The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-04-21
DEFEAT OF FREE BOOKS.

PROBABLY little regret was occasion.
ed by the announcement contained in
yesterdays issue of The Gazette that
the discovery had been made that the
free text book proposition, voted upon
at the recent school election, had been
defeated. The fact that only two
more votes were cast in favor OF free
books than were cast against them,
must of itself be taken as tolerably
conclusive proof of the unpopularity
Of the idea of making the school dis
trict an eleemosynary institution in
the respect of furnishing books to the
children who attend it's schools.
The purpose of the law under which
the election held is manifesto
afford communities the right of exer-
cising their generosity in the direc-
ton of supplying the children of poor
parents with the books necessary to
the acquisition of the rudiments at
least of an education. While in the
older and larger communities of the
east, where actual poverty and want
exist, there is undoubtedly need of
some such provision of law, it cannot
be said that conditions of that kinG
exist here. 1t is true that there are
some people in Billings who are poor
and who may find the cost of buying
school books for their children con-
siderably of a burden, yet, it is safe
to say, that but few, ii any of them
voted for the free text books. They
have the pride inherent in all Amer
leans that prevents them from &C.
cepting anything in the shape of pub
lie be%nefactions until the direst need
and extremity drives them to it.. OF
the abjectly poor there are none, but
vel it there were their children
would not be denied the use of the |
books needed by them in their attend
ance at the schools. The men who
compose the school board could be
relied upon to see that their wants
in this regard were supplied.
There is no need OF a communal
distribution of books in this district,
consequently it is a matter of, con-
graduation to the people that the
question was defeated. The expenses
of the district are already large and
to saddle the additional expense of
thousands of dollars onto the taxpay-
ers would have been unfair and I'M
reasonable.
But aside from the monetary con-
sideration some OF the other objec-
tions that were made when the propo-
sition was submitted may now be
properly discussed. One OF these had
to do with the health OF the children
of the schools. 1t was urged that by
the free distribution of text books a
menace to the lives and safety Of the
children was created. Books that had
been taken into homes where contagi-
u or infectious diseases obtained
would be given out to other children,
and as it is we'll known that the
germs OF some of the transmittable
diseases retain their vitality for in
definitely long periods, the danger
from infection and contagion would
be ever present and the free books
would be a breeder of disease and
suffering, instead of being the evil
dence of the community's generosity
and l%iberality.
Taking all the objections that could ,
be raised against the proposition, it
is a matter OF congratulation that
even at this late date it has been
found that the advocates of free text
books were not numerically strong
enough to carry their point.