The advocate., 1897-09-29
First Fight of The People VS., the Book
Trust.

IOr Lne CITY or wichita got together last
March, less than twenty-fOur hours be-
fore the school text book law was to take
effect, and made contract with the
American Book Company and others to
supply the public schools Of Wichita
with text books for two years The
''lOng-nosed Pop" registered his kick at
the spring election, but to little pur-
pose. Last week "three Pop lawyers, all
wheel-hOrses in the Pop party" accord
ing to the Wichita Eagle, also got to-
gether and concluded to drag the city
schools into politics" (Eagle), without
fee, subscribed their services and with
other Pops advanced money for costs,
and instituted proceedings to compel the
g. o. p. board to obey the law and put
in the State books. The board hustled
together and hired a good lawyer, with
other peoples money, to fight to sustain
the book trust and high prices for the
patrons. Teachers ordered the 1000
children to buy no books, and all stood
still to see the trust and Pops make the
fur fly, while the Eagle shrieked from
its eyrie every morning for trust books.
After much sparring over technical
points the ''Wheel-horses" got hearing
Thursday. For half day Judge Dale
listened to arguments for the relator,
delivered in sections, as the attorney for
defendants declared.
Mr. l. P. Campbell (of Sankey & Camp
belD, who prefers war to peace, and is a
scrapper from way back in or out of
court, read from and commented on the
1ou 1p,Av OP I,n
board and the wrong being done the
people. He made an able argument for
the enforcement Of the law and the
rights Of the people.
Judge w. J. Babb (Of the firm of Babb
& NighsWOnger), who is always and
everywhere against corporation rule, re-
viewed the entire statutory law of Kan
sas on the school text book question, as
we'll as the general law applying to
school districts as quasi municipal cor
pOratiOns showing that such school dis
trict is created by the Legislature, and
limited strictly to the exercise of the
powers given it by it's creator the Legis-
lature; that the defendant board could
not, during the years between the act
Of 1885 and the act of 1897, compel the
adoption of uniformity Of text books in
the city schools without joining the
country districts for county uniformity
under the law Of 1885, which had not
been done; that at best any adoption of
text books could not stand beyond the
life Of the board adopting them; that
when the present board organized on
August 2, 1897, it had no power what
ever to keep alive the pretended con-
nf 10 h.
of 1897 barred such action; that coming
into existence after the new law took
effect, the new board perforce of the act
Of '97 must adopt the books provided
thereby.
Judge Irwin Stratton, who had made
careful comparison of the relative cost
Of the trust and State books, and had
given his time to inform the people of
what the trust was taking from them,
took up the question of the pretended
contract of the board with the compa-
nies. In a very strong argument he
showed that no contractual relation
could exist between the board and the |
companies; that the alleged contracts |
were totally insufficient in execution and |
invalid under the old law and in vio- |
latiOn of the new law.
The question of the contract with the
American Book Company, trust, was
also touched upon as being in violation
of the antitrust law of 1897 of Kansas,
which was published and became effec-
tive on March II, 1897. This was not
urged seriously, as the question was
hardly in issue upon the face of the
pleadings, but would have been had the
case gone to trial upon evidence.