The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-03-22
THE SCHOOL BOOK BILL.
What a Prominent Teacher Has to Say
About 1t.

What Prominent Ieucner Aas w SoS
About 1t.
The fight against the Monnot school
book bill is still being kept up by the
school book combination. The ring is
engaged in a life and death struggle.
The passage of the bill means death to
the Ming and cheaper and better books
for the school children, and as matter
of course the ring is opposed to 1t. IL
remains to be seen whether the Senate
will have courage enough to listen to
the demands of the people or whether
they will listen to the tingling OF the
shekels of the pool and defeat it. 1t is
a hand and glove fight between the
representatives of the people on the
one side, and the unholy alliance OF
publishers on the other. Many petl-
tions have been sent to the Senate from
the people in all parts of the state, ana
trades and labor assemblies are a unit
in support of the bill. The comblna,,
ton OF school book publishers have not
been idle Three agents OF the ring
have beenln Columbus lobbying against
the bill since it passed the lower House.
The whole State has been flooded with
thousands of circulars at SIX cents
apiece, which, so far as may be judged
from the circulars themselves, nave
been written and published by nobody.
No one knows who compiled them or
where or by whom they were published
or by whom the postage was paid.
"Ihe reason of this secrecy" said a
well known teacher who had received
some of the circulars, to DEMOCRAT
reporter, sis obvious 10 any one who has
any knowledge OF the facts i'll regard TO
school books and the operation OF the
school book laws III California ana
Minnesota. The circulars are argu-
ments against the first laws passed III
those two States Now, the Monnot
bill has avoided all the defects Of these
laws which are referred to i'll the secret
circular, and has adopted all the good
features, but as to these the circulars
are silent. In the first place, the clrcu
lar argues against the California plan
because the State has established a
printing plant of its own and then
shows that this has been costly ana un-
wise. The circular then leaves the
reader to infer that the Monnot bill
PROPOSES to establish a State printing
plant, but that this argument has no
force as applied to the Monnot Dill, is
appareut, when one remembers that the
bill does not provide for the establish
ment of State printing plant, but
simply provides that the State shall own
the manuscript aud that the printing
and binding shall be let to the lowest
responsible bidder.
"a gain it is argued that the method
of distribution in Minnesota has been a
failure. Here also the opponents OF the
Monnot bill are either Ignorant OF or
too dishonest to tell the truth and show
that the method of distribution pro
yided for in the Monnot bill is not at
ali like that cf the first Minnesota law.
To execute the first law i'll Minnesota
required the cooperation OF tne State
Superintendent, the County Com
missioners, County Auditor, County
Treasurer, County superintendent, the
contractor, the township school dlrec-
| tors and local agent i'll each township
This red tape method rendered the
law in Minnesota very odious ana un-
profitable. But the Monnot bill has
avoided this Objectionable feature OF
the Minnesota plan.
The Poorman bill, introduced as a
substitute for the MOnnot bill, ana IN
dorsed by the Repository correspond
ent in Massillon, as avoiding all the
Objectionable features of the Monnot
bill which he does not point out, and
as combining all its good features
which his allegiance to the school BOOK
ring will not permit him to see, has in
corporated within it this highly OBJ
iectionable feature of the first Mime
sofa law. This method of distribution
through county and township officers
was failure IN California and Mime
sofa, and had the author OF the Poor
man bill investigated the subject, hi
would have found this to be the case
Mr. Monnot's bill, on the other hand
was evidently framed only after yer!
careful examination of the practica
workings of the plans of both States
and it has all the good features OF botl
these laws and none of the bad ones.