The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-01-10
5HANGE IS NEEDED
Demand General for Repeal
of School Book Law.
WHAT THE TEACHERS SAY
Almost Unanimous in Opinion
That Repeal Is Essential.
WHAT THE TEACHERS SAY

Topeka, Kan. Jan. s.-The entire coun-
! try IS returning to its normal condition
. Of good sense after period Of rendered
unique in history by visionary schemes
and crank legislation in various states.
All self-governing countries are liable TO
pr,ods Of legislation Stiffness and quixot-
ism which lend humor to their annals.
The Blue Laws Of Connecticut and the
Wichcraft legislation of Massachusetts,
are familiar instances. There is probably
at all times more or less OF the spirit of
crankery in latent form. Thousands OF
absurd bills are smothered in committees
Of congress and the legislatures every
year and fail to see the light the good
sense of the majority of the lawmakers
being in the way of their exploitation It
is only occasionally that the absurd
/ schemes Of pseudo-legislator are actually
enacted into laws. Unfortunately for he
+ people the experiment of crank legislation
are often attended with hardships and
. loss that cannot be easily estimated Such
/ mas been the case with the text book leg
islation in Kansas. Never was a law
more unjust to the teachers and pupils
( Of our state Never was their discomfort
so universal.
/ The teachers the school officers and
! press of the state are throwing OFF all re-
/ serve in condemnation OF the present plan
/ and especially Of the books which are
+ now foisted upon them by an iron-clad
monopoly.
What roar of indignation would
/ come from our farmer friends should the
( legislature adopt uniformity Of farm i'm
! Elements. and then a farm implement
4 commission consisting of politicians only
should adopt the scythe as the standard
/ reaper. the wheelbarrow as the standard
conveyance, the hoe as the standard cul-
tivatOr. a flran and canvass as a standard
thresber. The textbook commission has
done worse. Prof c. o. Smith, Belle
PLANE Kansas.
MY observation and experience lead me
to believe that our experiment in school
books is a failure. would Ike to stand
by the death-bed Of our failure, and as
the stranger softly approaches, I would
say 10 him. Here lies State textbooks "
w. NJ. Massey, Belle Plain Kansas.
''The state books were put into the
schools at the opening of the present
school year. They are already falling to
pieces. The paper is thin and of a poor
quality If we consider only bindings,
paper. etc. our state books are compare
lively high in price. Geo. d. Kuipe.
Manhattan. Kansas
"The state books are higher in price
Quality and durability considered) than
4
South Haven, Kansas.
IT consider the Kansas state books
worse than a failure, and consider the
schools fortunate where by contract they
are not compelled to use the books
T. C. Conklin, Superintendent Sumner
county.
81 think it is the opinion o. the teachers
generally, over the state that the present
book law is a step backwards. George
p Rose, Principal Kansas City High
school
LAS a whole, the estimate make on
them is that they (the state books are
bad and cheap. Geo. ". Witt, Superln-
tendent. Nortonville, Kansas.
Nothing but the motony Of the contin-
ued reiterauon Of the same idea prevents
the filing OF column after column with
ike expressions from representative teach
ers and superintendent in every part of
the state Aside from utterances made in
public the statements made by teachers
and superiutendents in the candor and
freedom Of private correspondence attest
a universal feeling Of dissatisfaction and
humiliation Here is a few of them.
From a CITY superintendent; eve are
any other or different Books than those
adopted BY the state board i'm 1897 which
are in every way poor worthless affairs,
Some Of the safe books are out Of date,
while others never were in date and never
can be-"
What a successful principal says: "The
state books are ali in use here 5y COM
puls.on. They are mostly very POOR.
and great effort viii be made to change
he law this winter"
What two eminent teachers think. ~
think the state books viii probably Be
changed next fan when the law expires.
eve trust this legislature win take steps
toward giving us some good books
Comment Of another superintendent
-The nrobaDilty is that the hooks VIII
10 exchanged as there Is considerable com
plant wth reference to the books NOS
aeing well enough bound nor being what
-hay should lee in subject mater
What q representative superintendent
oe Western Kansas has To says GAS 70
he state books. no language UiH express
my feelings as to their general worth s
aeH and an The teachers nith w1om
1ave talked agree vsth me. Il NOT whol-