The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-06-01
Southern Books For
Southern Schools,

| 10 the Legislature OF NORTH Odl ollhh Wy
/ the representatives of the b. f. John-
son Publishing Company, of Richmond,
Va, that the people of this State had
for twenty years been paying exorbi-
tant prices for their textbooks, ana
that the said company would guaran-
! tee, in case of State adoption, TO fur-
| nish better books at at least 20 per cent
| less than the prevailing prices.
In 1901 the same statement was made
/ by the representatives of the b. r..
! Johnson Company to the Legislature OF
| this State. The history Of the night for
| State adoption, so ably conducted by
| the author and friends of the present
| law, and the bitter fight made against
| this law by book houses already in
| trenched, is too recent to need extended
| mention. 1t is sufficient to state that
| in answer to the denial of the charge
| made by the Johnson Company, that too
much money was being paid for text
| books, and that the Johnson Company
could and would furnish better books
| at a reduction of not less than 20 per
| cent, the Johnson Company has offer
| ed its list at a reduction of not less
| than 25 per cent below the prevailing
| prices, and it's guarantee of good faith
| is now on deposit with the State Treas
| urer.
The same book house Cor houses) that
| denied the charge of exorbitant prices
| has Tor have) in the face of the denial,
| offered the books now in use at reduced
| prices.
Now, rs per cent Cor more) is worth
| saving. The Johnson Company is not
g. for
philanthropy. 1t must make reason
| able profit and if this company can
| make a reasonable profit and charge at
| least 25 per cent less than the present
prices, what kind of profit has the
present incumbent been making for the
| past twenty years?
Again: 1t would seem that in TWEEN
| ty years, with excessive profits wrung
from the pockets of a people burdened
by the scourges of war and it's subse-
quent evils, the present book house Tor
houses) might have shown some spark
of gratitude by permitting North Caro-.
lima Cor other Southern authors to write
the text books used in this State, and
thus receive both recognition, encour-
| agement and royalties.
Will it be said that Southern au-
thors have been recognized? If so, let
it be said in reply that so far as Read
ers are concerned, the majority of the
southern selections have been revised
out of the books by Massachusetts men.
This is very encouraging to Southern
authorship-as encouraging as was the
finding of his manuscript in a hotel
trash barrel by a North Carolina author
| who had submitted the manuscript to
| the head of a so-called southern book
| house while the book man was a guest
in the authors home.
The Johnson Publishing Company has
been publishing textbooks for only a
| very few years. TT HAS ON ITS
| BOOKS THE NAMES OF MORE
| NORTH CAROLINA AUTHORS
THAN EVERY OTHER TEXTBOOK
| HOUSE COMBINED.
| | see from the paper that there APP
| pear to be 176 separate textbook
| houses doing business in the United
| States. 1t does seem that for young
concern the Johnson Company has been
| true to the intention declared by its
| founder, to encourage and develop
| southern authorship and to recognize
| southern literature, if in four or five
| years it has more North CarOlinians
| on it's authorship list than this vast ar
| ray of rivals. Moreover, the Johnson
! books are not written by southern men
and then revised out of all recognition
| by northern men. The Johnson Company
| believes that southern men can write
| excellent books. 1t believes that if de-
fects are found these books can be re-
vised by southern men, 1t believes
| that the south has not been recognize
| ed in the past in it's splendid literature,
1 81; IF &c obi n
prepare suitable text books for the
| school rooms. If it did not believe this
| it would have no reason for existence,
Is this belief held by southern people?
For answer let it be said that the books
of this company are now being used in
| Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennes-
| see, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama,
| Georgia, South Carolina and other
| States The Johnson COmpany's books,
| tried in the fires of bitter criticism.
ridiculed, vilified, attacked by every
weapon that hatred could devise, are
| giving satisfaction and casting CORE
| spending shadow over the hopes of its
INSCRIPTIONS opponents, who have fed
| and fattened on our people for quar-
| ter of century. To say that the south
cannot write good books is a reflection
upon our intelligence. Yet this is prac-
| tically what has been said by other
| book houses until they have been
| frightened into a sudden recognition
of the fact that our people can do some.
| thing besides buy textbooks at Excess
| sive prices. The Johnson Company has
been attacked as sectional" Let it be
asked when it became patriotism" to
| defame (as in the histories) or ignore
| Tin readers and authors) the fairest
and noblest part of our common coun-
| try. When did it become sectional
ISM for this part Of the country to
| defend itself in an open way and to
| demand simple justice? And now
rival book houses are falling over
each other to revise" their histories,
! and our competitors are selling South
ern Histories" to the South and North
ern" Histories to the North They are
| fully prepared to teach that the earth is
square or round, as may be demanded
1t is a case of both public and principle
| be -
The Johnson Company has authors from
| many Southern States 1t will have many,
many more; nor will the death-bed re-
| pentance of it's opponents stop its wonder
| full progress in bringing to the front as
| clean hearted clear Drained authors as