The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-03-03
EVIDENCE ABOUT IN
After Running Round a Cir
Gle, Shifting the Issue, the
Lippincott- Johnson Com
bine Now Cries Trust,

|. Early in December. 1898, the eX-
adiutant and quondam member of Lee
Camp Confederate Veterans, of Rich
mond, Va, opened up book crusade, in
North Carolina under the banner OF
southern School Books for Southern
Children, by Southern Authors and
Printed by Southern Men in Southern
City"
Soon after the agitation began, it de-
veloped that the readers, arithmeticS,
biographies and histories, now used III
the public schools of the State, were
written by Southern scholars and print
ed by a Southern organization. gotten
up by Gen. Gordon, of Georgia. THIS
CRY WAS THEN DROPPED.
.. Then Johnson stated in his sermon
cite before the educational committees
of the two branches of the General AS
sembly and afterwards in paid newspa-
per articles that If they would let him
have his way he could and would save
the SIHIe over NloV.Opp uniludllN III
this philanthropic offer. he was joined
by the agent of the Lipnincott Com
pany.
1t was shown under affidavit by cop
les of the sales, by names and towns of
North Carolina, that the value of text
books sold annually for all schools, pub
lie and private. did not amount to $40,
900 How could 100000 be saved on
a 10000 transaction puzzled the Lip
pincott-Johnson combine so badly that
it again changed tactics.
g. The next time these novelists OPP
ened their heads and began to print
their essays on a subject which they
professed was very near their heart
strings. it was to save the poor chill
dren" from 20 to so per cent
1t has been proven, and made well
understood by the reading and thinking
public. that Johnson's readers cost SIX
CENTS more than those now in use
and contain less matter; that his his
tories cost SIXTY FIVE CENTS more
tina nthose now in use: that Iippincott's
history calls the Confederacy "a rebel
lion'' and thereby is out of the question:
that Johnson has no series of arithmetics
yet in existence: and that the grammars
now in use cost THIRTY SIN CENTS
less than they do in Mr.. Johnson's
home State; so in the light of this ex-
posture. the combine again changes tao
ties and has given the public some en-
pertaining and amusing and madeto-
order definitions of trusts.
4. This fresh and ''holier than thou
instead of going to the proper
for definitions, hunts up
paid communication in an insignificant
ter the definition of Trust" by he New
York World, the greatest power for
evil in this country and the most bla-
tant calamity bowler in its bitter am
tagonism of w. ]. Bryan In the recent
Presidential campaign. One would sup
pose that combine which shows so
much concern about the welfare of ;he
State and the education of its children
would exercise conmmon-sense enough
to discover from what source 10 set
the proper definition of words. Inselli-
gent people usually go to the dictionaries
almost universally used throughout the
country for accurate information. Web
ster defines Trust as follows: ''An
organization formed mainly for the pur-
pose of regulating the supply and price
of commodities"
To imagine what next this combine
of novelists will bring forth gives one
feeling similar to that curiosity attend
ing the opening of a prize-box.
w. b. KENDRICK.