The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-15

lv called boards Is inferior 10 the usual binding. and this is true, but barely true. The representatives who came before the commission united in saying that the cloth book did not cost the publishers more than a half cent more than the special or board covers. The patrons of the public school are entitled to these board covers at any local agency in the state on all books for which this special arrangement was made and the patrons are privileged to buy either kind I learn from the Fowler company, one of the state depositaries, that in some books. at least four out of five shipped out of their store have had this special cover.
 Not Monopoly.
 It has been seen that in the usual binding, then, the patron, in the purchase of books, will find that where the list price would have been ten dollars. he would only have to pay eight, and where the books were listed a ten dollars, by purchasing the board binding, he would only have to pay S6.66. This brings me to say that nine stores of ten in Alabama. outside of those counties where there were county adoptions. sold books at an advance over list price of an amount greater than 15 per cent. The book men in this state, l think, know this to be true. So that the patron now saves. if he buy in any one of these nine stores, about S3 8 on his ten dollar purchase in the usual cloth binding and in the special edition he saves about one-half. The saving to the patrons of the state. talk ing all the sales and considering the diff ferent prices at which books were sold in different communities before the law went into effect, will not fall much short of 40 per cent in the whole state.
 T favored the new text book law, and was instrumental in having it put on the statute books. The improved character of the text books used alone justify 1t. The immense saving to the people doubly justify it and freedom from the annoy anee of constant changes and the ever recurring additional expense of such changes would, of itself. take care of the law
 Saving to Purchaser.
 ''The legislature gave the commission a Very short while to act, which crowded the publishers to fill their contracts in time for the fall schools but I am sure that after this week there will hardly be local agency without every book which may be called for. The public will un- derstand and excuse some awkwardness in the laws early execution
 T observe that some gentlemen are complaining of the monopoly established. thoughtful man, when he knows that the law requires bond of the contrac- tor, one condition of which is that he shall keep his books on sale in some local agency in at least three places in every county, must eonfine their sale to some one store in these communities in order that the keeping of the books all the time and their sale will be an item 10 such merchants, although he only gets 10 per cent for the trouble. If every merchant were allowed to sell them at this 10 per cent, 1t will readily be seen that the books in many places would soon be out of stock altogether It is difficult to understand why a person cannot un- derstand the reason for the alleged mo nopoly.'
 'fhe law will take care of itself It Will not need any defense when oppor- unity has been given it."