Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1908-02-20
FREE BOOKS
FOR CHILDREN
Senator Chase Proposes State Shall
Supply Pupils.
NO POLITICS In This ARGUMENT
Says 1t Would Cost the State Only AbOut
$l5O,O0O With the Single List-Cities
Example Of Other States.

Senator Chase offered today in the
Senate bill providing for free books
for the public schools of the State. This
bill is Senate bill No. 402, and was re-
ferred to the Committee on Finance.
Senator Chase, when seen today as to
this bill, said:
Free books will not cost the people
in Virginia cent more than they are
paying at present for text books for
their children. There must be so much
money spent each year and every year
by the people of the State for books and
supplies, whether each individual buys
the books for his own children or wheth-
er he pays this money into the State
treasury, and the State buy the books,
excepting the rich taxpayers would have
to pay more than they would pay if they
bought the books for their own children,
and the poor would have to pay less; ;but
the rich are able to do it, and no objec-
tions should be urged on this account.
Free books provided by the State at
reasonable rates, based on single list,
will cost far less than the people are
now paying on the multiple list At
present there are some 5000 or {, 200 in
digent children being supplied with free
books at a cost of about fifty-eight cts.
for each pupil. There are some 240, 900
now in school attendance. At this esti-
mate of fifty-eight cents for each pupil
it would cost the State about $140, 900.
Would it be possible to invest to better
advantage, say $3.50, 900 of the large
surplus now in the State treasury than
to furnish free books? The objection to
the present law, which furnishes free
books only to INDECENT children, is that
thousands of children rather than claim
the books as INDECENT, even when their
parents are not able to buy them, re-
main out of school. And very small
part of the school population in the poor
country districts even know that we
now have law to furnish free books to
INDECENT children, and therefore, they
do not ask for them. The State spends
$3.50, 900 in many other ways, and thinks
nothing of it when it should be spent on
free books.
NO POLITICS IN IT.
"Both parties in 1885 promised the
people free books for free schools.
Republican party of Virginia assem-
bled in codvention July 15, 1885, prom
ised free books in the following words,
viz:
For free books for free schools as a
proper and necessary completion of our
system of public education, against the
Bourbon policy, which forces many chill
dren to plead pauperism or stay away
from the schools and robs the par
ents of Others by frequent changes of
books"
Democratic party of Virginia, in con-
vention assembled July 80, 1885, prom
ised free books in the following words,
viz:
at is the cherished purpose of the
Democratic party to labor in this sacred
work of public enlightment until
the country and town alike enjoy the
full advantage of free education. To
this end we favor the furnishing of free
books to the pupils of the free schools. I"
The Democratic party carried the
State in the election in 1885, and in each
election since that date, but it is not