Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-04-19
FRIDAY MORNING. APRIL 10. 1895

as VI 44N6AG1S
A. 8. MORTON.
FRIDAY MORNING. APRIL 10. 1895.
THE SCHOOL BOOK BUSINESS.
Our friend of the News insists ON know.
ing from the V1NDICAToR why, if the
rival book companies can have an equal
showing before before the State Board of
Education at the next letting of the con-
tract, they could not have had it at the last
letting? We have no other source of
knowledge on this subject than is and has
been for some time in the possession Of the
.Neaes and the public. There have been two
public answers to the enquiry Of the
Neps. One by the Rev. Saml w. Small,
Managing Editor Of the Norfolk Pilot,
who said that the other competing COM
panies were barred out by State Superin-
tendent Massey who had received money
from the American Book Company for
doing it. That was promptly pronounced
false by Mr.. Massey, who as promptly
brought suit against Small and others. The
other was also by Rev. Saml W. Small
who charged that there was connivance OIL
negligence by the other two members of the
State Board of Education, Governor
O'Ferrall and Attorney General Scott.
That was promptly pronounced false by
the two gentlemen named, who published a
statement giving full history of the let
ting Of the contract. That history our
esteemed contemporary has doubtless read,
and we leave it with the Meas to adopt
either the statements of Mr.. Small or those
of honorable Virginia officials. For our
selves we have perfect confidence in the
honor and high character of every member
of the Board of Education and accept their
statements, which, up to this writing, we
have seen no successful effort to disprove.
Our contemporary must have Seen enough.
as journalist, of the reliability Of MI
Small s publications. On various subjects, to
make it exceedingly cautious about adopt
ing his facts, OF himself as an ally. AS to
the position of Col. Tazewell Elicit who
represented a competing company, and fol-
whom the Ne,cs assumes the responsibility
OF asserting that he Twas unable to induce
the Board to allow him to make PROPOSE
tion,' he has not, as far as we have seen pub
lished. made any reflection on the fairness
of the Board. AS we recollect the position
attributed to him, it was simply that when
he arrived at the place where the Board
was in session, he was told that he was too
late as the contract had already been
awarded. That be was ever in the posi-
tion, in which the Ne,cs seems by implica
ton to place him. of charging that the Gov
ernor, Attorney General and Superintendent
of Education had taken an unfair advan-
tage, whether tor corrupt Oh any other
motives, is all new to us.
We take it, however, that what the
NeWs, as well as ourselves and the public,
really wants, is not the repetition of stale,
unsustained charges against the State
School Board, but the truth as to whether
they made good bargain for the people of
Virginia OIL a bad one as claimed by Mr.
Small. The evidence elected in discredit
OF MI. Small S allegations has been drawn
from many sources but they are reliable land
each portion of The testimony is singularly
corroborative of every other. The posi-
ton of the reputable press of the State has
been exceptionally conservative from the
inception to the end of the discussion. In
the start the expressions Of even the most
partizan supporters of the State admins
tration were confined to a desire that full
investigation should be had. The charges
were broad, the specifications were minute
and particular; a suspension of judgment
was generally granted until the other side
of the case could be heard. The first re
ply issued from the American Book Com
pany, the contractors with the Board for
the supply of texts to the public schools
This was temperate denial in detail OF
the assertions of the Pilot, and seemed to
the candid reader satisfactory defense.
Still, as the assault had been manifestIy
the work of commercial rival, so too the
answer was that of an interested party and
was received with a certain degree of re-
serve. Following upon this, however,
came an official statement signed by Gov.
O'Ferrall and the Attorney General, con-
shutting a majority of the Board. covering
certificates from the Chief Magistrates of
all the American States having dealings
with the same publishers, and responding
directly to the count in the Indictment
that Virginia was paying more money for
certain publications than the price at
which tho
furnished to other communities. Every
instance cited by the prosecutor was met
with the true figures. and it was demon
strated beyond the shadow of doubt that
the publishers had lived up to the contract
in good faith. and had given the Virginia
schools the benefit Of the very lowest terms
accorded to any other customer. This
response was so overwhelmingly and speci-
fically conclusive that not even the SEM
blance OF an attempt was made to affect it.
MI. Small offered no new witnesses, made
no motion in impeachment of those intro
duced by the Board-as indeed be could
not-but took refuge in sullen reiteratiop
OF the gravamen of his original charge;
neglect, if not connivance, on the part of
the Board, and rapacious breach of con-
tract on the part of the Book company.
Meanwhile some of our Eastern contem-
poraries, not content with the mere yindi-
cation OF the Board on the special points
at issue, have been rendering good service
In verifying from Independent sources the
statements Of the officials and of the Book
company; and have also, while pursuing
this line of inquiry, developed many inter-
esting and gratifying facts in relation to
the general question Of school book supply.