Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-04

Protest Against Cutting Down the Amount
Asked for Their Purchase.
STRONG ARGUMENT PRESENTED By THE rKDrHA-
TON OF LABOR, But WHICH WAS PRESENTED TOO
LATE TO HAVE AMI EFFECT UPON THE ACTION OF
THE DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE

Yesterday, but too late to have any apparent
effect on the action Of the House Of Representa-
tives, the Federation OF Labor protested
against the action of the committee on appro-
priations the subject Of free text books
The protest shows that the school board rec
commended an appropriation Of ssi.s22.9 SO for
free text books, the District Commissioners cut
that to SIS, 600 and the committee sawed it of
at Si2. 900 and provided that that sum should
be applied to the FIRST four grades only.
AMOUNT TO BE SAVED.
'These books must be bought" says the
federation. "They will cost the pupils, at
retail rates, $50 900. and must all be purchased
each year, because a book carries q pupil
through year Cor grade) and cannot be used
in the next grade into which he passes; hence,
in three years, the books of the fifth and sixth
grades will cost the pupils $50, 900. These
books. il public property. will last three years,
and can be purchased, at Wholesale rates, for
$4,000, thus saving, in three years, S65, 900.
EFFECT OF ASTI-rREE TEXTBOOK LEGISLATION
The effect Of anti-free-book legislation is
shown in the matter Of school attendance.
Thousands Of children Of the poorest work.
ing people drop out of our schools in the early
grades because they cannot buy books-70 per
cent before reaching the seventh grade, or
year per cent DtlOrS the elpntn Rrdue anu
10 per cent before the High School. Out Of
some 1000 pupils in our High Schools less
than so per cent are children Of mechanics and
laborers- Elsewhere the free text books sys-
tenn has increased the attendance 10 per cent.
1t would do so here. Yet committee con-
trolled by men whose party claims to be the
workingmans champion willing to deprive
the workingmans children of their school
years and impose heavy expenses for books on
the people for a mere semblance Of economy
which will impose upon no one.
THE SURPLUS.
ut is not as If there were not revenue enough.
The committee admits in its report that there
will be revenue Of nearly $780, 900 more than
their recommended appropriations, and they
propose to apply it to the payment Of some
public debts, in order that it may not lie idle
in the treasury 1t would seem as if the appli-
cation of the money to the education Of our
children, at least to the extent Of the needs
certified by the school board and the District
Commissioners, whose business it is to study
those needs, should have precedence of those
debta
In our opinion the committees politics Tin
this particularly are as bad as their economy.
There is no proposition to reduce the revenue.
We shall pay as much taxes as ever, and then
We are to be deprived of the use of the money.
We make no complaint regarding streets, sew
ers. &c, for these can wait without immediate
economy in this respect will be apparent few
years hence; but the school years Of children
once lost. can never be restored, and we de-
mand that every necessary adjunct to the acqui-
sition Of an education shall be furnished with
out delay,"