The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-08-13
This Must Be Done for All
Kansas Schools.
Arrangements Being Made to
Facilitate the Work.
NEW AGENCIES.
Law Provides for Distribution
Only at County Seats.
But Efforts Will Be Made to
Reach All Large Towns.

| Arrangements have been made by
the Kansas Book company, of this
city, which is the distributing agent
for all the book companies having
Kansas text book contracts, for the
establishment of about 100 additional
agencies in the state this year for the
| distribution of the Kansas school
| books.
Under the law, the book companies
are required to have one agency in
each county. at the county seat, where
old books may be exchanged for new
ones However. it happens that in
many counties there are other i'm
poftant towns besides the county seat
town, and it is usually very incon-
Venlent for the school children at
tnese other towns to exchange their
oId school books, with only one
agency In the county In some col,r1-
ties, the county seat is really q town
OF minor Importance, and the big
population is at some other point
For example, Girard is the county
scat OF crawford county, but Pitts
burg Is by far the biggest town in the
county. Under the system provided
by law, the only place in the county
where old books can be EXCHANGED for
new ones is Girard. Independence is
the county seat of Montgomery coun-
" but Cherryvale. Elk City, Caney
and Coffeyville are all good sized
towns. Winfield is the county seat Of
Cowley county, but Arkansas City is
the larger town. There are many
other similar cases in the state and
many complaints have been coming in
to the office of the state superintend-
ent and the attorney general asking
II there Is not some way by which the
exchange system can be extended to
all the large towns of the state re-
gardless of the law.
There appears to be no way by
which this can be done except
through the consent of the book COM
panies. Under the text book law. any
merchant can order books in $40 lots
and have them sent to him at his own
risk not subject to return on unsold
copies. Such an agency does not au-
thorize the merchant to accept books
on exchange. He can only sell the
new books for cash. In order to ex-
change books, the applicant must go
to the authorized agent of the book
companies. and the law requires only
one agent in each county, and that one
at the county seat.
Il think that arrangements will be
made" said E. T. Fairchild, state super
intendent of, education, +by which sub
agencies will be opened up in some towns
for the exchange of old books for new
ones. This will have to be done by the
state agency, and it is therefore a mat
ter over which I have no control. I
think that the law should be changed
in this particular, so that all of the
large towns Of the state may have an
agency for the exchange Of the old
books for the new series"
H. L. Shirer. one of the proprietors of
the Kansas Book company, confirmed
Mr.. F'airchilds announcement this
morning.
I'VE expect to establish additional
agencies in all towns of the state where
such agencies seem to be necessary"
says Mr.. Shirer. '1 expect by the time
we finish the work of establishing the
agencies, we will have 100 additional In
operation, besides the 105 which the law
requires us to establish. At each of
these subagencies. 1t will be possible for
the school children to exchange their
old books for new ones. We find that it
makes it very inconvenient in some
counties for the one agent provided by
law to handle all the business of the
county"
After the first year, the exchange fea-
tura is not SO important, but during the
present year, which is the first of the
new contracts, there will be a vast
amount of exchanging done. The book
companies get very little cash out of
their first years contract. Most of the
business done is in old books, and the
old books are of very little use. A few
of them can be sorted and sold in other
states as second hand books, but most
of them are good only as old paper, and
are shipped out of Topeka, the collec-
ton point for the state in carload lots
to the paper mills. --s-as