Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-14
ASCH00L BOOK FIGHT
In the House Over the Bill for Com
pulsOry Education.
LYTLE CASTS SOME REFLECTIONS,
Which Are Promptly Resented by Cochran,
ElwOOd and Beatty.
KEMBLE RESTITUTION BILL ADVANCED
rFRoM A sTAFF CoRREsPoNpENT.l

IFhOM A CORRESPONDENTsJ
HARRISBURG, March 13.-The amend
ment which Representative Lytle, of Hunt
ingdon, yesterday had inserted in the COM
pulsory education bill, providing for the
furnishing of free text books to pupils of the
public schools by the Superintendent OF
Public Instruction at the expense OF the
State, is not satisfactory to Representative
Cochran, Chairman of the Committee on
Education. who was absent from the House
when it was adopted, and who returned to
his seat in the House this morning.
That gentleman has his heart set on bill
which authorized the purchase of textbooks
out of the district school funds, and at the
session to-day he sought to have special
order fixed for its consideration.
Charging CoIIusion With Agents.
Representative Lytle was promptly on his
feet to oppose the proposition to give the
bill precedence of other legislation on the
calendar. He expressed himself with the
utmost freedom, charging that the bill had
been favorably reported in the interest of
book agents. Bills of more merit had been
set aside for one that had the Endorsement of
these people. The movement was a trick,
ne intimated, to shove the bill ahead of the
compulsory education measure, with its free
textbook amendment.
Representative Elwood, of fWestmoreland.
who introduced the bill which it was pro-
posed to advance, resented the imputation of
the member from Huntingdon, and re-
marked that his plan of furnishing text
books was in the interest of the school chill
dren. Representative Potter, of Crawford,
asserted that the Elwood bill would increase
the tax burdens of the people from 81 900, 900
to s., 600, 900 year. Representative Coch-
ran denied the truth of the declaration of
Lytle that the purpose of the bill cortem-
plated county text book uniformity, and
stated that the understanding of the conf
mlttee was, when it favorably reported the
bill, to ask for special order.
Danger in Lytle's Amendment
He had the word of the best parliamentary
authorities in the House that the amend
ment offered by Lytle would render the
compulsory education bill unconstitutional,
and hence the necessity for prompt action
on the text book bill, which has received
the favorable consideration of the COM
mittee.
Representative Ritter, of Lycoming, sus-
tanned the position of the member from
Huntingdon, and Representative Beatty, of
Fayette, hurled back at Mr.. Lytle the in
situations tnat had been thrown out by him
that the book agents had controlled the COM
mittee in its report. The resolution to tx
special order was defeated because the
necessary two-thirds vote could not be Sc
cured.
The bill to pay back William H. Kemble
1888, 900 for his loan to abate the nuisances
caused by the Johnstown and other floods in
the State, had much better luck. Five
members of the House asked for favorable
consideration of resolution to advance this
bill out of order that justice might be early
done to the man who had come to the rescue
OF the State in its great emergency. 1t was
passed unanimously and the bill was read
the first time at to-day's session. On Thurs
day next it will be considered on final
passage. HENRY HALL.