The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-12

Attorney General Childs yesterday
submitted an opinion to Superintend-
ent of Public Instruction w. w. Pen
dergast, advising the latter official that
the law of 1893 requiring publishing
houses to file sample copies of their
publications and prices with the state
department must be strictly adhered to
by Eastern book houses competing for
Minnesota school trade The opinion
further states that school districts can
renew a contract for the purchasing
of books prior to the expiration Of the
existing one.
This portion of the attorney generals
opinion reyerses the opinion recently
submitted to the board of school in
spectors of st. Paul by Assistant Cor
poration Attorney Carl Taylor, who
advised the board that it was within
it's province to rescind the action Of
last year in making contract for the
Natural Music Readers" published
by Chicago house, to take effect the
9Th of last month. Although the coll
tract for the Natural Music Readers"
then in use in the schools, did not @eX-
pire until June, the board at its Sep
TENDER meeting authorized an arrange
ment with the publishers of the Nat
uIaP edition to supply it's books at the
termination of the contract then in eff
feet, thus making contract nearly
one year in advance Of the expiration
of the existing contract
The attorney general says there is
no reason, within the wording of the
law, why a school district cannot re-
new a contract for the purchase of
text books before the one in effect ex-
pires. Mr.. Childs says, While it would,
as a general proposition, be impolitic
for school boards to renew contracts
,s<<l he I,
of the existing one, yet, viewed from
q legal standpoint, the action of the
board of school inspectors is legal as
the question lies wholly within the
discretion of the board.
In 1893 the law requiring publishing
houses to file with the superintendent
Of public instruction samples of their
publications, together with schedule
of the lowest prizes, went into effect.
The law said contracts could be made
for five years. This summer the con-
tracts expire, and the superintendent
office has been flooded since the close
of school with inquiries from local
boards of education asking if they can
purchase books from publishing houses
without making a formal contract, and
at prices proposed by the publishing
houses. The attorney general, in MS
opinion, says no such action would be
| legal, and in all cases the authorized
list of the state department and the
prices as quoted therein must be con-
formed to. Nearly every school dis
trct in the state is interested in the
decision, as they all came under the
provisions of the 1898 law and made
contracts either running for three or
five years. The majority Of them run
for five years.
The attorney general says, while the
law is not expressed in the happiesJ
terms, the purpose to be subserved by
to enable the public schools of the
state to procure books at reasonable
and uniform price. Under the law
no publisher is at liberty to sell dis
trict without first taking the requi-
site steps to secure recognition at the
hands Of the state superintendent.
When such list shall have been
filed" says the attorney general, it
is the duty of the publisher to sell any
of the books named therein to any
school district applying, at prices to
be agreed upon, provided that the same
are not in excess of those quoted In
the list A failure on the part of the
publisher to sell any book so listed at
in a forfeit of his right to continue
sales in this state to local school dis
tricts or he may be compelled by an
| appropriate action to conform with the
require ments of the statute
In closing, Gen. Childs, in his opin-
| ion, says: "The word contract n
| employed in the statute, must be given
| the widest acceptable meaning, ans
embraces, in my judgment, any sale
| of books whether under written con-
| tract CT otherwise