhaps, than any III in the
State. He has always purchased the
books in use in the State, 40 per cent
off OF published prices. He has done
more by his Influence, to keep up the
price Of school"books to their present
high standard, than any other five
men in the State. Now, the friends
Of this bill, tell US she is the first, and
only man who has ever stepped for.
ward and offered to furnish cheaper
hooks.' Has any other man ever had
the chance to bid for furnishing
cheaper books! When the friends OF
this bill were asked to permit an
amendment to it providing for COM
petition in bidding for the first job, it
Was promptly voted down. No chance
has ever been offered by the State for
competing bids, to ascertain who
would furnish an acceptable series
of schOol-bOoks to the State, for a
series of years. Hence, there is no
justice in the assertion s'that Mr..
Merrill is the only man who has offer
cd to furnish cheaper books.'' This
bill, notwithstanding it's many OBJ
jectionablo features may pass. There
has been much lobbying in its inter.
ests. tits strongly intimated that every
possible combination has been made
with members made of this house to Sc.
cure the certainty Of it's passage. 1t is
intinated that gentlemen representing
the different railroad
interests have been an
preached and promised support for