St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-12-01
The School Book Ring Issues
a Circular Against the
Wabasha Man.
He Opposed a Scheme OF
Theirs at the Last Ses-
sion.
Merrill and Kiehle, as Usual,
Hold Precisely Identical
Views.
Neither Greer Nor Turrell Are
Satisfactory to Certain
People.

An attack on Hon. Allen.J. Greer,one
of the Republican candidates for speak
er, appeared in yesterdays Minneapolis
Tribune, the source of which that paper
naively SAID was "the educational quar-
ters of the state"
Whether this means State Superin-
tendent Kiehle or the state school book
ring cannot be stated exactly, the two
being so nearly of one mind regarding
rad that is to he made on the states
school fund at the coming session.
1t is well, however. that the school
book ring has declared itself so early
in the game. The people and the law
makers will be in manner
prepared in advance. AS is well
known, the school book contract
which the state has had with ID. ID.
Merrill for so many years has at last
expired by limitation and the coming
legislature will be called upon to take
action in the matter. That this contract
has been good thing for Mr.. Merrill
no one will deny, and so it is not at all
strange that he and Supt Kiehle are
both emphaticaIly III favor of some new
arrangement that will give this book
firm another long and fat contract
Supt. Kiehle's annual report will
recommend that the state furnish text
books to all free Of cost. This
will be the burden of the
state superintendent's report, which
Will devote much space to proving that
the state sis rich enough to stand it.
And ID. d. Merrill is even more firmly
convinced than Supt. Kiehle that the
state should go into the free text book
business:
Is it any wonder under the circum-
stances that it is difficult to locate the
source of the attack on Mr. Greer?
Are the educational quarters of the
state'' located in the capitol or at the
corner of st. Peter and Fifth streets, in
the building occupied by the ID. ID. Mer-
rill company?
These are questions to which Mr..
GTeer'S friends will demand an answer
in view of the following from yester-
days Tribune:
Tpon another candidate. Mr.. Greer. of Wa
baSha, there has appeared an attack, said to
come from "the educational quarters OF the
state" whatever that may mean. charging
on that candidate for speaker the defeat OF
the free text book bill of two years ago. The
Tribune saw it in the form of a circular.
said to have been prepared for circulation
among the members of the legislature elect
from especially the southern part of the
state. 1t is probable that the circular has its
origin from the same source'as the following
publication in the Minneapolis School Edu-
cation in its Thanksgiving number:
a friend OF free books tells the Random
Archer that the Stoekwell bill of 0l was
slaughtered in the education committee of
the house A certain representative, a mem
Der Of the committee on education, had con-
gressional aspirations He also had the po-
litical trickSter's instincts. He saw in this
opportunity Ior casting an anchor to wind
ward in his districtso he passed word around
among the adherentS of private schools that
such q bill was gross injustice to them. The
echo came back and he became the mouth
piece. He played all the variations on its
stops. and gave himself out as the original
promoter of educational justice. The free
book movement was thereby Strangled by the
hands OF him who should have been its
friend.
Hon. Allen J. Greer is a graduate of
the state university and was for some
years a teacher in the public schools
and at one time superintendent of the
schools of Wabasha county. He is
friend of the public schools, as all who
know him are aware, lie may not be in
favor of all the questionable Jobs that
are suggested in the name and Osten-
sibly for the benefit of education, but if
he is to be opposed for this the people
who pay the taxes and who believe
III the economical expenditure of their
moneys should know it. In case the
varions rings and combinations keep up
their fight on Allen Greer nothing can
prevent his election. A few of the rings
that are opposing him follow:
The school book ring,
The Pine land ring,
The iron ring.
The Davis ring.
And the same crowd is bitterly op-
posed to the election of Hon. o. B. Tur-
rell.
Either Lee or Boggs will be satisfac-
tory to all these combinations.