The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1901-06-27

ing the annual cost Of school books in the
state down from a figure near $l50,000
az it would be il every scEool child had
brand new books, 10 something like
$4,000 Another reason why the fact il
so far below the rough estimate is that
lower. grade pupils, for which the cost OF
books is small greatly exceed in NUM-
ber those of the higher grades, which use
conn paratively extensive books.
! Now, II the retail price Of book be,
for example, fixed at III under state con.
tract, it does not follow that every school
child i'm the state requiring such book
must pay 81 In cash for it, II that we're
| true, as 80 many seem to believe, the
cost Of changing a series of text books
would be great, 20 great that public sem
timent would hardly approve the discsrd.
ing Of any old book il its quality wore at
all toleraDle. But change of textbooks
means but a slight extra cost TO school
patrons; indeed, il may mean no extra
cost at all. In 1895 a new and superior
geography was offered TO supersede the
admittedly inferior series then in use,
which was offered for readoption, and
the new book was offered free in ex.
change. This would have given a new
book for an old and one without any
additional compensation, and the change
from poor TO good books would not hsve
cost the school patrons cent. This
liberal offer was not accepted and the
old and inferior books were readopted
and continued in service until the pas
sage Of the present law, since which time
these Biographies have bnen largely re-
tired and superseded by better ones.
published ana sold by the same com.
pany, however. In many of the schools
of the state, Monteith's Biographies
have been superseded be the New
Natural.
Since the present text.b book law was
enacted, in 1899, the school books then
in use in the state under contract have
beeu continued only by sufferance or
common consent There has been no
law TO prevent any district or school ad-
option and using any books IL might be-
sire. There has been general disin.
TO change books, however, for
the short period before there would be
another legal adoption by the state.
II comple etc change were to be Inade
this year and books TO the amount of
: 10000 should be required to stock the
schools Of the state IL would not mean
that parents Of Oregon would have to
put up sl5O, 900 for new books at the
opening OF the Fall term OF school. The
price would cut this sum down
to a mere fraction. BY surrendering
their books not in use the actual cash
outlay Tor the new ones would probably
be $50, 900 to S35, ,000-certainly less than
$50, 900. The sum would depend on the
bargain made by the state board. Thus
the extra cost of au entire change in the
series Of school books, a clean sweep,
would cost the parents of the state less
than 90 cents for each school child, pre-
hapa not more than 20 cents. It is not
impossible 10 imagine that better books
might be worth this small sum,
IL being true that complete change
would not impose heavy burden on the
school patrons Of the state, il follows
that there need be no alarm felt on the
score OF their cost, for any changes the
state commission is likely TO make. IL
must be supposed that any change made
will be for the benefit OF the schools and
the cost TO the patrons will be one of the
elements bearing on the adoption. There
IL room for much improvement in Ore.
gon text-bookP, which is admitted even
by those who supply them, and changes
are expected. The Monteith geograDh-
es, the Fish arithmetics aud the Spen-
ierian writing books, IL is generally con
'eded, must 20. There 10 also consider !
Ible criticism OF the Maxwell grammars |
md the Barnes readers. What adoptions |
hall be made In their place cannot, of |
curse, be now known. All these mat
ers are entirely irrespective of the
Methods OF old or future contractors.