The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-12

sale and reselling Cat cost at retail of all the books needed. To do this and not clash with the new law Trustee Spiegel has recommended that 15O00O ge- osraphies be purchased-one item of s50,- coo for books-and send the books to the school buildings to be resold to the pupils. Nearly dozen firms had books to offer but because of the failure of the school board to advertise for bids merit of books not a consideration if price was not the lowest-they were giv- en no opportunity to do so. As a re- suit the cheap book concerns are threat ening law suits and injunctions. Par ents have so few prerogatives, now that responsibility for books, pupils health. teeth and transportation have been ta- ken over by the school teacher that American school education is seriously menaced by mere difference of few cents in the cost of one book over an- other," said one educator. "The ulti- mate result is plain and 1t is time tax payers woke up to realize that school text books aren't quite as much alike, even in durability. as paving bricks"
 Train safety as a railway asset, which the Burlingtons expenditures of nearly S50,0000 900 in preparation for the reducing of its fast passenger time from Chicago to Denver to 27 hours has put in wholly new light, has been commented upon by the League of Public Safety in a notable bulletin. Reckless railway operation" 1t says. with an eye single upon the net earnings and low operating costs, is given very practical rebuke that is likely to prove more effective than pub lie outcry in the policy adopted by the directorate of the Burlington which quiet ly appropriated tens of millions of dol lars in safeguarding its roadbed and bridges and improving its dispatching fla cilities. The work has required years and the investment is enormous and for a purpose which all the railways have been charged with disregardlng, viz; the safety of the public. This is a milestone in railway financing that cannot be overlooked by other roads. and will not be- It is a sound asset of q railroad the safety of it's trains-and has not been discovered any too soon Train accidents the country over showed diminution last year, distinct gain but 1t was due to the conspicuous records of a few that lowered the average for all and the Bur lington is entitled to due credit for it's remarkable record of 2o,000000 passengers carried without one fatality. As the rail- ways now have been headed in the right direction it Is high time for the public and it's official representatives to see that there is a reduction in the casualties which are clearly chargeable to failure to keep children and fools out of train danger. Of the total deaths each year on railways much the largest share, about 6lO0 to 400, are of this class. There is a responsibility upon the public as well as the railways to insure greater safety. The Burlington has established a notable precedent; will some commun- ity do as much in protecting the chill dren and the fool?"
 A warning against Hoped remedies for hay fever, the midsummer scourge that is sending thousands through Chicago this year for the sure relief found on the Great Lakes, has been Issued by the Currier commission for the investi- gation of drug addictions. Hay fever and catarrh powder" is the device un- der which many a blue and white lab- eled bottle disguises its contents,'' mem- bers of the commission, c. w. Collins and John Day. declare 4n Everyday Life for September. Beneath this, in ac- cordance with the new national drugs act Is the statement, eight grains of >co- caine hydrochlorate to the ounce. But the innocent suHefer lroH catarrn or hay fever does not recognize that as a threat, and the 'fend does not care. in fact the latter would be better pleased if the quantity of cocaine were higher, thought that amount. one-sixtieth of the bulk is dangerous dose, It Is 8 solu- ton of cocaine of percentage twice as strong as is sufficient as a local anaes- thetic for surgical purposes in tissues far less sensitive to cocainization than the mucous membranes. which quickly absorb the poison into the system. By virtue of its cheapness cocaine in hay