The Topeka state journal., 1902-05-07


innate.
Spoilers ............ -.............s $4,000
Readers -..---......-..- 225,OO0
Ar1thmetics .....--.-.-. 125,0O0
biographies .....--...-..-..-..--- 100OUO
Grammars .-------...- -..-.----- oO,OUO
Histories .,................... 49,. 10000
Writing -.-.---.-- .-..--.-.----.. 5V,OgO
All other books .--....--..-...... $4,000
Total .......... ............... 900
This man claims that readers win
amount to 25 or 80 per cent of the en-
tire contracts. He figures that the ex-
changing of books VIII knock $50, 600 off
of these figures.
The prices fixed By law for the var
ious books are as follows.
Spelling book, 10 cents; first reader, 10
cents, second reader. II cents; third
reader, % cents; fourth reader, 80 cents;
fifth reader, 40 cents mental arithmetic,
20 cents; intermediate arithmetic, %
cents; complete arithmetic, 80 cents
elementary geOgra nhys 30 cents; com
plete geography, rs cents; English gram
mar, elementary, 20 cents; complete
grammar, 35 cents; physiology and hy-
giene, so cents; history of the United
States, so cents; elements of natural
philosophy, so cents civil government,
40 cents; elementary algebra, SO cents;
physical geography 80 cents. book
keeping. 40 cents; writing books, 5 cents
each.
L L
binations floating around. Most Of the
agents look with suspicion upon the
American Book company, although ru-
mors of different companies combining
with the American Book company are
by no means infrequent- Another rumOl
was that the Boston companies had
formed a combine to control as much OF
the Kansas business as possible, and
another was that the companies which
have had the contracts for the past hve
years are in a combine to continue them
for another five years.
The representatives of some Of the
smaller book publishing houses, which
are bidding O1l only one or two publica-
tions, claim that there is a disposition
on the part Of tge big houses to shut out
the smaller oness Among these big
houses-the ones which are largest pub
fishers of school bOolxs-are the Amerf-
can Book company, CHM & Co., D. z.
Heath. and Rand, NcNally & Co
These big companies want TO dis
courage other publishers from going into
the school book business, % declared one
of the agents today consequently, If
they can not land q contract for them
selves they would prefer 1t should go to
one of the other big companies Their
idea is to keep out competition in the
school book busin sss I presume the
smaller companies would do the same
thing If conditions were reversed
The books of one company are sub
jected to the closest scrutiny and crit
that the defects in every book viii be
brought out before the week is over,
and if the authors can hear all of it
they will dOubtlessAflnd out many things
they never knew before. Some agents
knock on rival companies by claiming
that the books they offer are some that
are going out of date and have been
superseded in other states, and they
want to saddle them onto Kansas for
five years in order to keep up their
sale. The agents of the books which
are attacked answer that their publi-
cations are tried and true" and that
their age is point in their favor. An
other accusation is that some of the
books are merely abridged editions Of
the real article.
Many of the book agents have good
words to say of the Kansas school book
law but they also criticfse it because 1t
admits of no supplementary books, so
that if a poor book happens to be chosen
by the commission, the patrons of the
schools must accept it whether they
want it or not.
Among the firms and their representa-
tives are the following.
DOdd, Mead & Co. represented by w.
r. Madison of Chicago
Scribner & Sons, represented by
Thomas Ham, Chicago
Central School Supply Co, represented
by E. F. Albrecht, Chicago; F. R. Dyer,
Wichita; E. H. Roudebush, Topeka, and
Levi Humbarger, Abilene.
Scott, Forsman & Co, represented by
the two principal members Of the firm
Albert Scott and Hugh FoFsman, OF
Chicago.
Butler. Sheldon & Co., represented by
L. M. Hunt, Chicago.
Globe School Book Co, represented by
A A. Tobias.
Funk & Wagnalls. represented by
Captain A. J. Bowen, New York
Allyn & Bacon, represented by Carl
Bacon, Chicago.
The Mcmillan company, represented
by Otto Focht, Lincoln, Neb.; Frank
HummeI and A. B. Macy, Chicago.
A. Flanagan company, represented by
r: E. Smith, Chicago.
LOngmans, Green & Co, represented
by F. o. Perkins, Chicago.
CHM & Co., represented by o. P.
Barnes, Leavenworth; F. NJ. Kendall,
Chicago; T. w. ellison, Chicago.
American Book company, represented
by Major A w Clancy. H. NJ. Skin
ner, James DOckerin, and w B. Blazer
Chicago; E. F. Hassett, st. Louis, and
others.
D. G. Heath & Co, represented by r.
M. Pemberton, Topeka; c. H. Ames,
Boston.
Eaton & Co, represented by Ira P.
Eaton and G. I. Talbot.
Rand, McNally & Co, represented by
3. F. Newkirk. J. A. Hornberger and
H. J. Newby. Chicago.
Woodward & Tiernan, represented by
c. R. Frederickson. St. Louis.
interstate ScHOOl Book company rep
resented by M. N. Warner and Prof. f.
D. McKeever, Manhattan.
B. F. johnson Publishing company,
represented by J. D Van Winkle
Crane & Co. represented by G. G. Bur
ton, Prof. and Mrs. Picken, Miss Cora
Miller. Topeka.
Wooster & Co. represented by Miss
Lizzie z. Wooster Topeka.
Goodyear Marshall Publishing COM
pany. represented by Carl c. Marshall
Milton flof7
by A 3. Hoover, Kansas City.
RAN INTO BURNING BRIDGE