The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-02-19

anu copy DOCKS. see SC~arDOf0ughG
report 1880. pages 81 and SO The
spoilers, the readers, the grammars the
biographies and the high history of
the United States, E put 76 per cent.
in value of the list, ~ the publications
OF the University Publishing Co, OF
New York City, represented by w. b.
Kendrick. On the day after this adop.
ton, to-wit, May "a, 1879, the follow
ing appeared in the Raleigh News:
1.-TWO hours g given to the matter
before the meeting. the selection of
text books for the schools In this State.
There was seven book agents. = = y
ALI the book men except the Univer-
sity man say they don't want the new
bill signed. Tt is probable that Mr..
Scarborough will carry the question OF
whether or not it is right to sign the
bill before the Supreme Court, early In
June. He is a hard man to get around,
and when he makes up his mind his
will is law" Five days after the adop-
ton of these books, to-wit, May 2SCh,
Superintendent Scarborough began the
suits before described.
On May Och, 1881, shortly after the
adjournment of the General Assembly
in which Mel. Finger figured so con
spicuously, the State Board of Educa-
ton recommended the following series
Holmes readers, history, Maury's
Biographies, Sandford's arithmetic,
Harvey's and Reed & Kellogg's gram
mars, Webster's speller, Goodrich's
pictorial history, Stevens history, (see
SCarborough'sreport) The lions share,
or at least 80 per cent. of the value OF
this list as will be seer from the above,
fell to the University Publishing Co.,
represented by Kendrick.
1885-1893.
In January, 1885, Superintendent
Scarborough was succeeded in Office by
Sidney M. Finger, of Catawba county.
Mr.. Scarborough soon after became the
agent of the University Publishing
o., whose books he preferred while in
Office. A few months later Kendrick
changed houses, withdrew from the
University Publishing Go. and became
an agent for the school books of Harper
Bros, of New York City. In an official
letter to the school officers, dated De
cember 80, 1885, (Appendix to report
Harrington spel-lg book, Swinton's
language primer, and HarPer's copy
book have been added to the list and
dAO Ahu4OO I'LL bAO 4OO AdAAG6 IA ia
other books. Harrington's spelling
book is so graded that it will be used
throughout q common school course.
Swinton's language primer is intended
to be used before the pupil takes Eng
lish grammar and every teacher should
see that this is done"
These books were all publications of
Harper Bros. and represented by Ken
drick. In this circular Superintendent
Finger also said: The boards of edu
cation of the respective counties are
required under section $3.50 Of the Code
to see that when new books are intro
duced into the schools they shall be the
series recommended" Any one who
will examine this section will find that
Fingers statement in regard to it is
untrue, as we have already shown.
Reference is also made to the action of
Mr.. Finger on this question when he
wasa member of the Senate, before de-
scribed See Senate Journal 499. Ken
6rick remained only a short time with
Harper &c Bros. and soon returned to
the University Publishing Co., his first
love, but Superintendent Finger fol
lowed him whithersoever he went; for
the next important change of books
was the adoption of Holmes new read
ers, it being impossible longer to re-
tain the antiquated Holmes readers,
with any regard to public opinion, the
needs of the schools or sentiments of
teachers. But no opportunity was
given for any series of school readers
except such as showed the imprint of
the University Publishing Co. There.
fore an arrangement was made where
by an entirely new series Of readers
was published by this house bearing
the same name as the old readers. In
this circular, dated Dec. 80, 1885, Su
p~erintendent Finger said of them, "a
neat and thoroughly revised edition of
Holmes readers WILSON be published. F"
An examination of the date of this Cir
cular letter, with the date Of thelcopy-
right of these books when they did ap-
pear, will prove that they were adopted
blindly long before their publication
in the Ease of some of them, several
years before their appearance In
print. With reference to these new
readers Superintendent Finger in his
circular letter of Dec. 80, 1885, also
said: '"The edition will be so arranged
that it can be used in connection with
the old edition, thus preventing any
unnecessary loss by throwing aside the
old books" An examination of any
one of the five books of the new series
with the corresponding book of the old
series, will show that these books are
altogether different and cannot in any
single lesson be used together by pupils
in the same classes in school. A per
sonal examination of these readers is
invited to prove the untruthfulness of
Maj. Fingers statement. In his report
dated Oct. 1, 1890, he declared that
these readers were of Southern author
ship. He must have known that they
were compiled by L. w. Anderson, OF
the English high school, Boston, Mass,
and +. A. Hill, the English high school,
Cambridge, Mass. But the most rep