Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-09
PREPARING SCHOOL BOOKS.
Mr.. Weller Thinks the District Should
Attend to 1t.

meeting of the school committee of
the East Washington Citizens Association
at the Walach school was held last night
for the purpose of calling attention to GER
tain matters concerning the public schools
of this city. Mr.. NJ. /. Weller spoke at
length to show that there is need of re-
form In the matter of the preparation and
sale of text books He said that the charge
has been freely made that certain firm of
book publishers paid 5000 during the last
session of Congress to influence legislation
In this direction, and that a supervising
principal has resigned in order to act as
lobbyist in the interest of this firm. He
asserted that it was bad policy for the
superintendent of schools to prepare the
readers himself and then send them around
to the supervising principals for express
sicnS of opinion as to their merit. The
latter, he said, could not express their best
Judgment owing to the popularity of their
position. Then, too, he thought it to be i'm
proper for the superintendent to have his
and he called attention 20 the fact that
no employee in any other department of the
government is allowed to make a profit on
his work under similar circumstances. He
considered this a species of corruption.
Supervising Principal Stuart suggested
that Congress last session passed a law to
prevent any one in the employ of the
school from making money on any book he
might publish.
Mr.. Weller replied that he had drafted
that law, but that it has been so amended
in the Senate that 1t only prevented profit
from the sales in the District, but not from
the country at large. His remedy for the
existing trouble was to have the super
vising principals prepare all the text books,
and having them published at the govern
ment printing office; to vest the copyright
in the District.
Mr.. Stuart said that the supervising prin-
cipalS would not have the time to do this
work. The publishing houses. he said, en-
ploy men of especial fitness at large sala-
rieS.
MIR. Weller replied that he as a taxpayer
was perfectly willing that men should be
employed for this purpose at sufficient sala-
ries, and he was sure they could be found
among the principals. He went on to argue
that the books here should be the best OBJ
tainable; that better salaries should be
paid to teachers, and that there should
be more schools established, especially for
manual training. Mr.. Weller spoke further
en- the subject of the price of books at
present and asserted that Superintendent
Powell has practically the choice of books.
He presented list of bids from a Wash
ington and Baltimore firm, which, he al
| legged, showed collision to keep up the price
and to divide the contract between these
| two firms.
The association laid the proposition for
| the publication of books by the District
over until the next meeting.
| DR.. w. w. Hubbell was authorized to
| consult Dr. Harris, the commissioner of
education, on the subject. Resolutions were
adopted that no teacher in the District
| schools should receive less than 500 year;
| that other salaries should be increased ac-
| cording to service; that gymnasiums should
| be established at the Wallach and Maury
| schools as a preliminary experiment and
| that the street in front of the Maury school
| be paved. The committee will meet next
| Tuesday night at the Wallach school.