Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-09-27

tract outside trade. nor Is there a me-
tropolIs in the world the inhabitants Of
which appear 10 stndy more thor
ouahlv the business interests Of their
home than the city and metropolis Of
baltimore. Residents or Maryland
feel natural and justifable pride in
BENG citizens OF orr State and our
Legislators delight in enacting such
laws a. shall benefit the commercial,
manufacturing. agricultural anil min
ing interests Of the people they rep
reseat. Thousanas Of dollars are an
uually spent in festivals. fairs and pa
eeants which are intended to attact
the people ofnAighboring States with
in our borders, aad the hospitality Of
our citizens has become 30 well known
as to Be- svn0nyrnhs With the. name Of
oar State. Or educational adyanta-
ges ace og such a eharaetsF . % excite
the admiration 81 sll who investigate
them. and our public school system il
universally acknowledged 70 be uoex-
ceIled. Our professors and teachers
are noted Tor their scholarly attain
mcnts and our system Of education i
at once eflicent, thorough aad COM
preheasise. 10
There il, however. one drawback.
one impedimsut IN the path Of the
onward march Of our State and the
advancement Of our principal city.
We refer to the nnwise and unjust
Discrimination made by the gentleman
who control the school boards of our
cities and counties IN favor Of school
literature edited and published in
other States a. against that produced
by the brain and labor Of Maryland.
This discrimination would not appear
so strange wore the publications OF
New York, Philadelphia or Boston in
any way superior to those Of our own
State. but it appears. TO say the least,
remarkable, when it is universally |
acknowledged by all men of letters
thai the systems embraced in the edu
cational literature Of MARYLAND. from
the elementary to the collegiate
course. are superior to those prOduced
anywhere else. "Patrouize home in-
dustry," appears to be an accepted
Law by all piace-holaers, and woe to
the official who employs foreign labor
TO the exclusion Of that Of orr State
in the work under his control. Not
only does Baltimore boast some Of
the best educated and most popular
writers and colnpilers in the land. but
their services are 80 highly appreci-
ated in other sections of the country
that their pens are in constant de-
Inand, aad Maryland furnishes litera-
ture to over twenty States in the
Union, written by Maryland authors,
printed with MARYLAND type on Mary
land paper by MARYLAND printers and
bomb IN Maryland binderies- Unler
these circumstances the shameful man
ner in which inferior and faulty
school books. written or compiled by
illiterate and inefficient writers and
published IN bad form by New York
houses, and foisted upon the people
of Maryland, is to say the least, u dis
grace to our intelligence.
Orr publication offices and binders
in Baltimore alone are ample TO 10 |
all the school work of the State. and
to DO IT we'll Such works as have
come from their hands have reflected |
credit upon their labors, and in a
literary point have been superior to
any Of the cheap productions Of North
ern cities. These publication Offices
anil binderies give employment to
thousands OF hands the year round.
and this, II nothiBg else, should be
an inducement 10 our political friends
to encourage their progress. But,
says some astute aud vet uneducated
member of some school boar'l, "these
school books from New York are
cheaper than those furnished Nv BAL
timore publish,r4" True, admit it,
do you desire your son or daughter to
receive a cheap education? They are
undoubtedly cheap. both In the man
ner in which they are gotten up and
in the matter which they contain. A
dime novel with blood-curling cut
on the front page and an impossible
story inside is much cheaper. A pat
cnt medicine almanac can be. had
gratis-both ale literary productions
equal 10 the cheap book you have
used. Why not substitute either one
or the other Of these for the New
York publication and thus retrench
still further? But while apparently
cheaper these books would ultimate.
ly cost the boards using them more
money than better home productions.
Educational books are published in
series. and while the first may be low
in price, as the grade advance so does
the price. A few cents for an elemen-
tary primer is invariably supplement
ted by a charge Of several dimes for
- fourth reader. Any one who has
examined and compared the school
books produced in Baltimore with
those of New York or other Northern
cities can zee al once the superiority
Of orr own produetions. First. In a
literary point Of view their superiori-
~ is nnchallenged. Second. As a
comprehensive system Of Instruction
any one who has devoted any time to
the instruction Of youth will admit
their superiority. Third. That the
series of works produced by home tad
ent are complete and perfect por one
will deny. Fourth. Their illustra-
lions are invariably a great aid to the
instructor. Fifth. Their typographical
appearance, the parer upon which they
, r. nrinkad and ilair exnallank r,rsas-