The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-09-11
AS TO MonopoIIes In School Books.

The organ OF the school book trust says:
The argument Just concluded in the L. S.
circuit court furnished some illustrations of
the absurd conclusions to which the sup
porters OF vicious principle are sometimes
driven. In arguing the monopoly feature
of the question, Mr.. HARRIS said that if
the legislature could require a particular
kind of school-books to be used in the schools.
and grant to a few individuals the exclusive
right to sell them, it could do the same thing
with rOad-scrapers-compe all the road super
vlsOrS IN Indiana to use q particular kind OF
scraper, and grant to some person or persons
the exclusive right TO furnish them. The able
counsel on the other side was compelled to ad-
NIT that this was so, and actually maintained
that the legislature might, If it chose, enact
compulsory law in regard to road-scrapers,
compel supervisors to use particular kind,
and grant an exclusive right to deal in them
Mr.. HARRIS, able lawyer though he is,
talked nonsense when he said that the
legislature required a particular kind of
books to be used in the schools, and
granted to few individuals the exclusive
right to sell them. One would infer from
this that the legislature had passed law
specifying certain books for the use OF our
schools TO the exclusion of others, and
naming also the persons who were to
furnish them.
1t is possible that the legislature has the
power to do this. The Minnesota legisla-
ture did it, and the courts of the state sus-
tanned it. But what our legislature did
was precisely the opposite. Under the old
law local school boards-creatures of the
legislature required aparticular kind of
school-books to be used in the schools,
and granted to few individuals the ex-
elusive right to sell them" This power
was arbitrarily exercised. 1t was not re-
quired that there should be competition
or any pretense of any. There was no
legal limit as to the prices which might be
charged for books. There was no appeal
from the decision of these boards. They
might be ignorant or corrupt, but
patrons of the schools had to buy
such books as these boards selected,
at such prices as they said
should be paid, or their children were
denied the privileges of the schools. 1t
was vicious system. 1t led to all kinds of
abuses-to widespread corruption in our
school management, to the creation of an
unprincipled and odious monopoly which,
according to Gov. HOvEY extorted from
800 to 600 per cent. profit from the people
on school books, and to other evil con-
sequences.
Finally the legislature decided to change
this system. 1t did not attempt to select
the books. nor did it give any one ex-
elusive license to furnish them. What it
did was: a. to clothe the state board of
education, composed of the leading edu-
Gators OF the state, with power to adopt
text books for all the schools. under
certain conditions; (2) to fix stand
ard, below which the books to be
adopted must not fall, such standard being
the best of the text books which had been
obtained under the old law; (3), to name
a limit above which the prices for books
should not go, such limit being about 80
Fer cent. of the average prices heretofore
charged; (4, to provide for full and free
competition for the furnishing of such
books by requiring the board to advertise
for tenders for twenty-one consecutive days
in the leading papers OF all the large cities
OF the country.
The law did not create, it destroyed,
monopoly. 1t gave nobody the exclusive
right to sell books. 1t opened the doors
to the entire world and invited publishers,
authors and cOmpilers everywhere to
compete 1t limited the duration of con-
tracts to five years. 1t provided for the
fullest, fairest and freest competition, to
the end that not only the cheapest but
the best textbooks should be secured.
If most of the school-book publishers OF
the country entered into a combination
not to bid, and to prevent others from
bidding, and il, in SO doing, they over
reached themselves and left the way clear
for Indiana enterprise and capital to sup
ply Indiana children with school-b books,
we see no reason why any honest citizen
or newspaper of Indiana should take it to
heart.