Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-03-06
BECK OPENED HIS
CAMPAIGN At
NEWMAN
CANDIDATE FOR SCHOOL COMMITS
sIoNER MAKES A LENGTHY
ARGUMENT FOR UNIFORM
TEXT BOOKS.

NEWMAN, Ga, March 4.-Rev. A. j.
Beck, of Charleston, candidate for state
school commissioner of Georgia, opened
his campaign here today with a speech TO
the voters of Coweta county. Some 200 or
800 people were present. Rev. Mr.. Beck
devoted himself mainly to the discussion
of the uniform text book issue and an at
tack on the administration of State School
Commissioner Glenn. Mr. Beck cited fig
ures and facts and then went into a
lengthy discussion of the uniform text
book question.
In the beginning or his address Mr..
Beck said the report of the department of
education for 1900 showed a loss Of several
thousand in the school enrolment. There
is an apparent gain of $685. said Mr..
Beck, but there is, however, a mistake
of 1000 in subtraction and the figures
ought to be 5,S0S, but while there was a
gain in actual attendance of 5,S08, there
was a gain in school population of nearly
1900, and so there was real loss in at
tendance of something like 5000. Going
back as far as 1898, we find that with a
school population of 6O4.9n there was an
enrolment of 436,6s2 which is p per cent.
In 1900, with a school population of 6S2,S10,
there was an enrolment of 49,, 1856, which
is 20 per cent, a loss of per cent. An
analysis of the reports will show about
the same loss in average attendance.
Again by comparing these same reports
issued by the present state school commits
sioner we find that the average salary or
public school teachers in 1894 was $12994
In 1900 the average salary was $122.sS.
That is we have actually lost in percent
age of enrolment and average attendance
and in the average pay of the teachers,
notwithstanding the public school fund
for 1900 was half a million dollars greater
than IL was in 1894. Nor have we made
gv.4 - ,a nnI
1t was 100 days in 1894 and 100 days in 1900.
Where Is the proof of the boosted adj
vancement of Georgia's common schools
during the last few years. With an In
during the last few years, with an in
crease of only 10 per cent in school Dopu-
lation, we have made an extra outlay of
half million dollars, with no frightening
of the school term, no increase in per-
centage of attendance or enrolment, no
addition to the average pay of the COM
mon school teacher. What has become of
the half million dollars?"
Mr.. Beck then took up the subject of
uniform textbooks. He said he was
the only candidate who had declared in
favor of that measure. He said he was
favor of that issue. He said he was
ready to meet and abide the issue.
He said there were two sides to
the questionable side of the the book
publishers who have had things their
own way in Georgia for many years, and
the side of the people who are paying
every year, and paying needlessly many
thousands of dollars for high priced books.
He cited that Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana and
Texas has the uniform textbook system.
He said it was cheaper to buy goods at
wholesale prices than at retail. He said
publishers would furnish books to the
state cheaper than it would to any single
county He said that when sample copies
of books were sent to the 137 county school
commissioners and the 6S5 members of
county boards of education these samples
were all paid for by the people of Georgia,
as the publishers put on extra prices as a
result
Mr. Beck then made this sensational
charge: For years a few wealthy book
companies have had almost absolute con-
troll of the book trade of Georgia. They
are supposed to have things pretty we'll
fixed with county boards and county
school commissioners and naturally they
are opposed to uniformity"
Next Mr.. Beck took up a circular letter
which he said Mr.. Glenn had been sending
out through the state. He said 1t was mis-
leading and false. Mr.. Beck said he had
not attempted to ridicule any official but
thought that he had shown conclusively
that Glenn had added nothing to the
schools of Georgia.
Mr.. Beck was warmly applauded by the
people who heard his speech.