The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-28
IT'S UP AGAIN.
Text Book Controversy Appears
in New Form.
This Time State Proposes to
Print the Books.
WOULD SAVE MONEY.
Mr.. MOntee Thinks Investment
Would Be Profitable.
Would Have Work Done by
State Printing Plant.
WOULD SAVE n

(laWlOI0 EUuHlIs LCa4CkCS AndN IN SIaN
can save hundreds of thousands of dol
lars by printing its own public school
text books Contingent upon the pas
sage OF the bill providing for the state
ownership of the printing plant, Mr..
Montee will introduce a bill providing
that the state print all its W e
books.
T have secured copies of the state
text book laws of Indiana. and other
states where the state does its W
printing of text books said Mr.. Mon
tee, "and Will draft the Kansas law on
the lines which have been tried and
found satisfactory in other states. In
Indiana, for example, they print their
own text books. and charge 8 or A cents
for a book for which the school children
Of Kansas pay Is or 20 cents. I believe
that we can make a saving all along
b line on our text books, and there
will be no more talk about school book
trusts"
Mr.. Montee's plan would necessitate
q material increase in the proposed ca
pacity of the state printing plant To
turn out all the text books which are
needed in the public schools of Kansas
would be no small undertaking. and the
state would probably have to at least
double the present size of the plant to
handle the work satisfactorily Never
IneleSS, Nj. MOntee believes that the
investment could be made to pay a big
revenue to the people of the state.
The present law gives the text book
commission the right to buy the copy
right on text books, and have the same
printed under contract. So far, however,
the commission has not seen fit to ex-
ercise this right, because it has figured
that the book companies were making
a reasonable price on books.
There is no doubt a big thing in it
Tor the concern which gets the job OF
supplying text books for the state, even
nf tho EzarnTnU7u small nrinn- which
prevail. Whether the state could afford
to turn out the books at a price to COM
pete with the present prices is a mat
ter which would have to be determined
by careful investigation.
In connection with the school book
proposition comes Robert Stone. of
Shawnee county, with a bill giving to
the state board of education all the
duties of the state text book commits
sion, and putting the present text
book commission entirely out of busi-
ness
This is one of the bills recommend
ed by Governor Hoch. and is therefore
to be classed as an administration
measure There seems to be some
pretty serious opposition to this bill.
originating with the UNCONVENTIONAL
colleges of the state. They think it is
g scheme on the part of the state in
stitutions to tighten their grip on the
situation. and put the UNCONVENTIONAL
colleges, like Washburn, Baker, Linds-
borg, Emporia college and Ottawa, at.
a disadvantage. The Salina Journal
has this to say about the bill:
Heretofore the county superintend-
ents have had representation on the.
board. likewise city superintendent
and the UNCONVENTIONAL sch ools. This
new plan would cut out all of this
representation, cut out, in fact, the
only men competent to select the text
books for the common schools of the
state, the public school men. Further
more If pIfS off TonT6SPnf9finn from
the UNCONVENTIONAL schools. There
are fourteen of these colleges in the
state who educate IS per cent more
students than do the three state in
stitutions. and do it without one dol
lars cost to the state, while the state
colleges cost the taxpayers of the
state up into h hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars annually.
THAT this would work a hardship
upon the UNCONVENTIONAL colleges is
clearly evident, for the state colleges
at the present time require of the stu
dents from the den~onninatiOnal col
leges a one years review on entering
the state institution. In other words,
we are reliably informed that a stu
dent coming from any of the denOmi-
national colleges of the state and en-
tering the state Institutions are put
one year back and are plainly told
that this is lone because the state col
Iege has that right and this in the lace
of the fact that the course of study
may be trOnger than that in the state
college and the student holding high
grades In less than five years every
school child in the state of Kansas
will be required to purchase text
books published by the professors of
the state colleges alone. 1t has been
bad enough IN the past, hen once in
awhile one of their books become
adopted. Our state legislators should
look to it that this bill is not railroad
ed through as an economical measure
They should consider it very closely,
for it affects the pocketbooks of the
people of the state perhaps more thar
any Other n measure before the leg
islature. Every denominational school.
every county superintendent, every
city superintendent. every school
teacher in the state should rise up and
protest against this graft"
Speaker Stubs and the of
the house had another fight Friday
about adjournment. Stubs won his
fight. and didn't know It. The house
adjourned until Monday at 4 o'clock.
The way it happened was on a mis-
take in arithmetic; a mere question of
whether SO was two-thirds of 1O4.
There were So votes in favor of ad-
5ournment. and Speaker pro tenn.
Clark decided that the motion had
carried Then Stubs went to work
that 60 votes would be needed for a
two-thirds vote. He called the speak
er's attention to this, but Mr.. Clark
said it was too late: that he didn't
want to change his decision.
Il don't care anyway said Mr..
Stubbs, a4terward. I was just trying 1
to have a little fun with Clark. I
really wanted to adjourn all the time
There was quite a strong following
for Mr. Stubs in his demand that the
house stay in session over Saturday.
Mead, and nearly all of the house
leaders. were helping Stubs, but the
ordinary everyday members wanted to
go home. And they vent.
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