The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-05-20
Kansas Text Book Fight May
60 Before Judge.
An Injunction to Prevent Sign
ing Of Contract.
CAUSED BY READERS.
Book Trust Books, It is Charged,
Are Out of Date.
George w. Crane Talks of the
Situation.

The school book fight in Kansas may
not be over. There is now talk of en-
joining Superintendent Nelson from
closing the contract for readers with
the American Book company commonly
known as the book trust. There are sew
eral things upon which this suit may be
based, the chief one being the methods
used by the trust to secure the adoption
Of its readers. There is no disputing the
fact that the Appleton readers are old
and out of date It is also an undis-
puted fact that the American Book COM
pany did not offer what it considers its
best readers to the Kansas text book
commission. 1t is charged that
the old readers We're forced in simply to
dlscredit the law and whether this IS
really the purpose or not future devel-
OpmentS may show. 1t is known that
the American Book company has al
ways been an uncomprOmising enemy
OF the Kansas state uniformity law. At
the recent session of the legislature the
company made an ineffectual effort to
break down the law and it is now
charged that the Appleton readers were
foisted upon the state simply to show
that the uniformity law results in the
adoption Of out of date books.
Some sensational developments are
promised It would be a good thing if
the methods by which the book trust
operated in Kansas could be exploited.
Crane & Co. and Wooster & Co. feel
especially aggrieved, fnasmuch as they
had readers which are not only modern
and generally credited with being as
good as any published, but in addition
to that they are Kansas books.
Mr.. Crane is not making any charges
against any members of the commission
but he is n aking open charges against
the methods employed by the American
Book company.
To show how ancient and out-of-
date are the readers which the Ameri-
can Book company is trying to palm off
on Kansas, it is claimed that the word
..valor'' is spelled ''valour," the old Eng
lish way.
THE American Book company claims
that it has a right to do business in
Kansas" said Mr.. Crane today, but it
hasn't. It claims that it had been do
ing business right along prior to the
time the Bush corporation law went in eff
feet but it hadn't for it only filed its
papers allowing legal service a short
time ago. The law provided that cor
pOratlOns doing business in the state al
the time the law went into effect could
continue simply by fling its charter and
other papers, and making its reports as
required by the Kansas law. The Amer
lean Book company has not done this.
If they have been doing business in
Kansas they have been doingit Illegally.
Crane & CO. is a foreign corporation,
and as soon as the law went into effect
we complied with requirements and
have been paying our fees and making
our reports ever since Now after near
ly three years, the American Book COM
pany thinks it can come in in the same
way We claim it cannot. It will have
to come in the same way as a new for
eign corporation. and before it can do
that it must have the authority of the
charter board. We claim that this must
be done before the text book commission
can complete its contract.
10 49,
the charter board before the American
Book company is given authority to do
business in Kansas. We will prove by
letters of the company itself that it is
corrupt in every way. The real object
Of the American Book company is to
bring discredit upon the Kansas uni
fOrmity law. 1t wants to get in its old
readers. Kansas people cannot help but
be dissatisfied with them. Then the
American Book company viii work to
bring about a repeal of the law in Kan
sas, and it will also use the failure OF
the law in Kansas to keep other states
from adopting uniformity, holding up
it's poor, Out-of-date readers as the best
that a state can do with a uniformity
law What the American Book COM
pany wants is a law that will allow
them to work on school boards and keep
the people changing books at whatever
price they want to ask.
1T was plain enough here last week that
the methods of the company were shady.
There We're only representatives of the
American Book company here to talk
books, yet it had a horde of attorneys, pol
iticians and pluggers here to work the
commission outside of considering the
merits of its books"
The people who want to get good books
into the Kansas schools are hoping that
the signing Of the contract with the Amer
lean Book company may be delayed until
the facts about the company can be pre-
scented to the charter board. Superinten-
dent Nelson, Edwin Taylor and Senator
Sheldon fought the adoption of the Apple
ton readers all through the commission
and the other. members of the commission
finally conceded the appointment of
committee to ask that a few changes be
made in the readers This committee is
composed of Nelson, Carney and Bear.