The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-07-23
A QUESTION OF BIOGRAPHIES.
Bcktold's Indiana Jobbers Had Choice of Two
Books, and Took the Inferior One.

Edward Hawkins, ex-United States mar
shall, Democratic politician and manager of
his party, with the assistance of one or
two men of the select, during the last cam
paign, is secretary of the Indiana company
of jobbers in school-books. He is as active
in the affairs of that organization as he was
a year ago in telling Jewett, chairman of
the Democratic State central committee,
what should and what should not be done.
From the energy Mr.. Hawkins is manifest
ing in educational matters, one has q right
to infer that Becktold, contracting
printer for the Standard company,
of st. Louis, and the largest owner
of stock in that organization, has
intrusted him with full power to act.
Becktold says the Standard is in fact the
contractor, as 1T was its bid that the text
book commissioners alone considered in
awarding the contract to supply readers,
aFlthmetics and biographies to the public
schools of Indiana. He acknowledges that
there will be no plant owned or books pub
lished by the Indiana company. That COM
pany was organized, he says. five minutes
before the Standards bid was opened, and
had it's existence only as makeshift.
by which Indiana b0ndsmen could be
secured Tor. the actual bidders, as
the law requires. So the latter company
figures as set of jobbers in school books,
Standard company, of ST. Louis.
When the Standard submitted its books
to the textbook commissioners, the COM
pany was off in Biographies. 1t had the
chance to procure either Buffers or Nlles's
and agents were presenting the merits of
each to the Indiana SchoOl-book Com
pany, which. of course, was only the In
diana disguise of the Standard. of ST. Louis.
Both biographies were before the commits
sioners, but whether it was expected the
schools would get Buffers in place OF
Niles's, OF. the latter in place of Buffers
no one knows. But just after the
commissioners, in the afternoon, had
connection With the award that was made
in the morning. Secretary Hawkins. OF the
Indiana company, came out of their room.
He had in his arms a bundle of papers and
Buffers, Geography. He gave the
time, to understand that Buffers
would -, be furnished by his COM
pany. The geography, however. it is pro-
posed to supply bears the title: Indiana
Educational Series, Complete Geography.
Company, 1882" 1t was copyrighted by G.
w. Whitsett. but is known to the trade as
Niles's geography, made especially for the
Minnesota schools. Its author is lady
teacher in that State. Why Niles's got in
place in the Standard comp any's list Mr..
Hawkins may be able to tell.
1t is hardly possible that the Indiana
company juggled with the two in directing
the attention of the commissioners to
But after Hawkins had intimated
it would be the one. and Niles's
comes to the front as the geography adopted.
an explanation from the company ought to
be in order. 1t is probable Mr.. Becktold
can explain, as he is so ready to tell the
exact relations the Standard company
holds to the Indiana organization. But
even a child can detect the principal cause
of the agent of Butler being put in the
background at the expense of the agent, or
rather owner, of Niles. Buffers geogra-
adopted. Its superiority especially lies In
cloth binding and stronger, over paper and
loose; artistic illustrations and maps, over
poor wOOd-cuts and inferior maps; clearer
and better text matter, over meager descrip-
ton, and good paper over poor. The COM
parison is made with the complete geogra-
ply the Standard company proposes to sell
to Indiana children. When it came to bidd-
ing, the Standard through its Indiana job
bers, made cheapness the prerequisite in the
place of excellence. and put Niles's or the
geography of the Indiana Educational
Series in its list. The sample of Buffers
the company submitted had imprinted on
it Indiana Edition" and contained a good
county map. and five pages Of descriptive
matter of the State. Butler3s geography
with this Indiana addition is now in the
hands of State Librarian Dunn, who has
been engaged by the, Standard to write
the Indiana description for Niles's geogra-
phy.
The Governor is ready to issue his procla-
nation regarding the school-book contract
filed its bond. This will probably not be
done for several davs