The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1890-04-11
EDUCATORS IN TRUST.
OBNOXIOUS MONOPOLY wow REACHES
OFT ron SCHOOL BOOKS.
A Combination Formed TO Control Their
Publication.
New York World.

New York World.
The desiIe of a few rich publishing
firms to coutrol the entire business o
sehool-boOk making throughout thu
United States has eliminated recently
in the formation OF a corporation
which is in its nature a Trust, al
though the organization has not iakel
that exact form. It's purposes are
those of the Trust, that is tt
say, its purposes are those OF monop-
oily for the sake of making gain AT the
sacrifice of the public interest.
RumOrs o this movement have beer
atlpat for some time, and daring the
recent convention of school superin-
tcndcnts ia this city the matter was
the subject of conversation wherever
two or nor Of these gentlemen met.
1t was a subject of considerable anx
irty To them also, aud their efforts
were unceasin2 To ascertain the exact
facts. In that effort they failed in
every instance, chiefly because, by
agreement amOugthe persons concern
ed, every one whom they questioned
on the subject fatty denied ali knowl-
edge OF il, or made some misleadiI 9
statement amounting To a denial.
Certain inaccurate, incomplete and
misleading rtluOrI on the subject
have found their way obscurcly into
Print, aud one Of the firms concerned
city cmphatically DENYING the whole
matter. lwithstanding that denial
the thing is true, aud the Uo,Id Is IN
possession of the facts. They are as
follows:
The school book trade in this coun-
| try has hitherto been rOudurted by II
number of houses sharply competing
with each other, aud therefore under
The strongest incentives to produce the
besl text books possible. AS a COnsr-
qucncc the school books of the Unit, d
States have been recognized by cduca-
tors cvcryw here as the best ia use in
any country. Had the competition
been exclusively of this Kind the books
would have been still better. Unfur-
t~unately it has not been exclusively
of that kind, for the reason that the
adoption of school books, like kissing.
goes in a large degree by favor. The
determination 0t what school books
shall he used in any Stale, town or
locality is largely in the hands of
Boards of Education, and Boards of
Education are, in many instances,
composed of vrnal men, ignorant merr
and men prepared TO sacrifice the in
tcrests of the schools in the promotion
of their own political ambitions.
Certain of the sc~hO0l-bouk houses
have been ready aud willing to take
advantage OF these caudiiiunS III push.
ing their books, aud the tact has en-
tailed an item OF considerable expense
in the conduct OF the business of no
mean proportions.
Bun, by way of somewhat l~r.Scning
the sharpness o! the competition, the
principal houses in the trade some
time ago formed a syndicate. The
purpose of this was MOI To con Oliddie
interests, aud il dId not have that cf-
feet. 1t was merely to avoid disaS-
traus warfare and snitcn The asperi-
lies of the rivalry. The bond lnIhing
the syndicate together was much too
slight to endure, particularly rs at
least one large house held aluof from
the combination. Ii was found thai
the ''gcntlcmcn's agreement, 'lik" 9TH
er "gcutlcmcn's agreements" aud like
the old "COurtesy of the trade" among
general publishers, did not equal,
rcstI ain all the persons concerned, aud
there was longing tor "a more perfect
union" The larger houses in New
York could not for Il lime br induced
to enter into any closer alliance than
that OF a syndicate. They were con-
tent with their business, and would
have gone On as they were but for a
pressure which was brought TO bear
upon them.
AN Honest MAN DISPLACED.
The house OF Van Antwerp, Bragg
4 Co, OF Cincinnati, o., is composed
of men known in the trade as 'hUs-
They had their territory lying
around them, and stretching from
Iowa To Kentucky and West VII ginia.
In this region, or a considerable part
of it, their control was complete
How it was Kept complete may be
best illustrated bv the experience of a
gentleman who was elected ON Time
AGO To a somewhat controlling POSI-
ton In connection with the schools OF
his Stale. Immediately after his cleo
ton he was approached by a person
represcnling himself us All agent OF
the house mentioned. lie said TO the
gentleman, ''It will rest with you in
part to determine what books are
used in your schools, but YOU under
stand that Van Antwerp, Bragg &
Co.'s books are to be used"
"No," the man answered, al don't
understand anything of the kind. |
understand my duty Ia he to select
the best books aud | shall Ito tina; duty
conscientiOusly."
every we'll" replied the agent, eve
shall sec"
That gentleman soon found himself
involved in IA variety of difficulties of
mysterious origin, aud was not retain
ed long in his position.
The tyranny of this Cincinnati house
over The schools of The Western States
became 81 intolerablc that the granger
sentiment rose in arms against il, and
Indiana provided by law for the State
publication of all school books to be
used in The State. A bill of similar
purport was introduced in the Legis-
OF the State of Ohio. Another
bill of like Kind was introduced in
the Legislature of Iowa. 1t was evil
dent that this was no longer a revolt,
but a revolution. Van Antwerp.
& Co, took advantage OF the
opportunity to compel that consolida-
ion tor the purpose of monopoly