The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-01-24
LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATIONS.

An attempt is being made by a lot of
dog -the-manger book agents to have
legislative committee appointed for the
purpose of examining into the recent
school book contest. If this committee
is appointed it will be the intention to
vest it with power to compel the atten-
dence of witnesses and require them to
make statements under oath. This will
pnt the state to many thousand dollars
of needless expense. The committee
| would probably be in session several
weeks, and would require the services OF
at least two stenographers. Rent, fuel,
| light and salaries of the committee and
clerks would likely cost the state in the
neighborhood of $50 per day. In addi-
ton to this, attendance and mileage of
Z! the various witnesses must be paid from
| the states exchequer. Probably no less
| than one hundred persons from various
parts of the state would be summoned
| before the committee. The expense OF
each witness would not be far from $25.
| AS sittings of the committee would oc-
cupy, at the least calculation, thirty days
time, it is very easy matter to figure
that the expense, on most conserva-
| tive estimate, would be between four and
five thousand dollars. Every member of
the legislature is pledged to economy.
Those members who favor the needless
expense which the appointment of this
committee, or any other similar one,
would entail upon the taxpayers of the
state, will grossly violate the pledges
made to their constituents during the
campaign The fact that the American
Book Company secured the contract for
! furnishing the state with school books
by large majority of all the votes cast,
and the further fact that its prices are in
the main as low and, in many instances,
lower than quotations made by rival pub
1ish ers, disproves the allegation of fraud
and furnishes no reason for all 1nvest1-
CATION of its business methods. The
company, however, will probably not OBJ
Iject to an Investigation, but such a course
would be 1nanifestly unfair, because it
would make public the private affairs of
! a business concern, the details of which
the general public are not interested in
knowing. Besides being inquisitorial
such an investigation would be most
unbusiness like procedure. 1t would
disclose pitiful lack of confidence in
the intelligence of the county school
| A. ,+o+, 1,
board of examiners, and evidence gross
distrust in their honesty cf purpose and
business integrity. Further than this, il
would be fragrant violation of all well
Established principles of trade. The
lstate can not afford to set aside its con-
tracts at the behest of few disappointed
book contractors. The demand for this
investigation does not e,nanate from the
enough alone-but from three or fou1
enissaries sent here Ey certain eastern
publishing firms to secure state con
tract for furnishing school books during
the next six years. Since they have
utterly failed to impress upon Oregon
school men the superiority of their re
spective publications, none of their books
have been adopted. Now they cry ''stoI
thief p and want the Oregon Legislature
to appropriate several thousand dollars
to investigate the business methods o.
the company which secured the contract
The people wanted no change in text
books and are perfectly satisfied with
the result. The legislators were elected
to represent their constituents; not a
handful of disappointed book agents.
The school patrons ask for no investiga-
ton of this matter and want none of their
Imoney thrown away III such a manner.