The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-01-08
KNOCKED OUT
THE AMERICAN BOOK co.
The School Board Decided That To-
peka School Children VIII Learn
to Read Out of Kansas nade Books
Excelsior Readers Adopted.

[A(CASAOE k<G6uGTS EAQOpLCQs
At the regular monthly meeting of the
| board of education Monday night, held
/ at the rooms of the board in the High
School building, something of surprise
took place by the bringing up OF the
! question of the adoption of school read
ers. Five months ago Crane s. CO.
made proposition to the board offering
to supply the Excelsior Readers for five
| years at price considerably below the
| price that had been charged by the
American Book Co. for Meg uffey and
Harper's readers during the past years.
About the time this proposition was
made; the board became flooded with
propositions from about all the book pub
fishers in the country, asking them for
| charge of ali of the books in the course
of study. The matter was put off from
time to time, ana the longer the mem
bers of the board considered it, the less
they seemed to know about it. In fact
they became swamped with the sweet
and persuasive songs of the book agents.
| The matter was put off from time to
time, and at the October meeting the
whole thing was dropped, and it seemed
to be determined that there would be no
| change. In the meantime the text
book committee and the members of the
| board have been quietly considering the
merits of the Excelsior readers with a
view of adopting them if they were
| worthy. Nothing had been said about
| the matter outside, and at the meeting
| Monday night there were none of the
| houses represented excepting the Amer
! lean Book Co, who had two agents on
hand. After the meeting opened, one of
the members of the board, seeing the
American Book Co.'s agents on hand,
| telephoned to Geo. W. Crane that he had
better be there to defend his company
After the routine work of the board was
| ended, Mr. Miller, chairman of the
text book committee, made unanimous
report recommending the adoption of
the Excelsior readers on the terms of the
original proposition as submitted by
Crane s. Co. Almost Immediately Mrs.
Burton stepped into the room, and asked
to be heard in the interest of the Ameri-
can Book Co. Permission being granted,
she Immediately entered a vigorous pro-
| test against making any change of read
ers. She stated that her hus band being
absent it devolved upon her to defend
the interest of the American Book Co.
Mrs. Burton insisted that the personal
interest of any house or individual
should not be taken into consideration in
the matter of so much Importance. That
while Crane s. Co. was a local in
that she and her husband were
also citizens of Topeka and largely in
| terested taxpayers. That it would be
a very serious thing for them if their
| company should be thrown out here at
the capital of the state, where SO many
| hooks were used. and where they were
| residing as citizens. Mr.. Crane, l am
sorry to say, said she, has used question
| able means in bringing this matter be-
fore the board, and in urging the adop-
ton of his books. As he was leaving the
| room the last time that the matter was
under discussion, he made the remark to
| my husband in my hearing, "You have
fixed the board pretty solid" Now,
| don't believe that this is The
kind of a board that can be fixed.
Mrs. Burton stated that the ques--
ton of adoption of the readers
was a very serious matter and no change
should be made without the most thor
ough investigation. The children were
incompetent TO protect themselves, and
it is for the board to protect them. ~
Mrs Burton then started into criticisfng
the Excelsior Readers, claiming thar
there were very many errors in them.
She stated that she could point out 90
errors In selections OF Dickens in the
Fourth Reader. That Harper's Readers
were prepared by a large house, thor
oughIv prepared and competent to exec
printing and that the Harper's
were far superior in every respect
to the Excelsior. Mrs. Burton
ended her remarks evidently with feel
ing that she would like to say good deal
more, but felt that SO much had been
said heretofore, it would be an imposition
20 take up any more time of the board.
She was evidently we'll prepared to make
a hard fight for her books and seemed to.
make an impression on the board.
At the conclusion of Mrs. Burton's rex-
marks one or two members of the board
expressed a desire to hear Mr.. Crane in
defense. Being in the ante-room, he
came in and suggested that he would only
take their time for five minutes and
would not feel justified in even taking
that much time if it were not the per-
sonal allusion of Mrs. Burton's that "Mr.
Crane had used questionable means
in urging the matter before the
board" He went on to say that
he had not mentioned the subject of
school books TO any member of the
board for three months, nor had any one
else to his knowledge. That from the
time the question was first presented five
months ago, he had not occupied more
than IA half hours time of any one men,
Der of the board, That he had not urged
the adoption of the Excelsior readers on
the ground of their being made in Tope-
ka but that they were in every respect
as good a set of readers as were on the
market and he was prepared to produce
aud offer them at prices very much less
| than had been heretofore demanded by
the eastern publishers. He admitted
that there were errors in his
books, many more than there
|. would have been had the type
been set in his office; but that the books
were as free from errors and criticisms
as the other readers in use in Topeka.
There never yet had been book printed
that was free from errors, and probably
never would be. UnfriendIy critics of