The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1903-07-03


columns of the Daily News (Which
paper has been absorbed by your
own valuable publication,) there
appeared a discussion of the ad-
Instability OF a state loption of
books for Mississippi to which the
undersigned was a party. At
that time and in that discussion
the writer cOntenled for unifOr-
nifty Of books, believing that the
system would insure for the
schools better books alI at great
ly reduced prices. The legisla-
ture WAS in session az thu tins
aud bill providing for state uni
tormity was INTRODUCED 1t pass
ed in the house Of representatives
bya large maj ,rity, bat was de-
feated in the senate and the re-
suit was that in the following
summer the school books were
adopted separately by counties
and separate school districts as
formerly with bat little improve
ment in the quality Of books and
with practically no reduction in
prices.
In connection with thl, matter,
and which makes it pertinent at
this time, | wish to call the at
tention Of the public to the fact
that the legislature of the state of
Alabama has recently enacted
law providing for state uniformi.
| ty Of school books aud that the
selection of books. under that law
has just been made. The com.
mission having this important
matter in charge was composed of
the highest educational authority
in the state aud a gratifying coin
cidence in the selection was that
no less than nine of the books
used III our city schools were
adopted unanimously to be used
throughout the entire state Of Ala
b,ma, namely. Maury's geogra-
phies, II ,usells histories, Over
tons physiologies, Baldwin, s
readers, Myers general history,
Peterson's civil government,
Wentworth's geometery, Cages
Physics and Natural Music Read
ers. These are among the NEST
modern and progressive textbookS
published. The practical part of
this letter is TO call attention to
the fact that these sam. books,
same subject matter, same bind
ing and by the same publisher,
are sold in Meridian to our city
pupils at about fifty per cent
more than they will be sold for to
the public schools of Alabama.
The contract, which the city of
Meridian under our local system,
holds with these publishers, is at
a price of fifty per cent higher
than Alabama has with the same
publishers under the state system.
10 illustrate: In Meridian, under
the local system, the publishers
Of hausell's Higher History are
under contract to sell that book
for 81, in Alabama, under the
state system, the same publishers
have entered into contract to
sell the same book for 10 cents:
likewise the contract price for
Maury's Manua! of Geography in
Meradian is $l.25, in Alabama,
the same book identically is to be
sold for 50 cents. It might be
we'll to add here that ~ separate
district in Mississippi has cou-
tract for books at lower figures
than Meridain-the difference in
prices in the city of Meridian aud
the state is to be accounted for in
the system of adoption. In th e
following table will be found a
comparison of the Meridian aud
Alabama prices of the nine books
used in the public scho lis of both
places:
Meridian Price-Maury's Man
ual of Geography, $l.25; Maury's
Elementary, soc Hausell's High
er History, ST.; Hausell's School
History, soc; Cages Physics, ST.; !;
Wentworth's Geometry, S1.25;
Peterson's Civil Government, 6Oc;
Myers General History, ST. !;
BaIdwin's Reader No. |, 25c !:
Baldwin's Reader No 2, 35c: