Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1901-05-08
BensOn's Plan for Text Books.

BenSOn'S Plan Tor Text BOOKS.
Assemblyman Lewis Benson, of the
Second district of jefferson county,
has gained some prominence in the
legislature by his hard fight for his
pet measure-a bill to provide the
common schools of Wisconsin with a
uniform system of text books pub
lished by the state. In spite of sturdy
opposition Mr.. Benson brought his
bill to a third reading in the assembly
last Thursday, the vote standing 60
to II. In advocating the measure be
said In part:
ut is an acknowledged fact that
the poorer classes of people have the
most children to educate. 1t is an
other fact that the better we educate
the school children the better citizens
they will become, and to this end it
seems to me it is our duty as law
making body to place the means of
education as cheaply as possible with
in their reach We have system of
free schools in this country-a system
where the child of the poorest man
who walks the streets of this city to-
day is entitled to the same rights and
privileges as the man who can count
his money by the millions; and this
house two years ago refused to place
a law upon the statute books that
would save to the poor school children
Of the state over so per cent. upon
their school books. and by so refusing
compelled them to pay tribute to the
book monopolies of the state. This bill
provides for uniform system OF school
books in the common schools, to be
printed and published by the state and
furnished to the children of the state
at cost of publication and Transports
ton to their destination. Let us first
look at the benefits of uniform sys-
tenn. AS | said before, the poorer
classes of people as a rule have the
most children to educate They are
the tenters-the men who work out
by the day, month, or year, and are
constantly changing their Locations,
and every time they change they are
compelled to buy new school books
and pay dearly for them. Now, if we
had uniform system they could be
used in any common school in the
state, thus doing away with the
n. cessity of buying new books every
time q change of location was made;
and more than that. they could be
handed down from the older to the
younger children of the family.
1T is said by some that the state
ought not to 90 into the book business.
1t is the duty of abe state to look after
the interests of It's people, and it is our
duty to pass such laws as will do
the greatest good to the greatest
number" The speaker then quoted
prices of books. '.Now, | know" he
continued, ''that if this bill becomes
a law these books can be furnished for
less than half of that price and | have
every reason to believe for less than
one-third; because any book company
which can secure sc large contract
can and will furnish these books at a
very small price. The material that
is necessary to manufacture these
OoOho Cdu OO uOoc1y iOi OdS-
quarter of what it could fifteen years
ago. paper that cost 20 cents a
pound fifteen years ago can be bought
today for cents and other material
on the same basis. We have i'm
proved machinery today SO that one
man can accom- plish as much work in
a day as ten could twenty years ago,
and yet the books we use in our com
mon schools cost us just as much or
nearly as much as they did then. Are
we here to legislate in favor OF the
few Or many? In other words, are
we here to pass laws that will re-
dound to tie benefit Of the 223, 900
school children who are enrolled in
the common schools or are we here
to favor the book mon )poli9s with
their headqu lrters outside OF the
state and by S doing compel 81 per
cent. of those who receive an ed
ucation in the state of Wisconsin to
n'inu" 30 pay tribute to these book
on poles? 1t seems to me our duty
is pl M