The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1893-07-19
The School Book Question.
Exchange.

Exchange.
Next month there will be decided
a question of vital interest not only
to the parents and guardians OF this
State, but must seriously effect the
rising generation in our midst. We
refer to the selection of school books
for q series of years.
As is we'll known, ar Ubiquitous
trust has been formed among pub
fishers to keep up prices and thus
extort 8 usurious profit upon the
mental training of our children.
Like all such organizations, this trust
is backed by millions Of capital, and
will use it freely, when necessary, to
have the people placed in their
power. In fact, We hear that n OF
their agents openly boosted in New
Orleans that he had South Carolina
cooked" and felt had no fear about
carrying his ends in this State.
This assertion we believe to be in
famously false, for our State is now
ruled by Reformers, and however
these faithful officials have been
maligned and abused, their integrity
has never been questioned.
This movement is organized
against rings, trusts and spectators,
and should our officials thus openly
recognize one of the most UBIQUITOUS
conspiracies to extort upon and rob
the people, it would
be to belle ourprSfessions and falsify
u principles. Trusts may fonish,
but it will not bewish the consent or
connivance of our Reformers in the
old Palmetto State. The great COM
bine toexaet 3 usurious price for
school publications is known as the
Amerlesn Book Company: This
bSo trust. Ike all Others, is a COM
binationEof tenor more of the lead
ipg publishers Of school books, with
an enormous amount Of capital be.
hind it to carry on its favorite work
of MASKING swaller competitors to
the wall; and when it has done this,
and driven all competition from the
field, they Wlhextort any price that
scaaaaa- sEhH
book trust was formed, We were told
that it was to be a kind of beneTo-
lent combine, and was formed solely
for the purpose of reducing the cost
of common school books; but in the
light of recent developments it ranks
with any of Gould's schemes of
plumber.
Let us follow the record Of this
philosophic "trust" and see if it
differs in kind from the other notori
Gus and much abused trusts. To
start with, the book trust was formed
in the State Of New Jersey, the birth
place of all other trusts that are born
to rob the people and enrich the few
designing men who manipulate them.
This benevolent 60 book trust
was incorporated under the laws Of
the State of New Jersey, and in this
respect is like the sugar trust, the
oil trust and the bagging trust. We
read in the Scriptures that nothing
good can come out of Nazareth, and
80 far as our Investigations ' gone
we have been unable to discover any
marked differences il the methods of
the numerous New Jersey trusts.
The American Book Company was
formed a few years ago with q paid
up capital of only s1,5o0. Now they
are supposed to be worth about forty
millions of dollars, which goes to
show that the members of this be-
nevolent e. book combine have not
been in the business solely for their
health. Their record is Il OF al
most fabulous gain. In this, the
+ book trust is like all other truss-in
the same boat with the Standard oil