The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-07-17
THE TRUST KNOCKED OUT
CHEAP BOOKS FOR INDIANA SCHOOLS
After a Long and Bitter Fight the Com
bine Is Forced to the Wall and
Contract Let to Indiana Bid.
ders-One of the Results.

Indiana is at last in a fair way TO get out of
the clutches of the sehool-book trust, which
has levied heavy tax upon intelligence for so
many years. After long and bitter fight the
trust Wednesday received adeadly blow. When
the legislature met last January it found itself
confronted by strong popular demand for
some measure of relief from the trust. The
latter however. established powerful lobby
here. This lobby arrogant and confident.
II laughed az the idea that the power OF the
trust could be broken. 1t had controlled legis-
latures before, and apparently had no fear Of
its ability to do so in the present instance.
When. in spite of all the efforts of the trust,
the school book bill became law,
the agents of the trust insisted
that the books could not be furnished at the
prices fixed by the law. When the bids We're first
opened and there no satisfactory profiers, they
were in high feather. At the second letting,
until a few minutes previous to the meeting OF
the textbook commissioners, they thought no
bids we're to be presented When they exam
ined the books submitted by the Indiana COM
pany, however, their hearts sank within, and,
although they fought bitterly until the end,
their case was hopeless The books offered by
the Indiana company and the Bowen-Merrill
company were equal, if not superior, to
those of the trust, and it only needed the
action taken by the board OF textbook COM
missioners yesterday to make the rout OF the
combine complete.
The agents of the trust were present when
the board met Wednesday. Prominent among
them was Cy Smith, who always stoutly main
tains that there is NO combine among the
school book publishers. Yet representing the
firm of A. :. Barnes & Co. which sells COM
paratively few books in Indiana, Cy Smith has
been here oil winter labOring in every way
possible to save for Van Antwerp, Bragg
Co. their practical monopoly OF the school
book trade in Indiana Such unsellsh devo-
ton 10 rivals p interest is certainly remark
able.
After the contract for furnishing books had
been let, the Hon. f. c. Bell, attorney for the
Indiana company stated that it would carry
out its contract in the best of faith and would
take no advantage OF technlcalitles or legal
bubbles. The company was satisfied with the
treatment it had received and was prepared 10
fulfill its part of the contract He asked, how
ever, that sixty days be allowed for the COM
pletion OF the bond. This morning the COM
rnittee of the board, with Mr.. Bell and Atty
Gen. Kitchener, will meet to approve the form
of contract and bond. This committee consists
OF Gov. Hovey, Supt LaFollette and Supt.
Jones
Last evening Messrs. Parsons and Jones, the
committee on Biographies met with Mr.. Haw-
klns OF the lDuldUd company IL was dEICEN
that the Indiana chapters OF the elementary
and completed Biographies shall be prepared
by Mr.. Jacob 2. Dunn, the state librarian.
These books will be furnished with a complete
new map OF the state and will contain, among
others, illustrations of the main building OF
Purdue university, the state-house, soldiers
monument, library building of the State uni
versity at Bloomington, the new normal school
at Terre Haute and Of a natural gas display in
the belt" In the map the gas and coal fields
will be clearly defined and much valuable in
formation concerning them will be printed.
This is the beginning OF the end OF the fight
against the school book monopoly. At the last
moment the organ of the ring sought TO
cast discredit upon the Indiana bidders, but
the board of education could not be led into
declaring that such men as JOsephus Collett,
D. J. Mackey, Williani Heilman, E. P. Huston,
William Fleming, r. c. Bell, James Murdoch,
Edward Hawkins and Messrs. Bowen and
Merrill were not entirely reputable and re-
sponsible.
As an illustration OF the saving to the people
of Indiana by the action of the text book COM
mIssioners, It may be noted that the complete
geography furnished by the Indiana company,
and which the resolutions of the commissioners
say is fully equal in size and quality as to
material matter, style Of binding and mechani-
cal execution to the eclectic" will sell for IS
cents while the eclectic, which it succeeds,
sells for Sl.65-a saving Of 90 cents on each.