The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-02-21
FACTS AND FIGURES.
A Statement About School
Books and an Answer
to Mr.. Johnson's
Claims.

| To the Editor: /, as representative of
the American Book Company for North
Carolina. am authorized by my people
to make public the following statements:
The special pleadings of the Il. IF.
Johnson Publishing Company to obtain
the complete monopoly of the school book
business of North Carolina for the next
four wears are based upon two PROPOSE
tons: First. an appeal to Southern pa
triotism for Johnson Il Company
selfish business profit; that is, coin the
fine and lust feeling of a patriotic peo-
ple into money for Johnson X Com
pany's benefit.
This attempt is an old one and the
question of its success may be safely
left with the intelligent and high-mlnd-
ed Legislature Second an alleged show
ing of a great money-saving to the peo-
school books for the next four years.
This saving johnson x Co. figure ON
readers, arithmetics, grammars, histo-
ries and writing books, will amount to
five hundred and fifty two thousand dol
lars they adding that this does not pro-
vide for savings in biographies, diction-
aries, physiologies and other books which
would largely increase this already great
amount Now it is proven by the ac-
count books of the two principal houses
furnishing school books to the State of
North Carolina under the present adop-
ton, that the total sales to North Caro-
lima in any one year (as, say take 1891
which is fair average) amounts to pre-
cisely sixty-one thousand four hundred
and fifty-two dollars and twenty-eight
cents worth of books, at present prices
The exact amount sold by the American
Book Company to the whole State of
North Carolina in 1897 was twenty-eight
thousand six hundred and ninety dollars
and three cents: and the total amount
sold by the University Publishing Com
pany for the same year (see appended
certifcate) was thirty-two thousand
seven hundred and sixty-two dollars and
twenty-five cents. To substantiate this
statement the account books of both
companies are open TO inspection by any
person from the Legislature authorized
to examine them. This amount of sixty
one thousand four hundred and fifty
two dollars and twenty-eight cents in
cludes not only books sold to the public
schools, but to the cities, to high schools,
cludes school books of all kinds, read
ers. spoilers, arithmetics, grammars, his
tories, copy books, biographies, dictlon-
aries. physiologies, Latin and Greek
books, and all mathematical and scien-
tific books. Out of an annual sale OF
sixty-one thousand four hundred and
ffty-two dollars and twenty-eight cents,
how can II saving of one hundred and
thirty thousand five hundred dol
lars Il year be made by the Johnson
Company ON Il partial list, sold to the
public schools alone? Indeed, if the
books were continuously supplied for
the whole term of four years
would not be one-half of the amount
claimed, while it is remembered that the
Johnson saving, stated, is claimed upon
about one-half of the books in the en-
tire list. As to the proposition for a
wholesale even exchange at an expense
of three hundred thousand dollars to
the johnson Company. as they state,
how can this be offered as a business
venture, unless they expect the profit
from the monopoly granted will bring the
money back to them, from the pockets
their philanthropic thought, that the old
books to be taken in even exchange have
a value as secondhand books, and can
be sold at good price in the open mar
ket. while Johnson Il Company's new
~ manufactured thousands of books,
which Mr.. johnson says he has on hand,
then, worth while to interrupt and throw
into confusion the whole educational sys'
TEN of North Carolina by the introduce
ton of new and untried books, whose
qualities, at least, are such that i'll com
petition with the best books of the
country, they cannot be sold but ONLY
GIVEN AWAY? This demonstrates
that inferior school books are too dear,
even if accepted free, and that to obtain
the best educational results the whole
United States must be put under contri-
button through competition, and the
question decided upon the consideration
of merit alone, as has always been the
case in North Carolina, and is the case