Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1903-08-30
FULLY EXPLAINED
PROPOSED PLAN,
Supt. Mathis on School Book
Matter.
NEW SYSTEM MOST EXCELLENT
Supt. Mathis Fully Sets Forth The
Manifold Advantages to Be Derived
Under The P.oposed Plan of Sup
plying Text Books.

The TIMES RECORDER the
editor of the daily Press full credit for
the declaration that he does not wish
to hamper the public schools of Ameri
Gus, shall briefly answer some of the
seeming obi ections to the book renting
system as set forth in that paper An
gust 2Sth, and as I had already, at
your request, given you an article bear
lug somewhat on this same subject I
shall ask you to publish it, as have
changed it to suit this particular case.
In the first place the Press rests its
whole argument on the supposed cost
of second baud books. The ipdiscrimi-
nate selling of second hand books ought
not to be allowed, and in many cities
is not allowed as a sanitary meas
ure AS it Is here the negro child
brings his book to the book store and
it is bought to be sold IN the next mo-
ment to the white child in waiting, and
second hand books are bought from
firms in New York and in Chicago
which make speciality of collecting
them from all parts of the country
without any regard to their infection,
without regard to any thing but that
they can be sold at a large profit
There is no control of probably infected
books, but where the books are owned
by the the school they will be destroy
ed when the child using them happens
to be infected with some contagious
disease. Again, the books furnished
the different schools will remain in
those schools and not be changed
around from Furlow to Mccoy and
vice verse, as is now the case. There
is another reason; we ought to grow
out of the notion that anything" is
good enough for the schools. ou1s are
: not second hand schools. Let us rather
look at it from that standpoint and now
for the figures, not from conjecture
and to fit specious argument, but as
they actually are.
AS the course of study is now arrang.
ed and has been for two y, ars and
more, we use in the first year, Cyr's
Primer, 24c, Stepping stones, No. l,
SOC. Princes Arithmetic, 2Oc, Baldwin,
First Reader, 25c, slate, 10c, slate
pencils, &c, lead pencils, 10c, drawing
pencils, Is, pen holder, &c, pens, sc,
4 pencil tablets, zoe, 2 pen tablets, zoe,
? copy books, zoe, pract; ce paper, Sc,
total $2.O5. This does not include the
manual training supplies because we
cannot yet tell just what the cost will
be, as pext year will be the first of its
introduction.
Well, it isn't necessary to go through
all the grades, the proportion will hold
good for them all, but let us take the
first year of the high school, the eighth
grade, that can be supplied according
to Mr. Bigham, for $2.47. Here are
the figures; Montgomery History OF
England $1.15, Collar & Daniels First
Year Latin $1OO, Spanish Grammar
90c, Spanish Reader 90, Wentworth's
First Steps IN Algebra Coo, Tarr &
Physical Geography 81 10 The Prin-
cess Csc, Revolt of the Tartars, Csc,
Paradise Lost, I and IL, soc, pen
tablets 40c, 6 pencil tablets go, pen
holders loo, pencils 10c, drawing pen
clls 20c, examination paper zoe, pens
Zoe, drawing PAPER 10c, total IS. &C
and as for the first estimate this does
not include the cost of the manual
training supplies.
This is the retail price list, the price
that the child is expected to pay if
he gets the published retail price-and
that the schools propose to take the re-
taiIer's profit and re-inYest it for the
good of the school is no argument
against the system of book renting, and
as to saying some of these things are
furnished already does not mean that
they must be furnished by the school
and that they cannot be put on the st
of things to be bought by the pupil in
case of injunction" brought and sus
tanned. All are items usually required
to be furnished by the pupil.
The array of figures about the grand
total of cost for eleven years reminds
me of the pendulum that once happen
ed to think..of Its work; that it had to
swing go times in minute, $500 times
IN an hour, 400 times in day and
1886, 900 in year. The figures were
appalling, SO the pendulum just decided
puldn't make the effort and refused
AZ at all. Let's not worry about
only as they come. May be
sn years have taxed us we
here else where we can